Systems and methods for controlling agricultural harvesting header height

A system for adjusting an actual height of a header of an agricultural vehicle, the system comprising:

• at least one sensor configured to provide a sensor output indicative of at least one of the actual height of the header and an actual fluid pressure of a fluid used in the adjustment of the actual height of the header;
• a communication unit adapted to receive a terrain map;
• at least one actuator configured to adjust the actual height of the header;
• at least one processor;
• and
• a memory device coupled to the at least one processor, the memory device including instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the at least one processor to:
• identify, from the terrain map, one or more variations in a terrain of a field;
• generate, using a header model and based at least in part on the one or more variations in the terrain of the field and the sensor output, a predicted output comprising at least one of (1) a predicted header height, when the sensor output is indicative of the actual height of the header, to attain a preselected header height, and (2) a predicted fluid pressure, when the sensor output is indicative of the fluid pressure of the fluid, to attain a preselected fluid pressure for the header when the header or agricultural vehicle will be at a location in the field that corresponds to the one or more variations in the terrain of the field;
• determine an error computation based on a difference between at least one of (1) the predicted header height and the preselected header height, and (2) the predicted fluid pressure and the preselected fluid pressure;
• generate a predicted input based, at least in part, on the error computation and a cost function evaluated over a period of time, the predicted input comprising at least one of a model header height and a model fluid pressure, wherein the cost function is subject to a plurality of constraints in a hierarchical arrangement, such that satisfaction of a higher-priority constraint of the plurality of constraints is prioritized regardless of whether such satisfaction causes a lower-priority constraint of the plurality of constraints to not be satisfied;
• and
• generate, based on the predicted input and before the header or the agricultural vehicle reaches the identified one or more variations in the terrain, one or more control signals for the at least one actuator to adjust the actual height of the header.