Vehicular exterior identification and monitoring system-agricultural product distribution

A vehicle, comprising

• wave emitting means arranged on the vehicle for emitting waves at an angle toward the ground near the vehicle, and
• receiver means arranged on the vehicle for receiving waves reflected from the ground near the vehicle;
• a vehicular system adapted to be controlled or adjusted based on the velocity of the vehicle relative to the ground;
• and
• a processor coupled to said wave emitting means, said receiver means and said vehicular system for determining the velocity of the vehicle relative to the ground and the distance to the ground based on the transmission of waves by said wave emitting means and reception of waves by said receiver means and using the determined distance to correct the determined velocity of the vehicle relative to the ground and controlling the vehicular system based on the corrected velocity,
• the waves being transmitted by said wave emitting means in pulses or modulated such that said processor is able to determine the distance between a wave-transmission and reception point and the ground and the velocity of the vehicle based on analysis of the waves transmitted by said wave emitting means and the waves received by said wave receiver means.

An agricultural product distribution vehicle, comprising:

• storage means for storing agricultural product to be distributed;
• conveying means for conveying agricultural product from said storage means to the ground;
• and
• control means for controlling a rate of transfer of the agricultural product from said storage means through said conveying means for distribution to the ground, said control means including an operation system for automatically controlling the transfer of agricultural product at a rate dependent on the product to be distributed and the determined average needs of the field and the vehicle ground speed and a user interface for inputting operator settings related to the product and field properties;
• and
• a ground speed sensor arranged to detect the speed of travel of the vehicle on the ground,
• said ground speed sensor comprising
• a wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves toward the ground,
• a wave receiver arranged to received waves reflected from the ground after transmission by said wave transmitter, and
• a processor coupled to said wave transmitter and said wave receiver and arranged to determine the speed of travel of the vehicle on the ground based on the waves transmitted by said wave transmitter and the waves received by said wave receiver,
• the waves being transmitted by said wave transmitter in pulses or modulated such that said processor is able to determine the distance between a wave-transmission and reception point and the ground and the velocity of the vehicle based on analysis of the waves transmitted by said wave transmitter and the waves received by said wave receiver.