Apparatus and method for conversion of conventional agricultural equipment and implements to enable full autonomous operation

A method for converting conventional agricultural equipment for autonomous operation, comprising:

• controlling a speed of agricultural equipment, in a gear shifting system comprised of a linear actuator that replaces a manual control of a hydraulic swash plate, and a rotational actuator that enables mechanical tolerance to allow for automatic gear adjustment during engagement for rotational freedom;
• controlling a steering of the agricultural equipment, in a steering control system having at least one wheel angle sensor that measures a steering angle and detects magnetic field changes;
• controlling a braking of the agricultural equipment, in a brake actuator system comprised of a mechanical brake actuator;
• controlling an operation of one or more implements associated with the agricultural equipment;
• initiating a graduated response sequence when a collision hazard is detected for the agricultural equipment and the one or more associated implements, in an obstacle detection system;
• and
• overriding an automated control of the agricultural equipment and the one or more associated implements in the graduated response sequence when a collision with an obstacle is identified, in an intelligent override protection system.

A method, comprising:

• receiving user inputs relative to a conversion of conventional agricultural equipment and associated implements into an automated operation of the agricultural equipment and associated implements;
• actuating a plurality of systems that perform an automated control of the agricultural equipment and the one or more implements in response to the user inputs, the plurality of systems:
• controlling a speed of the agricultural equipment,
• controlling a steering of the agricultural equipment,
• controlling a braking of the agricultural equipment,
• controlling an operation of the one or more implements,
• detecting one or more obstacles to the agricultural equipment and the associated implements, and
• overriding an automated control of the agricultural equipment and the one or more implements when a collision with the one or more obstacles is identified;
• generating one or more signals for automatically operating the conventional agricultural equipment and associated implements;
• and
• performing the automated operation of the agricultural equipment and associated implements, in response to the user inputs.