Patent Description:
There are a wide variety of different types of vehicles that load material into other vehicles. Some such vehicles include agricultural vehicles such as forage harvesters or other harvesters (such as combine harvesters, sugarcane harvesters, silage harvesters, etc.), that harvest grain or other crop. Such harvesters often unload material into carts, which may be pulled by tractors, or semitrailers, as the harvesters are moving. Other vehicles that unload into receiving vehicles include construction vehicles, such as cold planers that unload into a dump truck and other vehicles.

Taking an agricultural harvester as an example, while harvesting in a field using a forage harvester or combine harvester, an operator attempts to control the harvester to maintain harvesting efficiency, during many different types of conditions. The soil conditions, crop conditions, etc. can all change. This may result in the operator changing control settings. This means the operator needs to devote a relatively large amount of attention to controlling the forage harvester or combine harvester.

At the same time, a semitruck or tractor-pulled cart (a receiving vehicle), is often in position relative to the harvester (e.g., alongside the harvester or behind the harvester) so that the harvester can fill the truck or cart, while moving through the field. In some current systems, this requires the operator of the harvester to control the position of the unloading spout and flap so that the truck or cart is filled evenly, but not over filled. Even a momentary misalignment between the spout and the truck or cart may result in hundreds of pounds of harvested material being dumped on the ground, rather than in the truck or cart.

Work machine systems are e.g. known from <CIT> and <CIT>.

A physical attribute of a receiving vehicle (a receiving vehicle parameter) is automatically detected by a sensor on a leading vehicle, and a calibration system locates (by calculating a calibrated offset value) the receiving vehicle parameter relative to a reference point on a following vehicle, the following vehicle providing propulsion to the receiving vehicle. The leading vehicle automatically unloads material into the receiving vehicle using the calibrated offset value corresponding to the receiving vehicle.

The present discussion proceeds with respect to an agricultural harvester, but it will be appreciated that the present discussion is also applicable to construction machines or other material loading vehicles as well, such as those discussed elsewhere herein. As discussed above, it can be very difficult for an operator to maintain high efficiency in controlling a harvester, and also to optimally monitor the position of the receiving vehicle during an unloading (or filling) operation. This difficulty can even be exacerbated when the receiving vehicle is located behind the harvester (such as a forage harvester), so that the forage harvester is executing a rear unloading operation, but the difficulty also exists in side-by-side unloading scenarios.

In order to address these issues, some automatic cart filling control systems have been developed to automate portions of the filling process. One such automatic fill control system uses a stereo camera on the spout of the harvester to capture an image of the receiving vehicle. An image processing system determines dimensions of the receiving vehicle and the distribution of crop deposited inside the receiving vehicle. The system also detects crop height within the receiving vehicle, in order to automatically aim the spout toward empty spots and control the flap position (and thus material trajectory) to achieve a more even fill, while reducing spillage. Such systems can fill the receiving vehicle according to a fill strategy (such as front-to-back, back-to-front, etc.) that is set by the operator or that is set in other ways.

In addition, some current harvesters are provided with a machine synchronization control system. The harvester may be a combine harvester so that the spout is not movable relative to the frame during normal unloading operations. Instead, the relative position of the receiving vehicle and the combine harvester is changed in order to fill the receiving vehicle as desired. Thus, in a front-to-back fill strategy, for instance, the relative position of the receiving vehicle, relative to the combine harvester, is changed so that the spout is first filling the receiving vehicle at the front end, and then gradually fills the receiving vehicle moving rearward. In such an example, the combine harvester and receiving vehicle may have machine synchronization systems which communicate with one another. When the relative position of the two vehicles is to change, the machine synchronization system on the combine harvester can send a message to the machine synchronization system on the towing vehicle to nudge the towing vehicle slightly forward or rearward relative to the combine harvester, as desired. By way of example, the machine synchronization system on the combine harvester may receive a signal from the fill control system on the combine harvester indicating that the position in the receiving vehicle that is currently being filled is approaching its desired fill level. In that case, the machine synchronization system on the combine harvester can send a "nudge" signal to the machine synchronization system on the towing vehicle. The "nudge", once received by the machine synchronization system on the towing vehicle, causes the towing vehicle to momentarily speed up or slow down, thus nudging the position of the receiving vehicle forward to rearward, respectively, relative to the combine harvester.

In all of the systems that attempt to automate part or all of the unloading process from a harvester into a receiving vehicle, the automated system attempts to understand where the receiving vehicle is located over time relative to the towing vehicle (e.g., the tractor pulling the receiving vehicle - also referred to has the following vehicle), and relative to the leading vehicle (e.g., the harvester or the vehicle that is controlling the following vehicle). For purposes of the present discussion, the term leading vehicle will be the vehicle that is unloading material into the receiving vehicle. The term following vehicle will refer to the propulsion vehicle, or towing vehicle, that is providing propulsion to the receiving vehicle (such as a tractor).

Determining the location of the receiving vehicle over time can be accomplished using different types of systems. In some current systems, a camera and image processor are used to capture an image (static or video) of parts of the receiving vehicle (the edges of the receiving area of the cart, the walls of the cart, the front end and rear end of the cart, etc., collectively referred to herein as receiving vehicle parameters) and an image processor processes that image in attempt to identify the receiving vehicle parameters, in real-time, during the harvesting operation. The image processor identifies the receiving vehicle parameters in the image and a controller then attempts to identify the location of the receiving vehicle parameters relative to the leading vehicle (e.g., relative to the harvester), in real-time, during harvesting and unloading.

However, this can be prone to errors. For instance, during the harvesting and unloading operation, the environment can be relatively dusty or have other obscurants so that it can be difficult to continuously identify the receiving vehicle parameters and then calculate their location relative to the leading vehicle. The dust or other obscurants in the environment can lead to an image that is difficult to process, and therefore, the accuracy in identifying the receiving vehicle parameters (and thus locating them relative to the leading vehicle) can take additional time, and can be error prone.

