System and method for job site project tracking

Abstract

A method (500) includes receiving target data (502) for a paving project (206) corresponding to a work cycle. The method (500) also includes receiving sensor data (504) from one or more components associated with the paving project (206), determining a progress value (506) representing a progress of the one or more components of the paving project (206), and determining a threshold progress value (510) for a time period, the duration of the time period being less than the duration of the work cycle. The method (500) also includes determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value (512), generating at least one of an alert or a recommendation (518), and sending the alert or the recommendation (520) to an electronic device (128).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a paving system. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a paving system including a control system configured to determine and track paving progress of a paving project. Background Art

[0002] Paving machines, compactors / rollers, haul trucks, and other paving equipment are often used to perform various tasks associated with a job site. For example, one or more haul trucks may be used to transport paving material from a paving material equipment to a job site so that the paving material can be distributed by one or more paving machines along the working surface of the job site. One or more compactors may follow behind one or more paving machines and may be operated to compact the newly laid paving material to a desired density or stiffness. The operation of such machines must be coordinated to efficiently perform paving operations. However, in some cases, it may be difficult to track the completion progress of multiple machines implemented in a paving project. Therefore, projects are often evaluated when the project is completed. Therefore, while the project is ongoing, the foreman or other workers involved in the project do not have the ability to evaluate the project's productivity and progress.

[0003] An exemplary system for tracking machine productivity on a job site is described in U.S. Patent No. 8,306,731 (hereinafter referred to as the '731 reference). Specifically, the '731 reference describes a system for evaluating the productivity of workers using vehicles on a job site. The '731 reference describes, for example, a system that characterizes vehicle usage into different status categories. Such status categories can be compared to relevant standards to provide a measure of vehicle productivity. The productivity measurements can be combined with geographic information to provide productivity measurements in a geographic context. However, the '731 reference does not describe tracking the progress of job site projects. For example, the '731 reference does not determine the progress of various paving events of a paving project or the progress of the entire project. Therefore, the system described in the '731 reference is not configured to provide notifications to foremen and other job site personnel, among other things, indicating that productivity targets are not being met.

[0004] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to overcoming the above-mentioned drawbacks. Summary of the invention

[0005] In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method includes receiving, with a controller, target data for a paving project corresponding to a work cycle. The method also includes receiving, with the controller, sensor data from one or more machines associated with the paving project, determining, with the controller and based at least in part on the sensor data, a progress value representing a progress of the paving project, determining, with the controller, a threshold productivity value for a time period less than the work cycle, determining, with the controller, that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. The method also includes generating, with the controller and based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, at least one of an alert or a suggestion, and sending, with the controller, at least one of the alert or the suggestion to an electronic device associated with a user.

[0006] In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a paving system includes one or more paving machines configured to pave a surface, one or more haul trucks configured to haul material from a paving material equipment to the one or more paving machines at a work site, and a system controller in communication with at least one of the one or more haul trucks. In such examples, the system controller is configured to receive target data corresponding to a work cycle, the target data including an amount of material to be paved during the work cycle, receive sensor data from at least one of the one or more paving machines, the one or more haul trucks, or the paving material equipment, and determine a progress value based at least in part on the sensor data that at least represents an amount of material that has been paved during at least a portion of the work cycle. In such examples, the system controller is further configured to determine a threshold productivity value for a time period less than the work cycle, the threshold productivity being based at least in part on the progress data and the work cycle, determine that the progress value is less than the threshold productivity value for the time period, and send an indication to a device associated with a user that the progress value is less than the threshold productivity value for the time period.

[0007] In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a system includes one or more processors and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations. In such examples, the operations include receiving input including one or more parameters for a paving project from an electronic device associated with a user, generating target data for the paving project based at least in part on the one or more parameters, and receiving sensor data from one or more machines associated with the paving project. In such examples, the operations also include determining a progress value based at least in part on the sensor data, the progress value representing an amount of the paving project completed, determining a threshold progress value within a time period based at least in part on the target data, determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, generating a notification indicating that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, and sending the notification to an electronic device associated with the user. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a paving system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Figure 2 Is Figure 1 Illustration of an exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in .

[0010] Figure 3 Is Figure 1 Illustration of another exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in .

[0011] Figure 4 Is Figure 1 Illustration of yet another exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in .

[0012] Figure 5 Is to describe the use Figure 1 Flow chart of an exemplary method for determining and tracking the progress of a paving project for a paving system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. Figure 1, an exemplary paving system 100 may include one or more paving material equipment 102, and a plurality of machines, such as one or more haul trucks 104 and / or one or more paving machines 106. For example, the paving material equipment 102 may include various equipment configured to heat, produce, sense, store, and / or transport paving material 108, such as asphalt (or other materials). For example, one or more haul trucks 104 may be loaded with a desired amount of paving material 108 at the paving material equipment 102, and the haul trucks 104 may deliver the paving material 108 to the paving machine 106. The paving machine 106 may deposit the paving material 108 onto a working surface 110 at a work site 112. In any of the examples described herein, the one or more haul trucks 104 may be configured to travel along at least one travel path 114 extending from the paving material equipment 102 to the work site 112. Such a travel path 114 may include one or more partially or fully formed roads, highways, bridges, service roads, or other surfaces that may be traversed by construction and / or paving machines. Such exemplary work sites 112 may include, for example, a construction site, a road work site, a parking lot, or any other type of work site. Once one or more haul trucks 104 have delivered paving material 108 to work site 112, haul trucks 104 may transfer paving material 108 to a hopper or other component of paving machine 106, and paving machine 106 may apply paving material 108 to work surface 110 and / or otherwise deposit paving material 108 on the work surface in the form of a substantially flat, substantially smooth mat of paving material 108.

[0014] like Figure 1 As shown, the exemplary paving system 100 may include a first haul truck 104a, a second haul truck 104b, a third haul truck 104c, a fourth haul truck 104d, a fifth haul truck 104e, a sixth haul truck 104f, a seventh haul truck 104g (collectively referred to herein as "haul trucks 104"), and / or one or more additional haul trucks (not shown). In an exemplary embodiment, the paving system 100 may include a plurality of haul trucks greater than or less than 100 haul trucks. Figure 1 The seven haul trucks 104 shown in FIG. Figure 1As shown in FIG. 1 , haul trucks 104 may travel sequentially (e.g., one after another) from paving material equipment 102 to work site 112 along travel path 114, and may return sequentially to paving material equipment 102 along substantially the same travel path 114 or along separate (e.g., different) travel paths 114. For example, haul trucks 104 may deliver paving material 108 to work site 112 by sequentially traversing first portion 116 of travel path 114 extending from paving material equipment 102 to work site 112, and may return to paving material equipment 102 (or other location) by sequentially traversing second portion 118 of travel path 114 extending from work site 112 to paving material equipment 102.

[0015] In addition, although Figure 1 106 , but it should be understood that the paving system 100 may also include one or more other machines, such as one or more compactors and / or one or more remix transfer vehicles. In such examples, the one or more compactors may be configured to compact the mat of paving material 108 to a desired density. It should be understood that when the paving machine 106 is controlled to operate without stopping, the consistency, density, and / or quality of the mat of paving material can be maximized. Therefore, in order to avoid paving machine downtime, the expected arrival time of the exemplary haul truck 104a at the work site 112 may be determined as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 104,514, entitled “System and Method for Determining Haul Truck Arrival” filed on August 17, 2018, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In any of the examples described herein, the determined expected arrival time of the haul truck 104 at the work site 112 may be used to control the speed, paving rate, and / or other operations of the paving machine 106. For example, in examples where the determined arrival time indicates that the haul truck 104 is behind schedule and / or is otherwise delayed in arriving at the work site 112, the determined arrival time may be used to reduce the speed and / or paving rate of the paving machine 106. As a result, the determined arrival time of the haul truck 104 may be used to avoid downtime of the paving machine 106. Additionally and / or alternatively, the paving rate at which the paving machine 106 is operating may be (reasonably) increased in order to reduce the amount of time that the haul truck 104 is waiting at the work site 112 to dispense paving material 108 into the paving machine 106 or other machine. Thus, the determined arrival time may be used to maximize the quality of the mat of paving material 108, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the paving system 100.

