How to transit between fields

Navigate efficiently between fields to optimize remote agricultural operations.

The field-to-field transit feature in Vehicle Mission Control (vMC) allows operators to safely and effectively plan transits between fields, ensuring seamless continuity between field operations. This article provides a comprehensive overview of how to use this feature, addresses safety concerns, and offers troubleshooting tips.

Recording a Transit Path

This section explains how to establish transit paths by recording them directly in the field. This allows operators to ensure transit routes are safe to navigate in real-world conditions.

Start at the Origin Field: Within vMC, navigate to the field where the transit will begin and click the ‘New’ button.
Initiate Transit Recording: Select ‘Record a transit’ and drive the vehicle to the starting location before recording. Click ‘Begin recording’ once you have reached the starting point. The starting location will marked on the map by an ‘A’ marker.
End the Recording: While recording, drive the vehicle to the intended end point and click ‘Finish’. The ‘B’ marker will appear on the map to indicate where the recording has ended.
Verify the Recorded Path: The transit path will now appear on the map when viewing your fields within vMC.

Importing a Transit Path

This section explains how to establish transit paths by importing the geometry into your organization. This will help save some time recording transit paths in the field in low-risk scenarios.

Prepare to Import: Navigate to the field’s page, click the more menu next to ‘Templates’, and select ‘Import Geometry’.
Upload and Select Geometry: Upload the file containing the transit geometry. Use the navigation arrows to select the correct transit path, highlight it white, name the feature, and set it as ‘transit’ geometry type.
Finalize Import: Click ‘Continue’ to finalize the import, or ‘Cancel’ to exit without importing additional features.

Using Transits in Missions

Efficiently navigating between fields reduces downtime and maximizes operational continuity. This section details how to set up missions that utilize recorded or imported transit paths for moving between fields.

Overview:

Before using transits on your operation, there are a few aspects that you will need to keep in mind:

A transit path is required to navigate autonomously outside the geofence: These paths ensure vehicles stick to predetermined, safe routes, minimizing risks and reducing the need for operators to drive the vehicle across adjacent fields.
Missions can include transits before or after working passes and/or headlands: This flexibility lets operators perform fieldwork and move to subsequent fields without manual intervention, or creating transit-specific missions, thus optimizing overall productivity and resource use.
Vehicles will pause before leaving the field: When generating a mission that includes a transit between fields, a traffic-controlled traversable hole (TCTH) will automatically be added to the mission, surrounding the transit path outside the geofence. Before the vehicle enters the TCTH, operators will be notified and have an opportunity to remotely raise and fold the implement for transit. The width of the TCTH will be based on the working width of the implement attached to the vehicle, with an additional buffer of 3ft. on either side to account for minor deviations from the path.

Navigating point-to-point between fields:

Create the Coverage Plan: Use an existing coverage plan within the current or target field and ensure a transit path connects both fields.
Create a Mission: To create a point-to-point mission, you will need to disable both headlands and passes using the toggles located in the sidebar of mission planner.
Set an Endpoint: Select or drop an endpoint in the target field. If you want the vehicle to end pointing a specific direction, you can enter a heading for a point of interest or end point by clicking on the point and enabling the heading toggle.
Save the Mission: If you are satisfied with the mission, save it to send it to the vehicle.

Navigating to start a mission in a new field:

Create the Coverage Plan: Generate a coverage plan within the target field and ensure a transit path connects both fields.
Create the Mission: To navigates to a field and perform a mission, first select the passes and/or headlands you wish to work.
Set an Endpoint: Select or drop an endpoint in the field you will be working. If you want the vehicle to end pointing a specific direction, you can enter a heading for a point of interest or end point by clicking on the point and enabling the heading toggle.
Save the Mission: If you are satisfied with the mission, save it to send it to the vehicle.

Ending the current mission in the next field:

Create the Coverage Plan: Generate a coverage plan within the current field and ensure a transit path connects the current and next field.
Create a Mission: To create a mission that ends in the next field, first select the passes and/or headlands you wish to work.
Set an Endpoint: Select or drop an endpoint in the next field. If you want the vehicle to end pointing a specific direction, you can enter a heading for a point of interest or end point by clicking on the point and enabling the heading toggle.
Save the Mission: If you are satisfied with the mission, save it to send it to the vehicle.

Safety and Legal Considerations

Safety is paramount when navigating between fields, especially when dealing with large machinery. Understanding legal and safety implications is crucial to ensure compliant and secure operations.

Obstacle Detection Limits: Be aware that the obstacle detection does not account for the folded width of the implement.
Width Constraints: Maximum width constraints are not checked before transits, which could pose risks if not manually verified.
Legal Restrictions: It is not legal to use this feature to navigate the vehicle autonomously on public property or public roads.

Troubleshooting

Even with careful planning, issues can arise. This section provides solutions to common problems encountered during the use of the field-to-field transit feature.

No Available Transits: If you are attempting to transit between fields and those fields are not connected by a transit path, we recommend that you record or import a transit path that properly connects both fields.
Inefficient Transit Routes: If there are two or more transits connecting a field, currently, the path planning algorithm will select the first transit identified, which may result in a less-efficient route. With that said, rest assured, we are working to improve the efficiency of navigating from point-to-point.
Pausing for Assistance Before Working Passes: If you are attempting to work passes after transiting between fields, the vehicle should pause before exiting the traffic-controlled traversable hole in order to allow operators to lower and fold the implement. If the vehicle does not pause and the implement is raised and folder, you will need to pause the vehicle manually in before it begins working passes in the next field.
Obstacle Detection Errors: The obstacle detection system uses the implement's width specified in vMC. If the implement is folded, the system is currently unaware of the folded dimensions. This can cause unnecessary obstacle detection-related pauses if there are detected obstacles inside the implement's width, would it have been unfolded. To work around this issue, you can try updating the implement's width to match the folded width in vMC to avoid false obstacle detections. However, you must remember to change it back before working passes or headlands. Otherwise, you may be required to drive the transit manually.
Missing Path Violations during Mission Planning: If you encounter path errors during mission generation, we recommend completing the mission in the current field and then creating another mission to transit to the target field instead of attempting to end the current mission in the next field after work is completed.
Prevent Sharp Turns: To avoid geofence violations or unexpected pauses during a transit, plan routes that allow gentle turns, ideally at an angle less than 90 degrees.
Unable to Modify Transit Paths: If you are attempting to modify the geometry of a transit path and are seeing the geometry disappear from edit mode, it is likely because the transit does not have enough coordinates. We recommend that you export this geometry, open it in geojson.io and ensure there are at least 4 or more coordinates and then re-import it back into vMC.