The present description thus proceeds with respect to a system that conducts a calibration operation that identifies one or more receiving vehicle parameters and the position of the parameter(s) relative to a reference point on the following vehicle. A detector on the leading vehicle detects the receiving vehicle parameters. Positioning systems (e.g., global navigation satellite systems - GNSS receivers) on the leading vehicle and the following vehicle communicate with one another so that the relative position of the leading vehicle, relative to the following vehicle, is known. An offset on the following vehicle between the positioning system and a reference point (such as a hitch, wheel base, etc.) is also known. A calibration system thus determines the relative position of the receiving vehicle parameters, relative to the location of the leading vehicle (as identified by the positioning system on the leading vehicle) and transposes that information into a location of the receiving vehicle parameters relative to the reference point on the following vehicle. This is referred to as the calibrated offset value corresponding to the receiving vehicle parameter. Then, during an unloading operation, the leading vehicle (e.g., the harvester) need only receive the position of the following vehicle (e.g., the GPS coordinates of the tractor). The leading vehicle can then calculate where the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., the front wall, the side walls, the rear wall, etc. of the receiving vehicle) is located relative to the reference location on the trailing vehicle (e.g., the trailer hitch of the tractor) based upon the calibrated offset value for the particular receiving vehicle parameter under consideration.

In this way, the leading vehicle need not rely on real-time images captured in a noisy (e.g., dusty) environment to attempt to identify the location of the receiving vehicle during the unloading process. Instead, during harvesting and unloading, once the GNSS location of the following vehicle is known (or the relative position of the following vehicle is known relative to the leading vehicle), the location of the receiving vehicle can be calculated using the calibrated offset value, without performing image processing.

<FIG> is a pictorial illustration showing one example of a self-propelled forage harvester <NUM> (a material loading vehicle also referred to as a leading vehicle) filling a tractor-pulled grain cart (or receiving vehicle) <NUM>. Cart <NUM> thus defines an interior that forms a receiving vessel <NUM> for receiving harvested material through a receiving area <NUM>. In the example shown in <FIG>, a tractor <NUM> (a towing vehicle also referred to as a following vehicle), that is pulling grain cart <NUM>, is positioned directly behind forage harvester <NUM> Also, in the example illustrated in <FIG>, forage harvester <NUM> has a detector such as camera <NUM> mounted on the spout <NUM> through which the harvested material <NUM> is traveling. The spout <NUM> can be pivotally or rotatably mounted to a frame <NUM> of harvester <NUM>. In the example shown in <FIG>, the detector <NUM> is a stereo-camera or a monocamera that captures an image (e.g., a still image or video) of the receiving area <NUM> of cart <NUM>. Also, in the example shown in <FIG>, the receiving area <NUM> is defined by an upper edge of the walls of cart <NUM>.

When harvester <NUM> has an automatic fill control system that includes image processing, as discussed above, the automatic fill control system attempts to identify the location of the receiving area <NUM> by identifying the edges or walls of the receiving area and can then gauge the height of harvested material in cart <NUM>, and the location of that material in the receiving vehicle. The system thus automatically controls the position of spout <NUM> and flap <NUM> to direct the trajectory of material <NUM> into the receiving area <NUM> of cart <NUM> to obtain an even fill throughout the entire length and width of cart <NUM>, while not overfilling cart <NUM>. By automatically, it is meant, for example, that the operation is performed without further human involvement except, perhaps, to initiate or authorize the operation.

For example, when executing a back-to-front automatic fill strategy the automatic fill control system may attempt to move the spout and flap so the material begins landing at a first landing point in the back of vessel <NUM> of receiving vehicle <NUM>. Then, once a desired fill level is reached in the back of vessel <NUM>, the automatic fill control system moves the spout and flap so the material begins landing just forward of the first landing point in vessel <NUM>.

There can be problems with this approach. The environment of receiving area <NUM> can have dust or other obscurants making it difficult to visually identify the location and bounds of receiving area <NUM>. Thus, it can be difficult to accurately control the trajectory of material <NUM> to achieve the desired fill strategy.

<FIG> is a pictorial illustration showing another example of a self-propelled forage harvester <NUM>, this time loading a semi-trailer (or receiving vessel on a receiving vehicle) <NUM> in a configuration in which a semi-tractor (also referred to as a following vehicle) is pulling semi-trailer <NUM> alongside forage harvester <NUM>. Therefore, the spout <NUM> and flap <NUM> are positioned to unload the harvested material <NUM> to fill trailer <NUM> according to a pre-defined side-by-side fill strategy. Again, <FIG> shows that camera <NUM> can capture an image (which can include a still image or video) of semi-trailer <NUM>. In the example illustrated in <FIG>, the field of view of camera <NUM> is directed toward the receiving area <NUM> of trailer <NUM> so that image processing can be performed to identify a landing point for the harvested material in trailer <NUM>.

<FIG> shows an example in which leading vehicle <NUM> is a combine harvester, with an operators compartment <NUM> and with a header <NUM> that engages crop. The crop is processed and placed in a clean grain tank <NUM>, where it is unloaded (such as using an auger) through spout <NUM> into a receiving vehicle <NUM> (e.g., a grain cart) that is pulled by a following vehicle <NUM> (e.g., a tractor). When harvester <NUM> is a combine harvester, it may be that the spout <NUM> is not moved relative to the frame of harvester <NUM> during normal unloading operations. Instead, the relative position of the receiving vehicle <NUM> and the combine harvester <NUM> is changed in order to fill the receiving vessel as desired. Thus, if a front-to-back fill strategy is to be employed, then the relative position of the receiving vessel in receiving vehicle <NUM>, relative to the combine harvester <NUM>, is changed so that the spout <NUM> is first filling the receiving vehicle <NUM> at the front end, and then gradually fills the receiving vessel moving rearward.