[0016] In an exemplary embodiment, the paving material equipment 102 can produce paving material 108, such as asphalt, from asphalt, aggregates, and any other materials or fillers. The paving material 108 can be produced in batches, each batch being stored or stored in a separate storage or storage location (e.g., a silo) until it is loaded onto one or more haul trucks 104 at a loading station of the paving material equipment 102. Each storage location can be dedicated to storing or storing paving materials 108 for a specific work site 112, and the paving materials 108 in a specific storage location are periodically loaded into one or more haul trucks 104 for transportation to the work site 112. The characteristics of each batch stored in the storage location can be set based on the desired characteristics of a specific paving project. For example, the amount of oil and the size of the aggregate can be set based on the desired characteristics of the paving material 108 and the requirements of each paving project. Each batch of paving material 108 can be periodically or continuously mixed at the storage location and maintained at a desired temperature. The temperature at which paving material 108 is maintained may be set based on the desired temperature at which paving material 108 will be loaded into haul truck 104. Such loading temperature may be based on the desired temperature at which the load will be delivered to paving machine 106, the ambient temperature of the air, the expected time required for a haul truck to drive from paving material equipment 102 to work site 112 (e.g., to paving machine 106), and any expected or anticipated waiting time for haul truck 104 at work site 112.

[0017] Figure 1 The paving system 100 shown in FIG. 1 may also include a control system 120 and one or more system controllers 122. In some examples, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may be located at the paving material equipment 102. In such examples, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may also include components located remotely from the paving material equipment 102, such as on any of the machines of the paving system 100, at the work site 112, and / or at a remote command center (not shown). In other examples, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may be located remotely from the paving material equipment 102 and / or remotely from the work site 112, such as at the remote command center mentioned above. In any of the examples described herein, the functionality of the system controller 122 may be distributed, such that certain operations are performed at the paving material equipment 102, while other operations are performed remotely. For example, some operations of the system controller 122 may be performed at the work site 112, on one or more of the haul trucks 104, on one or more of the paving machines 106, and the like. It should be understood that the system controller may include components of paving system 100, paving material equipment 102, one or more of haul trucks 104, one or more of paving machines 106, components of a separate electronic device (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, etc.), and / or control system 120.

[0018] The system controller 122 may be an electronic controller that operates in a logical manner to perform operations, execute algorithms, store and retrieve data, and / or other desired operations. The system controller 122 may include or access memory, auxiliary storage, a processor, and any other components for running application programs. The memory and auxiliary storage may take the form of read-only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM) or integrated circuits accessible to the controller. Various other circuits may be associated with the system controller 122, such as power supply circuits, signal conditioning circuits, driver circuits, and / or other types of circuits.

[0019] The system controller 122 may be a single controller, or may include more than one controller (e.g., additional controllers associated with each of the haul truck 104, the paving machine 106, the compactor (not shown), and / or other machines / components of the paving system 100) configured to control various functions and / or features of the paving system 100. As used herein, the term "controller" is intended in the broadest sense to include one or more controllers, processors, central processing units, and / or microprocessors that may be associated with the paving system 100 and that may cooperate to control various functions and operations of the paving material equipment 102 and machines of the paving system 100. The functions of the system controller 122 may be implemented in hardware and / or software regardless of the functions. The system controller 122 may rely on one or more data maps, lookup tables, neural networks, algorithms, machine learning algorithms, data layers, prediction layers, and / or other components related to the operating conditions and operating environment of the paving system 100, which may be stored in a memory of the system controller 122. Each of the data graphs mentioned above may include a collection of data in the form of tables, graphs, and / or equations to maximize the performance and efficiency of the paving system 100 and its operation.

[0020] Components of control system 120 may communicate with and / or otherwise be operably connected to any component of the paving system via network 124. Network 124 may be a local area network ("LAN"), a larger network (e.g., a wide area network ("WAN")), or a collection of networks (e.g., the Internet). Protocols for network communications, such as TCP / IP, may be used to implement network 124. Although embodiments are described herein as using a network 124 such as the Internet, other distribution techniques for transmitting information via a memory card, flash memory, or other portable storage device may be implemented.

[0021] It should also be understood that the paving material equipment 102, each haul truck 104, paving machine 106, compactor (not shown), and / or other components of the paving system 100 may include respective controllers, and each of the respective controllers may be in communication and / or otherwise operably connected via the network 124. For example, the network 124 may include components of a wireless communication system of the paving system 100, and as part of such wireless communication system, the paving material equipment 102, one or more haul trucks 104, paving machine 106, one or more compactors, and / or other components of the paving system 100 may include respective communication devices 126. Such communication devices 126 may be configured to allow wireless transmission of a plurality of signals, instructions, and / or information between the paving material equipment 102, haul trucks 104, paving machine 106, compactors, and system controllers 122, and to allow communication with other machines and systems remote from the paving material equipment 102, haul trucks 104, paving machine 106, and / or work site 112. For example, such a communication device 126 may include a transmitter configured to send a signal to a receiver of one or more other such communication devices 126. In such examples, each communication device 126 may also include a receiver configured to receive such a signal. In some examples, the transmitter and receiver of a particular communication device 126 may be combined into a transceiver or other such components. In any examples described herein, such a communication device 126 may also enable communication with one or more tablet computers, computers, cellular / wireless phones, personal digital assistants, mobile devices, or other electronic devices 128 located at the work site 112, at the paving material equipment 102, and / or away from the work site 112 or the paving material equipment 102. Such electronic devices 128 may include, for example, a mobile phone and / or tablet computer of a project manager (e.g., a foreman) who oversees daily paving operations at the work site 112 and / or the paving material equipment 102.

[0022] The network 124, the communication device 126, and / or other components of the wireless communication system described above may implement or utilize any desired system or protocol including any of a plurality of communication standards. The desired protocol will allow communication between the system controller 122, one or more of the communication devices 126, and / or any other desired machines or components of the paving system 100. Examples of wireless communication systems or protocols that may be used by the paving system 100 described herein include wireless personal area networks (e.g., IEEE 802.15) such as BluetoothRTM., local area networks such as IEEE 802.11b or 802.11g, cellular networks, or any other system or protocol for data transmission. Other wireless communication systems and configurations are contemplated. In some cases, wireless communications may be sent and received directly between the control system 120 and the machines of the paving system 100 (e.g., paving machine 106, haul truck 104, etc.) or between such machines. In other cases, communications may be automatically routed without the need for remote personnel to retransmit.

