What is claimed is:
1 . A power equipment device, comprising:
a steering apparatus including one or more electric motors configured to change an orientation of the power equipment device on a surface in response to a direction change signal; a steering control unit for generating and outputting values for the direction change signal to implement the change in the orientation of the power equipment device; an operator activated manual steering mode causing the steering control unit to receive a first steering control signal generated in response to a rotation of a wheel encoder module, wherein the steering control unit stores a calibration between the direction change signal and the first steering control signal enabling manual steering of the power equipment device in response to the rotation of the wheel encoder module; an operator activated autonomous steering mode causing the steering control unit to calculate a second steering control signal in response to comparing a current position or orientation of the power equipment device generated by a positioning module relative to a target position or orientation of the power equipment device; an autonomous guidance module comprising one or more user input devices and configured to define a primary path in response to a plurality of activations of the one or more user input devices and respective position location determinations of the power equipment device generated by the positioning module at respective times of the plurality of activations, the autonomous guidance module further configured to define subsequent paths parallel to or substantially parallel to the primary path, wherein the target position or orientation of the power equipment device is defined by a target path comprising one of: the primary path or one of the subsequent paths; wherein at least one of the wheel encoder module or the autonomous guidance module is positioned on a first operator armrest of the power equipment device; wherein the autonomous guidance module includes an output device indicating at least one of a status of definition of the primary path or the subsequent paths, or a status of activation of the manual steering mode or the autonomous steering mode; and wherein the autonomous guidance module includes a leftward U-turn command and a rightward U-turn command, causing the power equipment device to respectively change the target path to an adjacent path of the primary path or the subsequent paths in a left-side orientation or a right-side orientation to the target path, wherein one or more U-turns are performed utilizing three-state auto-turn steering comprising at least a first stage moderate-radius constant turn, a second stage zero-radius turn, and a third stage auto-turn in response to the leftward U-turn command or the rightward U-turn command.
2 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the wheel encoder module is positioned on the first operator armrest of the power equipment device, and wherein the autonomous guidance module is positioned on a second operator armrest of the power equipment device.
3 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the third stage auto-turn is implemented by utilizing an algorithm for generating steering adjustment data to align a current heading of the power equipment device with a target heading or the target path.
4 . The power equipment device of claim 2 , wherein the first operator armrest of the power equipment device is a left-side operator armrest of the power equipment device, and wherein the second operator armrest of the power equipment device is a right-side operator armrest of the power equipment device.
5 . The power equipment device of claim 2 , wherein the first operator armrest is movable from a first rest position to a second rest position, wherein the first rest position is an open position away from an operator position on the power equipment device, and the second rest position is a closed position close to the operator position on the power equipment device.
6 . The power equipment device of claim 5 , further comprising an operator adjustment configured to adjust a first location of the first rest position, or to adjust a second location of the second rest position.
7 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the wheel encoder module comprises a jog wheel having a rotational tension that is independent of a mechanical tension of the steering apparatus of the power equipment device.
8 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the output device further indicates a status of GPS acquisition.
9 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more user input devices of the autonomous guidance module include a power takeoff (PTO) activation/deactivation input device that engages/disengages a PTO unit of the power equipment device.
10 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more user input devices of the autonomous guidance module include a deck transport input device causing a mechanical control unit of the power equipment device to disengage a mower deck of the power equipment device in response to activation of the deck transport input device.
11 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the autonomous guidance module comprises a formed surface component and a control panel component.
12 . The power equipment device of claim 1 , wherein the leftward U-turn command comprises a leftward U-turn command button, and wherein the rightward U-turn command comprises a rightward U-turn command button.
13 . A power equipment device, comprising:
a steering apparatus including one or more electric motors configured to change an orientation of the power equipment device on a surface in response to a direction change signal; a steering control unit for generating and outputting values for the direction change signal to implement the change in the orientation of the power equipment device; an operator activated manual steering mode causing the steering control unit to receive a first steering control signal generated responsive to a rotation of a wheel encoder module, wherein the steering control unit stores a calibration between the direction change signal and the first steering control signal enabling manual steering of the power equipment device in response to the rotation of the wheel encoder module; an operator activated autonomous steering mode causing the steering control unit to calculate a second steering control signal in response to comparing a current position or orientation of the power equipment device generated by a positioning module relative to a target position or orientation of the power equipment device; an autonomous guidance module comprising one or more user input devices and configured to define a primary path in response to a plurality of activations of the one or more user input devices and respective position location determinations of the power equipment device generated by the positioning module at respective times of the plurality of activations, the autonomous guidance module further configured to define subsequent paths parallel to or substantially parallel to the primary path, wherein the target position or orientation of the power equipment device is defined by a target path comprising one of: the primary path or one of the subsequent paths; wherein the wheel encoder module is positioned on a first operator armrest of the power equipment device, and wherein the autonomous guidance module is positioned on a second operator armrest of the power equipment device; wherein the autonomous guidance module includes a leftward U-turn command and a rightward U-turn com