In the configuration shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, spout <NUM> illustratively has a detector, such as a stereo camera, that again attempts to identify parameters of the receiving vehicle so that the receiving vehicle can be located and so that the unloading operation can be controlled to unload material at a desired location in the receiving vehicle to accomplish a desired fill strategy. Again, as with the configuration illustrated in <FIG>, the environment of the receiving vehicles <NUM> and <NUM> in <FIG> and <FIG>, respectively, may have dust or other obscurants making it difficult to identify the parameters of the receiving vehicle (e.g., the edges or walls that define the receiving vessel) during runtime.

Thus, the present description proceeds with respect to a system that conducts a calibration operation for the following vehicle and receiving vehicle to identify an offset between one of the receiving vehicle parameters (e.g., the front wall, either or both sidewalls, the rear wall, etc.) and a known reference location on the following vehicle on the following vehicle (such as the tractor hitch, the wheelbase, etc.). The offset is referred to has the calibrated offset value. The calibrated offset value can then be used during the harvesting operation to locate the receiving vehicle relative to the following vehicle without the need to identify the receiving vehicle parameters in an image that may be captured in a noisy environment (such as a dusty environment or an environment that has other obscurants) during the harvesting and unloading operation. Instead, the control system simply needs to obtain the location of the following vehicle (such as through a GNSS receiver or another location detection system) and then use that location to calculate the location of the receiving vehicle using the calibrated offset value.

<FIG> is a block diagram showing one example of an agricultural system <NUM> which includes leading vehicle (in the present example, a combine harvester) <NUM> which is followed by following vehicle (in the present example, a tractor or another propulsion vehicle) <NUM>. Following vehicle <NUM> is pulling a receiving vehicle <NUM>. It will be appreciated that while agricultural system <NUM> shown in <FIG> includes leading vehicle <NUM>, following vehicle <NUM>, and receiving vehicle <NUM> (e.g., the vehicles shown in the example illustrated in <FIG>) other leading vehicles, following vehicles, and receiving vehicles can be used as well. The example shown in <FIG> is shown for the sake of example only.

Leading vehicle <NUM> includes one or more processors or servers <NUM>, data store <NUM>, position sensor <NUM>, communication system <NUM>, unloading control system <NUM>, receiving vehicle sensors <NUM>, operator interface system <NUM>, controllable subsystems <NUM>, and other vehicle functionality <NUM>. Unloading control system <NUM> can include following/receiving vehicle pair detector <NUM>, calibration system <NUM>, vehicle position detection system <NUM>, control signal generator <NUM>, and other control system functionality <NUM>. Receiving vehicle sensors <NUM> can include optical sensor <NUM>, RADAR sensor <NUM>, LIDAR sensor <NUM>, and/or other sensors <NUM>. Optical sensor <NUM> can include camera <NUM>, image processor <NUM>, and/or other items <NUM>. Operator interface system <NUM> can include interface generation system <NUM>, output generator <NUM>, operator interaction detector <NUM>, and other interface devices and/or functionality <NUM>. Controllable subsystems <NUM> can include header subsystem <NUM>, material conveyance subsystem (e.g., blower, spout, flap, etc.) <NUM>, propulsion subsystem <NUM>, steering subsystem <NUM>, and other items <NUM>. <FIG> also shows that leading vehicle <NUM> can be operated by an operator <NUM>.

Following vehicle <NUM> can include position sensor <NUM>, communication system <NUM>, one or more processors or servers <NUM>, data store <NUM>, control system <NUM>, operator interface system <NUM>, and any of a wide variety other functionality <NUM>. <FIG> also shows that following vehicle <NUM> is operated by operator <NUM>. Receiving vehicle <NUM> can include an identifier <NUM> and/or other items <NUM>. Before describing the overall operation of agricultural system <NUM> in more detail, a description of some of the items in system <NUM>, and their operation, will first be provided.

Position sensor <NUM> can be a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, a dead reckoning system, a cellular triangulation system, or any of a wide variety of other systems that identify the coordinates or location of leading vehicle <NUM> in a global or local coordinate system. Data store <NUM> can store dimension information and orientation information, such as information that identifies the location and orientation of optical sensor <NUM> relative to the material conveyance system (e.g., blower, spout, flap, etc.) <NUM>. Data store <NUM> can store calibrated offset values described in greater detail elsewhere here, as well as other information.

Communication system <NUM> enables the communication of items on vehicle <NUM> with other items on vehicle <NUM>, as well as communication with following vehicle <NUM> and other communication. Therefore, communication system <NUM> can be a controller area network (CAN) bus and bus controller, a cellular communication device, a Wi-Fi communication device, a local or wide area network communication device, a Bluetooth communication device, and/or any of a wide variety of devices or systems that enable communication over different types of networks or combinations of networks.

Receiving vehicle sensors <NUM> sense the receiving vehicle <NUM> and/or parameters of receiving vehicle <NUM>. In the example discussed herein, the parameters of receiving vehicle <NUM> are structural portions of receiving vehicle <NUM> that allow the location of the receiving area of receiving vehicle <NUM> to be determined. The receiving vehicle parameters, for example, may be the front wall or top front edge of the receiving vehicle <NUM>, the side walls or top side edges of receiving vehicle <NUM>, the rear wall or the top rear edge of receiving vehicle <NUM>, etc. Therefore, optical sensor <NUM> can include camera <NUM> and image processor <NUM>. During the calibration process, camera <NUM> can capture an image (static or video) of receiving vehicle <NUM> and image processor <NUM> can identify the location of the receiving vehicle parameters within that image. Thus, image processor <NUM> can identify the location of the front wall or front edge of receiving vehicle <NUM> within the captured image, and/or the other receiving vehicle parameters. In other examples, RADAR sensor <NUM> and/or LIDAR sensor <NUM> can be used to identify the receiving vehicle parameters in different ways. Sensors <NUM> and <NUM> can have signal processing systems that process the signals generated by RADAR and LIDAR sensors to identify the receiving vehicle parameters.

Unloading control system <NUM> controls the unloading process by which material conveyance subsystem <NUM> conveys material from leading vehicle <NUM> to receiving vehicle <NUM>. Following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair detector <NUM> detects the identity of following vehicle <NUM> and receiving vehicle <NUM> (e.g., the identity of this tractor/cart pair) to determine whether calibration data (e.g., calibration offset value(s) has already been generated for this particular pair of vehicles. If so, the calibration data can be retrieved from data store <NUM> and used to locate receiving vehicle <NUM> and to control the unloading process. If not, however, then calibration system <NUM> performs a calibration operation for this particular following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair.