[0023] In an exemplary embodiment, one or more machines of the paving system 100 (e.g., one or more haul trucks 104, paving machines 106, etc.) may include a position sensor 130 configured to determine the position and / or orientation of the respective machine. In such embodiments, the communication device 126 of the respective machine may be configured to generate and / or send a signal indicating such determined position and / or orientation to, for example, the system controller 122 and / or other respective machines of the paving system 100. In some examples, the position sensor 130 of the respective machine may include and / or contain components of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) or a global positioning system (GPS). Alternatively, a universal total station (UTS) may be utilized to locate the respective position of the machine. In some embodiments, one or more of the position sensors 130 described herein may include a GPS receiver, a transmitter, a transceiver, a laser prism, and / or other such devices, and the position sensor 130 may communicate with one or more GPS satellites 132 and / or a UTS continuously, substantially continuously, or at various time intervals to determine the respective position of the machine to which the position sensor 130 is connected. One or more additional machines of the paving system 100 may also communicate with one or more GPS satellites 132 and / or UTS, and such GPS satellites 132 and / or UTS may also be configured to determine the respective positions of such additional machines. In any of the examples described herein, the machine positions determined by the respective position sensors 130 may be used by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 to coordinate the activities of the haul truck 104, the paving machine 106, and / or other components of the paving system 100. For example, the machine positions determined by the respective position sensors 130 may be used by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 to determine the delivery rate of the paving material 108 from the paving material equipment 102 to the work site 112. For example, the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may use such machine positions to track and determine the progress of the paving project at the work site 112. For example, the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may track the amount of paving material 108 hauled from the paving material equipment 102 to the paving machine 106 by the haul truck 104. The system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may also track the amount of paving material 108 that has been laid by the paving machine 106, the current and / or historical paving rates, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104, the amount of paving material 108 on the way to the job site 112, etc. Such progress data may be compared to target data received by the operator / foreman and / or compared to target data (or guidance targets) automatically generated by the system controller 122 and / or other components (as will be further described below).System controller 122 and / or other components of paving system 100 may also generate user interface 133 that includes information indicating the progress of the paving project and / or the productivity of one or more components of paving system 100, among other things. System controller 122 may provide user interface 133 to, for example, electronic device 128, a controller of paving machine 106, and / or other components of paving system 100 for display via network 124 so that the operation of various components of paving system 100 may be modified and / or otherwise controlled based, at least in part, on the progress data. In examples where paving machine 106, compactor, and / or other components of paving system 100 are operating under autonomous or semi-autonomous control, the speed, steering, paving rate, and / or other functions of such components may be automatically or semi-automatically controlled based, at least in part, on the progress data.

[0024] Continue to refer Figure 1 The paving material equipment 102 may include various material delivery components, mixers, heaters, and / or other equipment configured to assist in manufacturing paving material 108 for use in various paving operations. For example, such equipment may include one or more conveyors or other devices configured to transfer paving material 108 to one or more paving material silos 134 or other holding locations for storage therein. The paving material equipment 102 may also include one or more loading stations 136 configured to transfer paving material 108 from one or more paving material silos 134 to one or more haul trucks 104. In such examples, the paving material silos 134 may include one or more sensors 138 configured to determine the temperature of the paving material 108 stored within the paving material silos 134 and / or the amount of paving material 108 stored within the paving material silos 134 (e.g., the fill level of the paving material silos 134). Similarly, the loading station 136 may include one or more sensors 140 configured to determine the location of one or more haul trucks 104 (e.g., Figure 1 The sensors 140 may also include a weight sensor or other mass sensor configured to determine the weight of the haul truck 104a upon entering the loading station 136, the weight of the haul truck 104a after the paving material has been loaded into the truck 104a, and / or a change in the weight of the haul truck 104a.

[0025] The paving equipment 102 may also include one or more scale rooms, operator stations, or other stations 142 for use by paving equipment personnel. Figure 1 As shown in dashed lines, one or more such stations 142 may include a paving equipment controller 144 that is substantially similar and / or identical to the system controller 122 described above. In some examples, the paving equipment controller 144 may include components of the control system 120. In any of the examples described herein, the paving equipment controller 144 and / or other components of the paving equipment 102 may be configured to monitor, record, and / or communicate the activities of various haul trucks 104 entering and exiting the paving equipment 102. For example, various sensors of the paving equipment 102 and / or the paving equipment controller 144 may monitor, sense, determine, record, and / or transmit information indicating when a particular haul truck 104a enters the paving equipment 102, when a haul truck 104a exits the paving equipment 102, the amount of paving material 108 loaded into a particular exiting haul truck 104a, the destination of the particular haul truck 104a (e.g., the location of the work site 112), the operator of the haul truck 104a, and / or other information. Such information may be used by, for example, system controller 122 in any of the schedule determinations, productivity determinations, and / or other operations described herein.

[0026] In some examples, more information associated with the haul truck 104a may be collected when a particular haul truck 104a is positioned at the paving material equipment 102. For example, each haul truck 104 may have a unique license plate number, a unique truck identification number, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and / or other haul truck identifier that is unique to the respective haul truck 104a. In such examples, when the haul truck 104a is positioned at the loading station 136, the sensor 140 may scan, observe, and / or otherwise determine the truck identifier that is unique to the respective haul truck 104a. Additionally and / or alternatively, when the haul truck 104a is positioned at the station 142, the haul truck identifier that is unique to the respective haul truck 104a may be scanned, observed, and / or otherwise determined by one or more sensors (not shown) associated with the station 142. Additionally and / or alternatively, when haul truck 104a is disposed at loading station 136, station 142, and / or at other locations within paving material equipment 102, paving material equipment personnel may use one or more handheld scanners, sensors, or other devices to scan, observe, and / or otherwise determine a haul truck identifier unique to respective haul truck 104a. In any such examples, the sensors, handheld scanners, or other devices described above may provide the determined haul truck identifier to paving material equipment controller 144 in one or more signals transmitted over network 124 along with a timestamp indicating the time when the haul truck identifier was determined.

[0027] As described above, the haul trucks 104 of the paving system 100 can operate to transport paving material 108 between the paving material equipment 102 and one or more of the paving machines 106 located at the work site 112. Each haul truck 104 can include a chassis 146 supporting a prime mover, such as an engine, and a cab 148 in which an operator can be positioned to provide input commands for operating the haul truck 104. The engine is operably connected to and drives a ground engaging drive mechanism, such as wheels. A material transfer unit, such as a dump body 150, is pivotally mounted on the chassis 146 and receives a payload (e.g., paving material 108) to be hauled from one location to another.

[0028] Each of the haul trucks 104 may include a truck control system 152 and a truck controller 154 that are substantially similar or identical to the control system 120 and the system controller 122, respectively. The truck control system 152 and the truck controller 154 may be located on the respective one of the haul trucks 104 and may also include components located remotely from the respective one of the haul trucks 104, such as on any other machine of the paving system 100, at the paving material equipment 102, or at a command center (not shown). The functionality of the truck controller 154 may be distributed such that certain functions are performed on the respective one of the haul trucks 104 and other functions are performed remotely. In some examples, the truck control system 152 and / or the truck controller 154 may enable autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control of the respective one of the haul trucks 104.

[0029] The haul trucks 104 may also be equipped with a plurality of sensors connected to and / or otherwise communicating with the truck controller 154 and / or the system controller 122. Such sensors may be configured to provide (directly or indirectly) data indicative of various operating parameters of the respective one of the haul trucks 104, systems associated with the respective one of the haul trucks 104, and / or the work site 112 and / or other environment in which the respective one of the haul trucks 104 operates. In any of the examples described herein, such sensors may generally include components of the truck control system 152, the control system 120, and / or the paving system 100. For example, as described above, each haul truck 104 may be equipped with a position sensor 130 configured to sense, detect, and / or otherwise determine the position and / or orientation of the respective one of the haul trucks 104. The position sensor 130 may include a plurality of individual sensors that cooperate to generate and provide position signals to the truck controller 154 and / or the system controller 122, the position signals indicating the position and / or orientation of the respective one of the haul trucks 104. In some examples, the position sensor 130 may be secured to the cab 148, chassis 146, and / or any other component of the haul truck 104. However, in other examples, the position sensor 130 may be removably attached to a respective one of the haul trucks 104 and / or disposed within the cab 148 of, for example, the haul truck 104a during operation of the haul truck 104a. In some examples, each haul truck 104 may also include a load sensor 156 configured to sense, measure, and / or otherwise determine a load or amount of paving material 108 disposed within the dump body 150. The haul truck 104 may also include a temperature sensor 158 configured to sense, measure, and / or otherwise determine a temperature of the load (e.g., paving material 108) within the dump body 150.

[0030] Continue to refer Figure 1 , the paving machine 106 may include a frame 160 having a set of ground engaging wheels or tracks 162 mounted thereto, and a screed 164 for spreading the paving material 108 across the width of the working surface 110. The paving machine 106 may also include a hopper 166 for storing the paving material 108 supplied by the haul truck 104 or another supply machine, and a conveyor system for conveying the paving material 108 from the hopper 166 to the screed 164. The paving machine 106 may also include an operator console having a display 168, such as an LCD display. The display 168 may be mounted to the frame 160 for viewing by the operator. In an exemplary embodiment, the display 168 may be configured to display the user interface 133 described above. As will be described below, the example user interface 133 may include visual indicia of the paving material equipment 102, visual indicia of the work site 112, identifiers associated with one or more of the corresponding haul trucks 104, productivity of one or more machines of the paving system 100, progress of the paving project, target data associated with the paving project, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the example user interface 133 may include information indicating projected productivity and progress based on target data for the paving project, a current paving rate, location and load data of the one or more haul trucks 104, etc.

[0031] In still further examples, user interface 133 may include a map of work site 112 including icons or other visual indicia representing work surface 110, paving machine 106, one or more of haul trucks 104, and / or other components of paving system 100. User interface 133 may also include a map of an area surrounding work site 112. For example, such a map may include lines, icons, markings, or other visual indicia representing paving material equipment 102, work site 112, a travel path 114 extending from paving material equipment 102 to work site 112, and one or more of haul trucks 104 disposed on travel path 114, one or more additional roads, or other items. In further examples, user interface 133 may include information associated with a respective one of haul trucks 104, paving material information, and / or other information typically included in a paving ticket generated at paving material equipment 102. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that such user interface 133 may be displayed via display 168 , electronic device 128 , and / or via any other display associated with system controller 122 , paving material equipment controller 144 , or other components of control system 120 .

[0032] The paving machine 106 may also include a paving machine control system 170 and a paving machine controller 172 that are substantially similar or identical to the control system 120 and the system controller 122, respectively. The paving machine control system 170 and the paving machine controller 172 may be located on the paving machine 106, and may also include components located remotely from the paving machine 106, such as on any of the other machines of the paving system 100, at the paving material equipment 102, and / or at a remote command center (not shown). The functionality of the paving machine controller 172 may be distributed, such that certain functions are performed on the paving machine 106 and other functions are performed remotely. In some examples, the paving machine control system 170 and / or the paving machine controller 172 may implement autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control of the paving machine 106. For example, the paving machine controller 172 may be configured to receive progress data and / or target data from the system controller 122 indicating the progress and / or productivity of the paving project. In the autonomous or semi-autonomous operating mode, the paver controller 172 and / or the paver control system 170 may generally be operated to cause the paver 106 to travel at a desired paver speed based at least in part on the received progress data and / or target data while depositing paving material 108 on the work surface 110. Such operation and / or control of the paver 106 may ensure that the paving project proceeds as planned.

[0033] The paver 106 may also be equipped with a plurality of sensors connected to and / or otherwise communicating with the paver controller 172 and / or the system controller 122. Such sensors may be configured to provide (directly or indirectly) data indicative of various operating parameters of the paver 106, systems associated with the paver 106, and / or the work site 112, and / or other environments in which the paver 106 is operating. In any of the examples described herein, such sensors may generally include components of the paver control system 170, the control system 120, and / or the paving system 100. For example, in addition to the position sensor 130 and the communication device 126 described above, the paver 106 may also include, for example, a temperature sensor 174 mounted on or near the screed 164. The temperature sensor 174 may be positioned and / or otherwise configured to determine the temperature of the mat of paving material 108 deposited on the working surface 110 by the screed 164. In some examples, temperature sensor 174 may include an optical temperature sensor such as an infrared camera, while in other embodiments, temperature sensor 174 may include a non-optical sensor such as a digital or analog thermometer. Although temperature sensor 174 is shown as being mounted on screed 164 so that it can determine the temperature of paving material 108 deposited on work surface 110 and behind screed 164 as paving progresses, the present disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, in other embodiments, temperature sensor 174 may be mounted at a different location on paving machine 106 and may be configured to sense the temperature of paving material within paving machine 106.

[0034] Figure 2 An exemplary user interface 200 of the present disclosure is shown. The exemplary user interface 200 may include the above Figure 1 any user interface 133 described, and Figure 2 The user interface 200 is shown as being displayed on an LCD display, a CRT display, a touch screen (e.g., capacitive / touch sensitive) display device, and / or other display 202. In some examples, the display 202 may include a display of the electronic device 128, a display associated with the system controller 122, a display associated with the paving material equipment controller 144, and / or a display associated with one or more other components of the control system 120. In other examples, the display 202 may include the same display as described above with respect to Figure 1 Display 168 is depicted as being similar and / or identical to a display of paving machine 106 .

[0035] like Figure 2, an exemplary user interface 200 may include information 204 indicating a project status of one or more paving projects 206. In some examples, the information 204 may include sensor data received from one or more components of the paving system 100. Additionally and / or alternatively, the information 204 may include a progress value generated from the sensor data. For example, the information 204 may include a progress value generated from sensor data from one or more of a paving material device, a paving machine, a haul truck, etc. In some examples, such information 204 may include indicators 204a, 204b, 204c, etc. indicating the status of the corresponding paving project. Although Figure 2Information 204a-204c indicating the project status of three different paving projects 206a-206c is depicted, but it should be understood that the exemplary user interface 200 can provide any number of information indicators 204 for any number of paving projects 206. In some examples, the information 204a for the paving project 206a (also referred to herein as the "first project 206a") may include a corresponding paving project identifier (ID) 208a. The paving project ID 208a may include information indicating the location of the paving project 206a (i.e., the location of the work site 112), information indicating the operator of the paving project 206a, and / or any other unique information or identifier automatically generated or set by a user, such as a foreman or operator. In some examples, the information 204a may include information indicating a completion percentage 210, which indicates the amount of the paving project 206a that has been completed compared to the target data. The completion percentage 210 may also be presented as a completion bar 212 adjacent to the completion percentage 210. As previously described, the completion percentage 210 may be based in part on target data and / or one or more parameters set by a user and / or determined by the paving system 100. For example, a user (e.g., a foreman) may input one or more parameters, including, but not limited to, the total amount of paving material 108 that must (or is desired) be laid to complete the paving project 206a, the work hours required to complete the paving project 206a, an estimated start time / date, an estimated completion time / date, etc. In some examples, the paving system 100 may generate target data based in part on the one or more parameters. For example, a user may input the total amount of paving material 108 to be laid to complete the paving project and a target completion date. Based on such information, the system controller 122 may calculate target data for the paving project, such as a recommended paving rate, a daily amount of paving material 108 to be laid per day for the project, an amount of work hours to be completed per day, an amount of haul trucks to be implemented for the paving project, etc. For example, the system controller 122 may determine the amount of work days before the completion date, the amount of work hours to be completed, etc. based in part on the target completion date. Based on this determination, system controller 122 may then calculate the amount of paving material 108 to be laid per day, hour, etc. For example, system controller 122 may divide the total amount of paving material to be laid for a paving project by the total amount of work days and / or work hours to be completed in order to complete the paving project. In some examples, system controller 122 may calculate target data based in part on historical data for one or more paving projects.