The calibration operation identifies the location of the receiving vehicle parameters (e.g., the front wall, rear wall, side walls, etc., of the receiving vehicle) relative to a reference location on the following vehicle <NUM> (e.g., relative to the hitch, wheelbase, etc. of following vehicle <NUM>). This location is referred to as the calibrated offset value for this particular following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair. The calibration offset value can then be stored in data store <NUM> for use in identifying the location of receiving vehicle <NUM> and controlling the unloading operation.

Vehicle position detection system <NUM> detects the position of leading vehicle <NUM> and following vehicle <NUM> either in terms of absolute coordinates within a global or local coordinate system, or in terms of a relative position in which the positions of vehicles <NUM> and <NUM> are determined relative to one another. For instance, vehicle position detection system <NUM> can receive an input from position sensor <NUM> on vehicle <NUM> and from position sensor <NUM> (which may also be a GNSS receiver, etc.) on following vehicle <NUM> to determine where the two vehicles are located relative to one another. Vehicle position detection system <NUM> can then detect the location of receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to the material conveyance subsystem <NUM> using the calibration offset value for this particular following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair.

For instance, by knowing the location of following vehicle <NUM>, and by knowing the calibrated offset values, which locate the walls (or other receiving vehicle parameter(s)), of receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to a reference position on following vehicle <NUM>, vehicle position detection system <NUM> can identify the location of the walls of receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to the material conveyance subsystem <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM>. This location can then be used to determine how to control vehicles <NUM> and <NUM> to perform an unloading operation so that material conveyance system <NUM> loads material into receiving vehicle <NUM> according to a desired fill pattern.

Control signal generator <NUM> generates control signals that can be used to control vehicle <NUM> and following vehicle <NUM> to accomplish the desired fill pattern. For instance, control signal generator <NUM> can generate control signals to control the material conveyance subsystem <NUM> to start or stop material conveyance, to control the spout position or flat position in order to control the trajectory of material that is being conveyed to receiving vehicle <NUM>, or to control the propulsion system <NUM> or steering subsystem <NUM>. Control signal generator <NUM> can also generate control signals that are sent by communication system <NUM> to the following vehicle <NUM> to "nudge" the following vehicle forward or rearward relative to leading vehicle <NUM>, to instruct the operator <NUM> of following vehicle <NUM> to perform a desired operation, or to generate other control signals.

Header subsystem <NUM> controls the header of the harvester. Material conveyance subsystem <NUM> may include a blower, spout, flap, auger, etc., which control conveyance of harvested material from leading vehicle <NUM> to receiving vehicle <NUM>, as well as the trajectory of such material. Propulsion subsystem <NUM> can be an engine that powers one or more different motors, electric motors, or other systems that provide propulsion to leading vehicle <NUM>. Steering subsystem <NUM> can be used to control the heading and forward/backward directions of travel of leading vehicle <NUM>.

Operator interface system <NUM> can generate interfaces for operator <NUM> and receive inputs from operator <NUM>. Therefore, operator interface system <NUM> can include interface mechanisms such as a steering wheel, joysticks, pedals, buttons, displays, levers, linkages, etc. Interface generation system <NUM> can generate interfaces for interaction by operator <NUM>, such as on a display screen, a touch sensitive displays screen, or in other ways. Output generator <NUM> outputs that interface on a display screen or in other ways and operator interaction detector <NUM> can detect operator interactions with the displayed interface, such as the operator actuating icons, links, buttons, etc. Operator <NUM> can interact with the interface using a point and click device, touch gestures, speech commands (where speech recognition and/or speech synthesis are provided), or in other ways.

As mentioned above, position sensor <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM> may be a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver, a dead reckoning system, a cellular triangulation system, or any of a wide variety of other systems that provide coordinates of following vehicle <NUM> in a global or local coordinate system, or that provide an output indicating the position of following vehicle <NUM> relative to a reference point (such as relative to leading vehicle <NUM>), etc. Communication system <NUM> allows the communication of items on vehicle <NUM> with one another, and also provides for communication with leading vehicle <NUM>, and/or other systems. Therefore, communication system <NUM> can be similar to communication system <NUM> discussed above, or different. It will be assumed for the purpose of the present discussion that communication systems <NUM> and <NUM> are similar, although this is for the sake of example only. Data store <NUM> can store dimension data which identify different dimensions of following vehicle <NUM>, the location and/or orientation of different sensors on vehicle <NUM>, and other information. Control system <NUM> can be used to receive inputs and generate control signals. The control signals can be used to control communication system <NUM>, operator interface system <NUM>, data store <NUM>, the propulsion and/or steering subsystem on following vehicle <NUM>, and/or other items. Operator interface system <NUM> can also include operator interface mechanisms, such as a steering wheel, joysticks, buttons, levers, pedals, linkages, etc. Operator interface system <NUM> can also include a display screen that can be used to display operator interfaces for interaction by operator <NUM>. Operator <NUM> can interact with the operator interfaces using a point and click device, touch gestures, voice commands, etc..

Identifier <NUM> on receiving vehicle <NUM> may be visual indicia, or electronic indicia, or another item that specifically identifies receiving vehicle <NUM>. Identifier <NUM> may also simply be the make or model of receiving vehicle <NUM>, or another marker that identifies receiving vehicle <NUM>.

<FIG> is a block diagram showing one example of calibration system <NUM> in more detail. In the example shown in <FIG>, calibration system <NUM> includes trigger detector <NUM>, data store interaction system <NUM>, operator prompt generator <NUM>, receiving vehicle parameter locator system <NUM>, parameter location output generator <NUM>, and other calibration system functionality <NUM>. Receiving vehicle parameter locator system <NUM> includes receiving vehicle parameter selector <NUM>, leading vehicle reference locator system <NUM>, vehicle-to-vehicle location system <NUM>, following vehicle reference locator system <NUM>, and other locator functionality <NUM>. Before describing the operation of calibration system <NUM> in more detail, a description of some of the items in calibration system <NUM>, and their operation, will first be described.