[0036] The completion percentage 210 may represent the actual amount of any one or more of the parameters previously mentioned that have been completed by the paving system. That is, the completion percentage 210 and / or completion bar 212 may represent the amount of the paving project 206a that has been completed (i.e., the amount of paving material 108 laid, the work time completed, etc.). In some examples, the completion percentage 210 may represent the actual amount of paving material 108 that has been laid out of the total amount of paving material 108 to be laid for the entire project (i.e., (actual amount laid / total amount to be laid) multiplied by 100). Such completion percentage 210 may be represented at the project level, the daily level, and / or the employee / shift level (etc.). In some examples, the user may be able to switch between different completion metrics that display the project level completion percentage, the daily completion percentage, and / or the employee / shift level completion percentage. In some examples, the user may enter total project level target data and / or daily target data, and the paving system 100 may track the progress of the paving system 100 compared to the target data. Additionally and / or alternatively, a user may input one or more parameters (e.g., the total amount of paving material 108 to be laid, a start date, a completion date, etc.), and paving system 100 may automatically determine target data at a project level, per day, and / or employee / level. Such a process is further described below. In such a process, a user may input such parameter(s) using input fields in user interface 200.

[0037] In some examples, the target data may be represented by an estimated completion bar 214 (also referred to herein as the “estimated bar”). The estimate bar 214 may be displayed adjacent to the completion bar 212, and may represent the amount of the paving project 206a that should be completed by a particular time, such as the current time or the end of a specified time period (hour, day, week, etc.). Displaying the completion bar 212 adjacent to the estimate bar 214 provides the user with a visual indication of their progress relative to the target data. Thus, a user, such as a foreman, can easily and quickly determine whether the paving project 206a is ahead of schedule, on time, or behind schedule. In some examples, the user interface 200 may display such information using other icons (e.g., pie chart completion, bar graph, etc.) or numerical markers. The estimate bar 214 may represent target data at a project level, a daily level, and / or an employee / shift level, thereby giving the foreman multiple levels of detail and project tracking. As Figure 2, the progress status 204a of the first paving project 206a indicates that the first paving project 206a is ahead of the target data. However, the progress status 204b of the second paving project 206b indicates that the second paving project 206b is behind the target data and therefore behind schedule. In some examples, the completion percentage 210, the completion bar 212, and / or other portions of the progress status 204 can be colored, patterned, shaded, crossed, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether the progress status 204 indicates that the paving project 206 is ahead of schedule, on time, or behind schedule for one or more parameters of the target data, thereby providing a user with a visual indication of the current progress status 204 of each paving project 206. If the target data for the paving project 206c has not yet been set by the user and / or calculated by the paving system 100, the user interface 200 can present an optional control 216 to set the target data. In some examples, selecting the control 216 may present one or more parameters for which the user may provide input and for which target data may be calculated based in part on the one or more parameters by the paving system 100. Additionally and / or alternatively, selecting the control 216 may cause the system controller 122 and / or other paving system 100 components to calculate target data based in part on data received from the user.

[0038] like Figure 2 As further shown in FIG. 1 , the progress status 204a for the paving project 206a may also include progress data for one or more components of the paving system 100. For example, the progress status 204a may display scale information (also referred to herein as “scale data”) indicating progress data 218a for the paving equipment 102. Such scale data 218a may be represented as the amount of paving material 108 that has been weighed at the paving equipment 102. As previously described, the paving equipment 102 may communicate with the control system 120, the system controller 122, and / or other components of the paving system 100. The paving equipment 102 may transmit scale data 218a, such as the amount of paving material 108 weighed and / or loaded onto the haul truck 104. Such scale data 218a may include the weight of paving material weighed and / or loaded at the paving equipment 102, the volume of paving material 108 loaded at the paving equipment 102, and the like. In some examples, the scale data 218a can be represented as a scaled amount from a total amount to be weighed at a project level, a daily level, or an employee / shift level. Similar to the completion percentage 210 described above, the scale data 218a can be colored, patterned, shaded, crossed out, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether the scale data 218a is ahead of, substantially equal to, or behind the target data.

[0039] In addition, the progress status 204a may display information indicating the amount of paving material 108 being transported on the haul truck 104. Such information may be displayed as transport data 220a. The transport data 220a may include data received from the paving material equipment 102 and / or the haul truck. Such data may indicate the amount of paving material 108 that has been loaded onto the haul truck 104 but has not yet been loaded into the paving machine 106. For example, the transport data 220a may indicate that the haul truck 104 is between the paving material equipment 102 and the work site 112. In some examples, the progress status 204 may also include information indicating the amount of paving material 108 that has been laid on the work surface 110. Such information may be displayed as paving data 222a. The paving data 222a may include data received from the paving machine 106 and / or the haul truck 104 indicating that the paving material 108 has been laid. Similar to the completion percentage 210 described above, the paving data 222a may be colored, patterned, shaded, hatched, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether the paving data 222a is ahead of, substantially equal to, or behind the target data. Figure 2 Progress status 204 a is depicted as including scale data 218 a , transport data 220 a , and paving data 222 a , but progress status 204 a may be configured to display any data received from paving system 100 .

[0040] In any exemplary embodiments described herein, the user interface 200 may include an interactive user interface configured to receive one or more inputs from a user via the display 202 and to provide one or more outputs corresponding to such inputs via the display 202. In such examples, one or more of the progress status 204, paving project 206, paving project identifier 208, completion percentage 210, scale data 218, shipping data 220, paving completion data 222, etc. may be configured to receive one or more inputs from a user via the display 202 and to provide various information and / or other outputs corresponding to such inputs via the display 202. The user interface 200 may also include one or more dedicated controls configured to receive inputs via the display 202. For example, the user interface 200 may include dedicated controls that may provide, display, and / or otherwise output various information via the display 202 that is generally associated with paving tickets, paving material equipment 102, work sites 112, and / or various components of the paving system 100. The user interface 200 may also include various other controls 224 , 226 configured to operate, access, and / or control various other features of the user interface 200 and / or various other operations of paving system components associated with the display 202 .

[0041] Figure 3Another exemplary user interface 300 of the present disclosure provided by display 202 is shown. In some examples, user interface 300 may be provided by display 202 at least in part in response to paving system 100 determining that progress status 204 indicates that paving project 206 is behind target data. Such a process will be further described below. Additionally and / or alternatively, paving system 100 may provide a user interface at least in part in response to determining that progress status 204 is below a threshold value that is less than target data for one or more parameters. Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 , the user interface 300 may include information indicating the project status 204 of the paving project 206. For example, the user interface 300 may provide a dialog box 302 notifying the user that the project status 204 indicates that the paving project 206 is behind target data for one or more parameters. In some examples, the dialog box 302 may include text notifying the user which parameter(s) are behind target data. For example, the dialog box 302 may include text describing that the amount of paving material 108 that has been weighed at the paving material equipment 102 is below a threshold amount of paving material 108 required to maintain the paving project 206 as planned. Additionally and / or alternatively, the dialog box 302 may include a first selectable control 304 that, when selected by the user, may present progress data to the user. In some examples, the progress data presented to the user may include data indicating components and / or parameters of the paving system 100 that are behind target data. Additionally and / or alternatively, the progress data presented to the user when the control 304 is selected may include additional data to provide the user with an investigation of the components and / or parameters of the paving system 100.

[0042] Dialog box 302 may also include a second selectable control 306 that, when selected by the user, may cause one or more suggestions to be presented on display 202. The one or more suggestions may include data describing which component(s) of paving system 100 may cause paving project 206 to be behind schedule. For example, paving system 100 may identify one or more inefficiencies in paving system 100 and may present the one or more inefficiencies to the user on display 202. Additionally and / or alternatively, paving system 100 may analyze data received during paving project 206, target data, and / or historical data of other paving projects to identify one or more strategies to overcome the one or more inefficiencies. When the user selects control 306, these strategies may be presented to the user on the display. In some examples, user interface 300 may include additional dialog boxes or selectable controls to notify the user that paving project 206 is behind schedule.

[0043] Figure 4Another exemplary user interface 400 of the present disclosure provided by display 202 is shown. In some examples, user interface 400 may be provided by display in response to at least a user selecting first selectable control 304. User interface 400 may include information 402 indicating a cycle time for one or more haul trucks 104 of paving system 100. For example, information 402 may include data indicating an amount of time that elapses for one or more haul trucks to load paving material 108 at paving equipment 102, arrive at work site 112, dump paving material 108 at paving machine 106 and / or other locations, return to paving equipment 102, and be loaded with paving material 108 again. Figure 4 As shown in , the user interface 400 may include markings indicating the location of the paving system 100. For example, the user interface 400 may include a loading marking 404 that indicates the time when the paving material 108 is loaded onto the haul truck 104. The user interface 400 may include a work site marking 406 that indicates the time when the haul truck arrives at the work site 112. The user interface 400 may also include a dumping marking 408 that indicates the time when the haul truck 104 dumps the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106 and / or other locations. The user interface 400 may also include a return equipment marking 410 that indicates the time when the haul truck returns to the paving material equipment 102 to receive additional loads of paving material 108. In some examples, the user interface 400 may include additional markings indicating other events within the paving system 100. Although Figure 4 While depicted as indicating information 402 regarding cycle times for one or more haul trucks 104, user interface 400 may generate other cycle time information for other components of paving system 100. For example, user interface 400 may provide information indicating a cycle time for generating paving material 108 at paving equipment 102, one or more events (e.g., a stop, a loading event, etc.) of paving machine 106, a compaction cycle, and the like.

[0044] In some examples, the user interface 400 may include information 412 indicating a full cycle time average. The full cycle time average 412 may represent an average of the time it takes for a haul truck to load paving material 108, arrive at the work site 112, dump the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106, return to the paving material equipment 102, and receive another load of paving material 108. Such a process may be referred to as a "cycle" in this article. The full cycle time average 412 may represent an average value calculated for one or more haul trucks performing one or more cycles. The user interface 400 may also include information 414 indicating the last cycle time. In such an example, the last cycle time 414 may include a timeline with one or more events marking the last completed cycle of the haul truck. The user interface 400 may also include information 416 indicating a running average. The running average 416 may represent the average amount of time that the haul truck is at the work site 112. The user interface 400 may also include information 418 indicating a planned cycle time. Projected cycle time 418 may represent an estimated amount of time calculated by a user and / or paving system 100 to plan the length of time required to complete a cycle and / or a portion thereof.

[0045] Figure 5 A flow chart depicting an exemplary method 500 for job site 112 project tracking of one or more paving projects 206 is shown. The exemplary method 500 is shown as a collection of steps in a logical flow chart that represent operations that may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In the context of software, the steps represent computer-executable instructions stored in a memory. When such instructions are executed by, for example, the system controller 122, such instructions may cause the system controller 122, various components of the control system 120, the paving material equipment controller 144, the truck controller 154, the paving machine controller 172, and / or other components of the paving system 100 to perform the operations described. Such computer-executable instructions may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific functions or implement specific abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described steps may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to implement the process. For purposes of discussion, and unless otherwise indicated, reference is made to the paving system 100, the control system 120, the paving material equipment 102, and / or Figure 1-4 The other items shown in describe method 500. Specifically, although any portion and / or the entire method 500 may be performed by truck controller 154, paving machine controller 172, paving material equipment controller 144, electronic device 128, and / or other components of paving system 100, unless otherwise noted, for ease of description, the method will be described below with respect to system controller 122.

[0046] refer to Figure 5At 502, the system controller 122 may receive target data for the paving project 206. In some examples, the user may input the target data via the electronic device 128. Such target data may include at least one of: a total amount of paving material 108 to be laid in order to complete the paving project 206, a start date for the paving project 206, a completion date for the paving project 206, an amount of work hours required to complete the paving project 206, an estimated daily start time, an actual daily start time, an amount of work hours per day, a number of days that paving will be performed, etc. The user may input the target data at a project level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be laid for the entire paving project 206), a daily level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be laid on each day of the paving project 206), and / or a staff / shift level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be laid during a shift and / or by a particular staff member). Thus, the system controller 122 may receive target data for a paving project 206 corresponding to a work cycle. A work cycle may include a period of time corresponding to the entire paving project 206, a daily work cycle, and / or a shorter increment of a work cycle. In some examples, a user may enter target data at one or more of the levels described above, and the system controller 122 may determine target data at the remaining (multiple) levels. For ease of reference, such target data may be referred to herein as project-level target data, daily target data, and employee / shift-level target data, respectively. Additionally and / or alternatively, in some examples, the system controller 122 may receive one or more parameters from a user's input via the electronic device 128 instead of target data. The one or more parameters may include, but are not limited to, the size of the work surface 110 to be paved, the total amount of paving material 108 to be paved, the start date, the completion date, and the like. Once the system controller 122 has received the one or more parameters, the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may automatically generate target data for the user. Such generated target data may be generated at a project level, a daily level, and / or an employee / shift level as described above. In some examples, the system controller 122 may analyze historical data of one or more previous paving projects to generate the target data for the user. The system controller 122 may also analyze environmental data associated with the work site 112 and / or analyze one or more components of the paving system 100 to determine the status of the one or more components, and determine the productivity / efficiency of the one or more components. The system controller 122 may use the historical data to determine weighting factors, constants, and / or modifiers in one or more algorithms, lookup tables, data curves, neural networks, and / or other components of the system controller 122 to determine the target data and / or track the progress of the paving project. For example, the system controller 122 may use a feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithm to identify one or more factors that have the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project.In such examples, feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithms may include Spearman's rank correlation between one or more factors, recursive feature elimination (RFE), principal component analysis (PCA), matrix factorization, diversity selection based on latent space from matrix factorization, Relief algorithm, or a combination thereof.