Trigger detector <NUM> detects a trigger indicating that calibration system <NUM> is to perform a calibration operation to identify the calibrated offset value that locates one or more receiving vehicle parameters (front wall, rear wall, side walls, etc.) relative to a reference point on a following vehicle (e.g., a towing vehicle or tractor that is providing propulsion to the receiving vehicle). In one example, trigger detector <NUM> detects an operator input indicating that the operator wishes to perform a calibration operation. In another example, the receiving vehicle sensors <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) may detect a new following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair for which no calibrated offset value has been generated. This may trigger the calibration system <NUM> to perform a calibration operation. The calibration system may be triggered by leading vehicle <NUM> beginning to perform a harvesting operation (e.g., where the harvesting functionality is engaged) or for other reasons.

Operator prompt generator <NUM> then prompts the operators of one or more of leading vehicle <NUM> and following vehicle <NUM> to position receiving vehicle <NUM> so that the receiving vehicle parameter may be detected by one or more of the receiving vehicle sensors <NUM>. For instance, where the receiving vehicle sensors <NUM> include an optical sensor (such as camera <NUM>) then the prompt may direct the operators of the vehicles to move the vehicles in place relative to one another so that the camera <NUM> can capture an image of the receiving vehicle parameters and so that those parameters can be identified by image processor <NUM> within the image.

<FIG>, for instance, shows one example of a user interface display device <NUM> displaying a display <NUM> that can be generated for the operator of either leading vehicle <NUM> or following vehicle <NUM> or both. Operator interface display <NUM> includes displays an image (static or video) taken by camera <NUM>. In the example shown in <FIG>, the operators have moved the vehicles into position relative to one another so that the an image of receiving vehicle <NUM> can be captured by camera <NUM>. In the example shown in <FIG>, receiving vehicle <NUM> includes a front wall <NUM>, a rear wall <NUM>, a near wall <NUM> (which is near camera <NUM>), and a far wall <NUM> which is further from camera <NUM> than near wall <NUM>). The top edges of each of the walls <NUM>-<NUM> are also visible in the image illustrated in display <NUM>.

Returning to the description of <FIG>, data store interaction system <NUM> can interact with data store <NUM> to obtain dimension information indicating the location and orientation of camera <NUM> (or other receiving vehicle sensors <NUM>) that is used to detect the receiving vehicle parameters. Image processor <NUM> then processes the image to identify the receiving vehicle parameters (such as the walls <NUM>-<NUM>) within the captured image. Receiving vehicle parameter locator system <NUM> can then process the location of the receiving vehicle parameters in the captured image to identify the location of the receiving vehicle parameters relative to a reference point on the following vehicle (e.g., tractor) <NUM>. In doing so, receiving vehicle parameter selector <NUM> selects which receiving vehicle parameter is to be processed first (such as front wall <NUM>, rear wall <NUM>, or side walls <NUM> and/or <NUM>). Leading vehicle reference locator system <NUM> then identifies the location of the selected parameter (for purposes of the present description it will be assumed that the selected receiving vehicle parameter is front wall <NUM>) relative to a reference point on the leading vehicle <NUM>. For instance, system <NUM> can identify the location of the front wall <NUM> of receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to the location of the GPS receiver (or other position sensor) <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM>. Vehicle-to-vehicle location system <NUM> then communicates with the following vehicle <NUM> to identify the location of leading vehicle <NUM> relative to the location of following vehicle <NUM>. In particular, system <NUM> may identify the location of the position sensor <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM> relative to the location of the position sensor <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM>.

Following vehicle reference locator system <NUM> then identifies the location of the selected parameter (the front wall <NUM>) of receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to the reference point on following vehicle <NUM>. For instance, where the reference point on following vehicle <NUM> is the hitch, then following vehicle reference locator system <NUM> first identifies the location of front wall <NUM> relative to the position sensor <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM> and then, using dimension information or other information about following vehicle <NUM>, identifies the offset between the reference position (the hitch) on following vehicle <NUM> and the position sensor <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM>. Once this offset is known, then the location of the front wall <NUM> of receiving vehicle <NUM> to the hitch can be calculated by following vehicle reference locator system <NUM>. The result is that system <NUM> generates an output indicating the location of the selected receiving vehicle parameter (in this case the front wall <NUM> of receiving vehicle <NUM>) relative to the reference point on the following vehicle <NUM> (in this case the hitch of following vehicle <NUM>). This is referred to herein as the calibrated offset value.

Parameter location output generator <NUM> generates an output from calibration system <NUM> to store the calibration offset value in data store <NUM> for his particular following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair. Thus, when vehicle position detection system <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM> encounters this following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair during the harvesting operation, the calibrated offset value can be retrieved and used in controlling the unloading operation during which harvested material is unloaded from leading vehicle <NUM> into receiving vehicle <NUM>.

<FIG> and <FIG> (collectively referred to herein as <FIG>) show a flow diagram illustrating one example of the operation of agricultural system <NUM> in performing a calibration operation to identify the calibrated offset value corresponding to one or more receiving vehicle parameters of receiving vehicle <NUM>. It is first assumed that the work machines are configured so that a calibration operation can be performed, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In one example, the leading vehicle <NUM> is a harvester as indicated by block <NUM> and the following vehicle is a tractor or other towing vehicle as indicated by block <NUM>. Also in the example, the receiving vehicle is a grain cart as indicated by block <NUM>. Also, in the present example, it is assumed that both the leading vehicle and the following vehicle have a position sensing system <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Further, it is assumed that leading vehicle <NUM> has a receiving vehicle sensor <NUM> that is at a known location and orientation on leading vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The receiving vehicle sensor <NUM> may be an image capture device, such as a stereo camera <NUM>, a RADAR sensor <NUM>, a LIDAR sensor <NUM>, etc. The work machines may be configured in other ways to perform the calibration operation as well, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