[0047] At 504, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data from one or more components of the paving system 100. For example, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data from the paving machines 106, the haul trucks 104, the paving material equipment 102, etc. In some examples, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data from one or more paving machines 106 indicating an amount of paving material 108 that has been laid on the work surface 110 and / or a paving rate at which the one or more paving machines 106 are paving the work surface 110. The system controller 122 may receive sensor data from the haul trucks 104 indicating an amount of paving material 108 that has been transported from the paving material equipment 102 to the work site 112. In some examples, the system controller 122 may generate a geo-fence around the work site 112 and / or around the paving machines 102. In this instance, the system controller 122 may track the movement of the haul trucks 104 as they enter the geo-fences of the work site 112 and / or the paving machines 106. For example, the system controller 122 may determine an amount of time that the haul truck 104 was on the work site 112 before depositing the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106. The system controller 122 may also determine an amount of time that the haul truck spent within the geofence of the work site 112 and / or the paving machine 106, and may use the determined time as an indication that the haul truck 104 has entered the work site 112 and / or has deposited the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106. In some examples, the system controller 122 may determine that a threshold amount of time has passed since the haul truck 104 entered the work site 112, and may assume that the haul truck 104 has deposited the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the haul truck 104 has entered the work site 112 and remained on the work site 112 for more than three hours. In this case, the system controller 122 may assume that the haul truck 104 has deposited the paving material 108 into the paving machine 106. Additionally and / or alternatively, the system controller 122 may send a request to the display 168 of the paving machine 106 requesting that the operator of the machine confirm that one or more haul trucks 104 have deposited paving material 108 in the paving machine. The system controller 122 may also receive loading data from the loading station sensors 140 of the paving material equipment 102 indicating the amount of paving material 108 that has been loaded on the haul trucks 104 and / or the amount of time it took to load the paving material 108 on the haul trucks 104.

[0048] At 506, the system controller 506 may determine a start time for the paving project. The start time may include a start date and time for the entire paving project 206, and / or it may include a daily start time. For example, the system controller 122 may determine a date and time when the paving project 206 starts. Additionally and / or alternatively, the system controller 122 may determine a start time for each day of the paving project 206 for which the paving project 206 is not yet completed. In some examples, the start time may be determined from sensor data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine from the sensor data a time when the first haul truck 104 loads the paving material 108 at the paving material equipment 102. Additionally, the system controller 122 may receive an electronic ticket from the paving material equipment 102 indicating a time when the haul truck was loaded, an identification of the haul truck 104, an amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104, and the like. Typically, daily project tracking may be performed over a 24-hour period, starting at 12:00 a.m. and ending at 11:59 p.m. However, determining the daily start time enables the user to more accurately track the progress of the paving project 206. In addition, the system controller 122 can use the daily start time to determine and / or adjust the daily target data and / or employee / shift level target data. In some examples, the start time may not affect the project level target data. However, the system controller 122 may determine that the project level target data may need to be adjusted based in part on the daily start time and its pattern. In some examples, the user can indicate an expected start time, and / or the system controller 122 can determine a recommended start time. In such examples, the system controller 122 can compare the actual start time with the expected start time and / or the recommended start time, and send an indication to the electronic device 128 associated with the user that the current workday is early, delayed, or substantially on time (i.e., within approximately 15, 25, 30 minutes). In examples where the system controller 122 determines that the start time is later than the expected start time and / or the recommended start time, the system controller 122 can automatically update the target data so as to achieve the target data for the day. For example, system controller 122 may adjust the amount of paving material 108 that needs to be laid per hour in order to achieve target data for the day and / or paving project 206 .

[0049] At 508, the system controller 122 may determine a progress value representing the progress of the paving project 206. In some examples, the progress value may include the progress value described above with respect to Figure 2The percentage of completion 210 described above. The progress value may be determined at a project level, a daily level, and / or an employee / shift level. The progress value may be a value generated by the system controller 122 by analyzing sensor data and / or a start time. For example, the progress value may be a composite value representing the overall progress of the paving system 100 for the paving project 206. In such examples, the system controller 122 may determine a weighting factor, constant, and / or modifier to be applied to one or more components for use in one or more algorithms, lookup tables, data curves, neural networks, and / or other components of the system controller 122 to determine the progress value. In some examples, the system controller 122 may analyze the paving system 100 to determine which one or more components have the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project 206. As previously described, in such examples, the system controller 122 may use a feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithm to determine which one or more components have the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project 206. When determining the progress value, the system controller 122 may weight such components higher than other components. For example, the system controller 122 may implement a feature reduction algorithm to determine that the haul truck 104 has the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project 206. In such an example, the system controller 122 may weight the progress of the haul truck 104 more than the amount of paving material 108 laid by the paving machine 106. In some examples, the progress value may represent the progress of less than all components of the paving system 100. For example, the progress value may represent the progress of the haul truck 104 used for the paving project 206. Additionally and / or alternatively, the system controller 122 may determine a progress value for each applicable component of the paving system 100. In some examples, the progress value may represent a completion percentage of one or more components of the paving system. The progress value may also include a productivity value and / or efficiency value for one or more components. Furthermore, the progress value may be calculated for an expected progress value based on the current sensor data. That is, the system controller 122 may determine from the sensor data a progress value that represents the progress that would be made under the current performance of the paving system. In such an example, system controller 122 may be able to determine that paving project 206 will fall behind schedule before paving project 206 falls behind schedule, thereby allowing the foreman to make changes to paving system 100 before the paving project falls behind schedule.

[0050] At 510, the system controller 122 may determine a threshold progress value for the paving project 206. Similar to the progress values ​​described above, the threshold progress value may represent the progress of one or more components of the paving system 100. In some examples, the threshold progress value may be set by a user. Additionally and / or alternatively, the threshold progress value may be determined by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100. The threshold progress value may be based in part on the time of day and / or the amount of time that has passed since the start of the paving project 206. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that at 1:00 p.m., the paving system 100 will need to lay 1,000 tons of paving material 108 to achieve daily target data and / or project-level target data. Such threshold progress values ​​may be determined by dividing the total amount of paving material by the total amount of work hours to be completed for the paving project and / or by dividing the daily amount of paving material to be laid by the daily amount of work hours to determine the amount of paving material to be laid per hour per work day. The threshold progress value may be determined for any given time period (e.g., a weekly threshold progress value, a daily threshold progress value, an hourly threshold progress value, etc.). In some examples, the threshold progress value may be determined based at least in part on the start time of a particular day for paving project 206. In some examples, system controller 122 may determine multiple threshold progress values. In such examples, system controller 122 may use the multiple threshold progress values ​​to determine whether to send an alert / notification to a user and / or the type of alert / notification indicating that paving project 206 is behind schedule.

[0051] At 512, the system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than a threshold progress value. If, at 510, the system controller 122 determined multiple threshold progress values, the system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than one or more of the threshold progress values. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the progress value is greater than one or more threshold progress values, that the progress value is less than a first threshold progress value but greater than a second threshold progress value, that the progress value is less than the first threshold progress value and the second progress value, and so on.

[0052] If at 512, the system controller 122 determines that the progress value is not less than the threshold progress value, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data at 504. In such examples, the system controller 122 may continue to monitor the progress of the paving project 100. In some examples, if the system controller 122 has previously determined a start time, the system controller 122 may not determine the start time a second time, and thus may skip one or more of the previous steps. Optionally, if at 512, the system controller 122 determines that the progress value is not less than the threshold progress value and / or determines that the progress value is greater than the threshold progress value, the system controller 122 may evaluate and / or adjust the target data at 514. For example, if at 512, the system controller 122 determines that the progress value indicates that the paving project 206 is ahead of schedule, the system controller 122 may evaluate and / or adjust the target data accordingly. Such adjustments may include reducing the paving rate, reducing the number of days required to complete the paving project 206, reducing the number of employees / shifts in a day and / or project work cycle, etc. However, in some examples, the system controller 122 may omit 514 and may continue monitoring sensor data at 504 .