Detecting a calibration trigger is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In one example, operator <NUM> may provide an operator input through operator interface system <NUM> to trigger a calibration operation for the following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair. Detecting a trigger based on an operator input is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Calibration trigger detector <NUM> may detect a trigger based upon leading vehicle <NUM> beginning to perform the harvesting operation, which may be detected by detecting engagement of the header or other harvesting functionality, or in another way. Detecting a trigger based upon the beginning of the machine operation is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The calibration trigger may be detected based on following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair detector <NUM> detecting that the current following vehicle/receiving vehicle pair is a new pair for which no calibration offset data has been generated. Detecting a trigger based on the detection of a new vehicle (one for which no calibration offset data is stored) is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The calibration trigger can be detected in a variety of other ways, based upon other trigger criteria as well, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

Once the calibration operation has been triggered, operator prompt generator <NUM> generates a prompt that can be displayed or otherwise output to operator <NUM> and/or operator <NUM> by operator interface systems <NUM>, <NUM>, respectively. The prompt prompts the operator, to move the vehicles so the material receiving vehicle <NUM> is in a position where at least one of the receiving vehicle parameters is detectable by the receiving vehicle sensor(s) <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM>. Outputting such a prompt is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>, and outputting the prompt to one or both operators is indicated by block <NUM>. Again, the receiving vehicle parameters to be detected may include the front wall <NUM>, rear wall <NUM>, near wall <NUM>, far all <NUM>, etc., as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

Therefore, for instance, the operators <NUM>, <NUM> of the vehicles <NUM>, <NUM> may position receiving vehicle <NUM> so that the receiving vehicle parameter to be located is in the field of view of the image sensor or camera <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In another example, the receiving vehicle parameter to be located is detectable by one of the other sensors <NUM>-<NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In yet another example, the receiving vehicle parameter to be located (e.g., the front wall <NUM> of vehicle <NUM>) is aligned with a known point of reference on leading vehicle <NUM>. For instance, it may be that the spout <NUM> on the combine harvester <NUM> is at a known location relative to the position sensor <NUM> on combine harvester <NUM>. In that case, the front wall <NUM> of receiving vehicle <NUM> may be aligned with the spout <NUM> so that the location of front wall <NUM>, relative to the reference point (e.g., spout <NUM>) on leading vehicle <NUM> is known. Aligning the receiving vehicle parameter to be located with a known reference point on the leading vehicle <NUM> is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The prompt can be output to the operators in other ways as well, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

Leading vehicle reference locator system <NUM> then detects a location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to the sensor <NUM> on the leading vehicle as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In one example, camera <NUM> captures an image of receiving vehicle <NUM> and image processor <NUM> processes the image captured by camera <NUM> using a machine learned processor, or disparity image processor, etc., in order to identify the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) in the captured image, as indicated by block <NUM>. System <NUM> can then obtain data identifying the known sensor location and/or orientation of the receiving vehicle sensor <NUM> (e.g., camera <NUM>) on leading vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM>. System <NUM> uses the location of the front wall <NUM> in the captured image and the location and orientation of the camera <NUM> to calculate the location of front wall <NUM> relative to camera <NUM>.

It will be noted that, instead of using image processing to identify the location of front wall <NUM> (or another receiving vehicle parameter) in the captured image, an operator input can be used to identify the receiving vehicle parameter in the captured image. <FIG>, for instance, shows one example of an operator interface display <NUM> on a display device <NUM> displaying a side view of the receiving vehicle <NUM>. The side view is slightly elevated so that the front wall <NUM>, rear wall <NUM>, near wall <NUM>, and far wall <NUM>, of receiving vehicle <NUM> are all visible. In the example shown in <FIG>, operator <NUM> can use a touch gesture (or point and click device) to trace along the front wall <NUM> (as indicated in <FIG>) to identify the location of front wall <NUM> in the captured image. Also, of course, where the receiving vehicle parameter to be located is the rear wall, or the side walls, operator <NUM> can trace along those walls.

In another example, system <NUM> can project a line on the video displayed to the operator and the operator can then align the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) with the line. For example, in <FIG>, system <NUM> can project line <NUM> on the display <NUM> (which may be a live video feed from camera <NUM>) so the operator(s) can align front wall <NUM> with line <NUM>. System <NUM> knows the pixels used to display line <NUM>. Therefore, once front wall <NUM> is aligned with line <NUM> (which can be indicated by an operator input), system <NUM> will know the location of front wall <NUM> in the image <NUM>.

<FIG>, for example, is similar to <FIG> and similar items are similarly numbered. However, the view of receiving vehicle <NUM> is slightly more elevated and from a slightly different perspective than that shown in <FIG>. In <FIG>, it can be seen that the operator has traced along the top edge of the far wall <NUM> (or a line has been projected at that location and wall <NUM> has been aligned with the line) to identify the location of the far wall <NUM> in the displayed image <NUM>. Identifying the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., one of walls of the receiving vehicle or top edge of the wall, etc.) based on operator interaction with the displayed image is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Projecting a line and aligning the receiving vehicle parameter with the line is indicated by block <NUM>. Detecting a location of the receiving vehicle parameter in the image and relative to the camera <NUM> can be done in other ways as well, as indicated by block <NUM>.

Again, once the location of the receiving vehicle parameter is identified in the image, then using the known location and orientation of the camera <NUM>, the location of the receiving vehicle parameter can be identified relative to one or more other reference points on receiving vehicle <NUM>.

Calculating or otherwise obtaining the location of the receiving vehicle parameter relative to the location of a reference point on the leading vehicle <NUM> is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. In one example, the reference point on leading vehicle <NUM> is the location of the position sensor <NUM>. Thus, leading vehicle reference locator system <NUM> identifies the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) on receiving vehicle <NUM> relative to the location of the position sensor <NUM> on leading vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Of course, where the reference point is a different reference point on leading vehicle <NUM>, then the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to that reference point can be calculated as well. Identifying the location of the receiving vehicle parameter relative to the location of another reference point on leading vehicle <NUM> is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

Vehicle-to-vehicle location system <NUM> uses communication system <NUM> and communication system <NUM> to communicate with one another so that the position of following vehicle <NUM> can be identified relative to the position of the leading vehicle <NUM> as indicated by block <NUM>. In one example, the position of one vehicle relative to the other can be calculated using the absolute positions of both vehicles sensed by the corresponding position sensors <NUM> and <NUM>. In another example, other sensors can be used (such as RADAR, LIDAR, etc.) to detect the relative position of the two vehicles.

Once vehicle-to-vehicle location system <NUM> identifies the relative locations of the two vehicles relative to one another, then following vehicle reference locator <NUM> can identify the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to the coordinates of a reference point on the following vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The reference point on following vehicle <NUM> can be any of a wide variety of different reference points, such as the location of the position sensor <NUM>, the location of a hitch or wheelbase, etc. Determining the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to the location of position sensor <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM> is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Determining the location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to the hitch or wheel base of the following vehicle <NUM> can be done by retrieving vehicle dimension information from data store <NUM> or data store <NUM> or elsewhere, where the dimension information identifies the location of the reference point relative to the position sensor <NUM>. Identifying the location of the receiving vehicle parameter relative to another reference point on following vehicle <NUM> in this way is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The location of the receiving vehicle parameter (e.g., front wall <NUM>) relative to the location of a reference point on the following vehicle <NUM> can be done in a wide variety of other ways as well, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

When more receiving vehicle parameters (e.g., rear wall, side walls, etc.) are to be located relative to the reference point on following vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>, processing reverts to block <NUM> where the operators are prompted to position the two vehicles relative to one another so that the next receiving vehicle parameter can be detected by the receiving vehicle sensors <NUM> (e.g., camera <NUM>) on leading vehicle <NUM>. It will be noted that, in one example, the location of the receiving vehicle parameters relative to a reference position on the following vehicle <NUM> can be determined or calculated in a priority order. The priority may be to first locate the front wall <NUM>, then the rear wall <NUM>, then the near wall <NUM> and finally the far wall <NUM>. In another example, only the front wall <NUM> is located and then known dimensional information (e.g., the length of the receiving vehicle <NUM>) is used to identify the location of the rear wall. Similarly, a center point on the front wall <NUM> can be located and then width information that defines the width dimension of receiving vehicle <NUM> can be used to locate the side walls <NUM> and <NUM>. In yet another example, the top edges of the walls <NUM>-<NUM> are identified to define the material-receiving opening in material receiving vehicle <NUM>. These are just examples of the different receiving vehicle parameters that can be located relative to a reference point on the following vehicle <NUM>. Other receiving vehicle parameters can be located as well, and they can be located in different orders.

Parameter location output generator <NUM> can generate an output indicative of the locations of the receiving vehicle parameters relative to the reference point on the following vehicle <NUM>, as calibrated offset values, to data store interaction system <NUM> which can store the calibrated offset values in data store <NUM>, data store <NUM>, or elsewhere, where the values can be retrieved by leading vehicle <NUM> when performing the harvesting operation, and when locating the receiving vehicle <NUM> during an unloading operation. Storing the receiving vehicle parameter locations relative to the reference point on the following vehicle <NUM> is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

In one example, the calibrated offset values are stored and indexed by the particular following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair for which the calibrated offset values are calculated, as indicated by block <NUM> so that the values can be looked up during later operation, when a harvester is unloading to this particular following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair (or a similar pair). In one example, the calibration offset values are stored locally in data store <NUM> on vehicle <NUM>, or locally in data store <NUM> on following vehicle <NUM>, as indicated by block <NUM>. In another example, the calibrated offset values can be stored remotely in a cloud-based system, in another remote server architecture, on a different machine, or in a different system which can then be accessed by leading vehicle <NUM> at an appropriate time, as indicated by block <NUM>. In another example, the calibrated offset values can be transmitted to other vehicles (such as other harvesters, etc.) so that the calibration need not be performed by all of the other leading vehicles <NUM> which may encounter this particular following vehicle <NUM>/receiving vehicle <NUM> pair. Sending the calibrated offset values to other vehicles is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. The calibrated offset values can be stored in other ways, and used in other ways (such as in controlling the unloading operation during a subsequent process), as indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>. Retrieving and using the calibrated offset values to control an unloading operation is indicated by block <NUM> in the flow diagram of <FIG>.

It can thus be seen that the present description has described a system which performs a calibration operation that can be used to locate different receiving vehicle parameters relative to a reference point on a following vehicle. This calibrated offset values can then be stored and used in locating the receiving vehicle during subsequent unloading operations so that the receiving vehicle need not be located using visual image capture and image processing, which can be error prone. This increases the accuracy of the unloading operation.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating agricultural machine <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, except that system <NUM> is disposed in a remote server architecture <NUM>. In an example, remote server architecture <NUM> can provide computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location or configuration of the system that delivers the services. In various examples, remote servers can deliver the services over a wide area network, such as the internet, using appropriate protocols. For instance, remote servers can deliver applications over a wide area network and they can be accessed through a web browser or any other computing component. Software or components shown in previous FIGS. as well as the corresponding data, can be stored on servers at a remote location. The computing resources in a remote server environment can be consolidated at a remote data center location or they can be dispersed. Remote server infrastructures can deliver services through shared data centers, even though they appear as a single point of access for the user. Thus, the components and functions described herein can be provided from a remote server at a remote location using a remote server architecture. Alternatively, they can be provided from a conventional server, or they can be installed on client devices directly, or in other ways.

In the example shown in <FIG>, some items are similar to those shown in <FIG> and they are similarly numbered. <FIG> specifically shows that data stores <NUM>, <NUM>, calibration system <NUM>, and other systems <NUM>, can be located at a remote server location <NUM>. Therefore, vehicles <NUM>, <NUM> can access those systems through remote server location <NUM>.

<FIG> also depicts another example of a remote server architecture. <FIG> shows that it is also contemplated that some elements of <FIG> can be disposed at remote server location <NUM> while others are not. By way of example, one or more of data stores <NUM>, <NUM> and other systems <NUM>, or other items can be disposed at a location separate from location <NUM>, and accessed through the remote server at location <NUM>. Regardless of where the items are located, the items can be accessed either directly by machine <NUM> and/or machine <NUM>, through a network (either a wide area network or a local area network), the items can be hosted at a remote site by a service, or the items can be provided as a service, or accessed by a connection service that resides in a remote location. Also, the data can be stored in substantially any location and intermittently accessed by, or forwarded to, interested parties. All of these architectures are contemplated herein.

<FIG> shows that other vehicles <NUM> can communicate with one or more vehicles <NUM>, <NUM>, or with remote server environment <NUM> to obtain the calibrated offset values and/or other information. It will also be noted that the elements of <FIG>, or portions of them, can be disposed on a wide variety of different devices. Some of those devices include servers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, or other mobile devices, such as palm top computers, cell phones, smart phones, multimedia players, personal digital assistants, etc..

<FIG> is a simplified block diagram of one illustrative example of a handheld or mobile computing device that can be used as a user's or client's hand held device <NUM>, in which the present system (or parts of it) can be deployed. For instance, a mobile device can be deployed in the operator compartment of one or both of vehicles <NUM>, <NUM> for use in generating, processing, or displaying the calibrated offset values. <FIG> are examples of handheld or mobile devices.

<FIG> provides a general block diagram of the components of a client device <NUM> that can run some components shown in <FIG>, that interacts with them, or both. In the device <NUM>, a communications link <NUM> is provided that allows the handheld device to communicate with other computing devices and in some examples provides a channel for receiving information automatically, such as by scanning. Examples of communications link <NUM> include allowing communication though one or more communication protocols, such as wireless services used to provide cellular access to a network, as well as protocols that provide local wireless connections to networks.

In other examples, applications can be received on a removable Secure Digital (SD) card that is connected to an interface <NUM>. Interface <NUM> and communication links <NUM> communicate with a processor <NUM> (which can also embody processors from previous FIGS. ) along a bus <NUM> that is also connected to memory <NUM> and input/output (I/O) components <NUM>, as well as clock <NUM> and location system <NUM>.

I/O components <NUM>, in one example, are provided to facilitate input and output operations. I/O components <NUM> for various examples of the device <NUM> can include input components such as buttons, touch sensors, optical sensors, microphones, touch screens, proximity sensors, accelerometers, orientation sensors and output components such as a display device, a speaker, and or a printer port. Other I/O components <NUM> can be used as well.

This can include, for instance, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a dead reckoning system, a cellular triangulation system, or other positioning system. Location system <NUM> can also include, for example, mapping software or navigation software that generates desired maps, navigation routes and other geographic functions.

Memory <NUM> stores operating system <NUM>, network settings <NUM>, applications <NUM>, application configuration settings <NUM>, data store <NUM>, communication drivers <NUM>, and communication configuration settings <NUM>. Memory <NUM> can include all types of tangible volatile and non-volatile computer-readable memory devices. Memory <NUM> can also include computer storage media (described below). Memory <NUM> stores computer readable instructions that, when executed by processor <NUM>, cause the processor to perform computer-implemented steps or functions according to the instructions. Processor <NUM> can be activated by other components to facilitate their functionality as well.

<FIG> shows one example in which device <NUM> is a tablet computer <NUM>. In <FIG>, computer <NUM> is shown with user interface display screen <NUM>. Screen <NUM> can be a touch screen or a pen-enabled interface that receives inputs from a pen or stylus. Tablet computer <NUM> can also use an on-screen virtual keyboard. Of course, computer <NUM> might also be attached to a keyboard or other user input device through a suitable attachment mechanism, such as a wireless link or USB port, for instance. Computer <NUM> can also illustratively receive voice inputs as well.

<FIG> is one example of a computing environment in which elements of <FIG>, or parts of it, (for example) can be deployed. With reference to <FIG>, an example system for implementing some embodiments includes a computing device in the form of a computer <NUM> programmed to operate as discussed above. Components of computer <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit <NUM> (which can comprise processors from previous FIGS. ), a system memory <NUM>, and a system bus <NUM> that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit <NUM>. The system bus <NUM> may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Memory and programs described with respect to <FIG> can be deployed in corresponding portions of <FIG>.

Computer storage media includes hardware storage media including both volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.

The computer <NUM> is operated in a networked environment using logical connections (such as a controller area network - CAN, local area network - LAN, or wide area network WAN) to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer <NUM>.

It should also be noted that the different example described herein can be combined in different ways. That is, parts of one or more examples can be combined with parts of one or more other examples. All of this is contemplated herein.

Claim 1:
A work machine system including a leading vehicle (<NUM>) configured to unload material into a receiving vehicle (<NUM>) during an unloading operation, the receiving vehicle (<NUM>) being configured to be propelled by a following vehicle (<NUM>), the work machine system comprising:
a receiving vehicle sensor (<NUM>) mounted to the leading vehicle (<NUM>), the receiving vehicle sensor (<NUM>) being configured to detect a receiving vehicle parameter and generate a sensor signal responsive to the detected receiving vehicle parameter;
a leading vehicle reference locator system (<NUM>) configured to identify a first offset value that is indicative of a location of the receiving vehicle parameter relative to a first reference point on the leading vehicle (<NUM>);
a following vehicle reference locator system (<NUM>) configured to identify a second offset value that is indicative of a location of a second reference point on the following vehicle (<NUM>) relative to the first reference point on the leading vehicle (<NUM>);
a receiving vehicle parameter locator system (<NUM>) configured to identify a calibrated offset value indicative of a location of the receiving vehicle parameter relative to the second reference point on the following vehicle (<NUM>) based on the first offset value and the second offset value; and
an unloading control system (<NUM>) configured to control the unloading operation based on the calibrated offset value.