[0053] However, if at 512, the system controller 122 determines that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, the system controller 122 may determine at 516 that one or more components of the paving system 100 are underperforming compared to the target data based in part on the sensor data, one or more parameters, target data, and / or historical data associated with the paving project 206 and / or other paving projects. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the paving machine 106, the haul trucks 104, and / or the paving material equipment 102 may be underperforming compared to the target data for the paving project 206 based in part on the sensor data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the haul trucks are spending too much time waiting to be loaded with paving material 108 at the paving material equipment 102. In another example, the system controller 122 may determine that there are too few haul trucks 104 in the paving system 100 and are causing delays for the paving machine 106. In such an example, the system controller 122 may compare the sensor data of the one or more components with their corresponding target data to determine whether the one or more components are meeting the target data. If the system controller 122 determines that the component(s) have not reached the target data for that particular component (i.e., the haul truck 104 has not hauled the target amount of paving material 108 from the paving material equipment 102 to the work site 112), the system controller 122 may analyze the sensor data to determine one or more factors that caused the component(s) to not reach the target data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine from historical data that it typically takes less than one hour for a haul truck to load paving material 108 at the paving material equipment 102. However, the system controller 122 may determine from the sensor data that the haul truck 104 took approximately two hours at the paving material equipment 102, and may determine that such waiting time is causing delays in the paving system 100. As previously described, the system controller 122 may use feature selection and / or feature reduction algorithms to determine which component(s) have the greatest impact on the paving project 206. Thus, the system controller 122 may determine one or more components of the paving system 100 that are hindering the progress of the paving project 206.

[0054] At 518, the system controller 122 may generate a notification (or alert) indicating that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. The notification may include text, audio, video, etc. indicating that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. If the system controller 122 determines multiple threshold progress values, the notification may include an indication of which threshold progress value the progress value is less than. In some examples, the notification may include multiple urgency levels based on which of the multiple threshold progress values ​​the progress value is less than. The notification may indicate a time period for which the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. As described above with respect to Figure 3As described, the notification may include one or more selectable controls that, when selected, may display progress data and / or (multiple) suggestions to the user. The notification of one or more suggestions may be based at least in part on determining one or more components of the paving system 100 that are hindering the progress of the paving project 206 and / or the paving system 100. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that there are too few haul trucks 104 in the paving system and may recommend adding one or more haul trucks 104 to the paving system. In some examples, the system controller 122 may utilize historical data to generate one or more suggestions that may be implemented in the paving system 100 to achieve the target data. For example, the system controller 122 may implement one or more machine learning techniques to determine which components (individually or in combination) may be hindering the progress of the paving system 100. For example, the system controller 122 may use feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithms to identify one or more factors and / or components that have the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project and / or will affect the paving project. In such examples, the feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithm may include Spearman's rank correlation between one or more factors, recursive feature elimination (RFE), principal component analysis (PCA), matrix decomposition, diversity selection based on latent space from matrix decomposition, relief algorithm, or a combination thereof. Additionally, through the one or more machine learning techniques, the system may learn the most effective type of recommendations when implemented in the paving system 100 in order to achieve the target data.

[0055] At 520, system controller 122 may send a notification to electronic device 128, various control systems of paving system 100, and / or other components of paving system 100. As described above, the notification may use selectable controls that, when selected, cause progress data and / or suggestion(s) to be presented on display 202. In some examples, the notification may cause electronic device 128 to output audio data, video data, text data, etc. to notify the user that paving system 100 progress is below a threshold progress value.

[0056] In some examples, the determined arrival times of one or more haul trucks 104 may be used to maximize the quality of the mat of paving material 108, thereby improving the overall efficiency of paving system 100. Furthermore, in some examples, the machine positions determined by respective position sensors 130 may be used by system controller 122 and / or other components of paving system 100 to determine a delivery rate of paving material 108 from paving material equipment 102 to work site 112. System controller 122 and / or other components of paving system 100 may also track the amount of paving material 108 that has been laid by paving machine 106, current and / or historical paving rates, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto haul trucks 104, the amount of paving material 108 on the way to work site 112, and the like. In examples where the paving machine 106, compactor, and / or other components of the paving system 100 operate under autonomous or semi-autonomous control, the speed, steering, paving rate, and / or other functions of such components may be automatically or semi-automatically controlled based at least in part on the progress data. In some examples, various sensors of the paving equipment 102 and / or the paving equipment controller 144 may monitor, sense, determine, record, and / or transmit information indicating when a particular haul truck 104a enters the paving equipment 102, when a haul truck 104a leaves the paving equipment 102, the amount of paving material 108 loaded into a particular departing haul truck 104a, the destination of the particular haul truck 104a (e.g., the location of the work site 112), the operator of the haul truck 104a, and / or other information. Such information may be used by, for example, the system controller 122 in any progress determination, productivity determination, and / or other operations described herein. In some examples, the user may be able to switch between different completion metrics that display project-level completion percentage, daily completion percentage, and / or employee / shift-level completion percentage. Additionally, the paving system 100 may analyze data received during the paving project 206, target data, and / or historical data of other paving projects to identify one or more strategies to overcome one or more inefficiencies.

[0057] Industrial Applicability

[0058] The present disclosure describes systems and methods for tracking and determining the progress of a work site 112 of a paving project 206. Such systems and methods may be used to track and / or evaluate the progress of a paving project 206 while the paving project 206 is in progress. For example, such systems and methods may enable a system controller 122 of a control system 120 to determine whether the paving project 206 is progressing as planned based on target data for the paving project 206. In such examples, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data from one or more components of the paving system 100 to monitor the progress of the paving project. The system controller 122 may provide such information to a display 202 of an electronic device 128. For example, the system controller 122 may generate a user interface 200 including such information, and may provide the user interface 200 to the electronic device 128. Thus, a foreman of a paving project 206 at a work site 112 may be able to determine the progress of the paving project 206 in near real time.

[0059] As mentioned above about Figure 1-4 As noted, an exemplary method 500 for determining a work site 112 progress of a paving project 206 may include receiving or determining target data for the paving project 206. Such method 500 may also include receiving sensor data from one or more components of the paving system 100. In some examples, the system controller 122 may determine a progress value representing the progress of the paving project 206. Such exemplary method 500 may also include determining a threshold progress value based in part on a time period of the paving project 206. In such an example, the system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than a threshold value. The system controller 122 may generate a notification to send to a user indicating that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value.

[0060] As described above, the system controller 122 may also generate a user interface 200 that includes information indicating the progress of one or more paving projects 206. The system controller 122 may provide the user interface 200 to the electronic device 128. Thus, the foreman may be able to determine the progress of the paving project 206 in near real time. In some examples, the system controller 122 may also provide the foreman with recommendations that may be implemented in the paving system 100 in order to reach target data for the paving project 206.

[0061] Although various aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the above embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be conceived by modifying the disclosed machines, systems, and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed content. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined by the claims and any equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method for tracking a paving system (100) comprising one or more paving machines (106), the method comprising: include: Receiving, using a control system (120), target data for a paving project (206) corresponding to a work cycle; receiving, using the control system (120), sensor data from one or more components associated with the paving project (206); determining, using one or more machine learning algorithms and based at least in part on the historical data, a weighting factor for each of the one or more components, wherein the weighting factor represents a relative impact of the each component on the progress of the paving project (206); determining, with the control system (120) and using the one or more machine learning algorithms, a progress value representing a progress of the one or more components of the paving project (206) based at least in part on the sensor data and the weighting factors for the respective components; Determining, using the control system (120), a threshold progress value for a time period, the duration of the time period being less than the duration of the work cycle; determining, using the control system (120), that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value; generating, using the control system (120) and based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, at least one of an alert or a recommendation; utilizing the historical data to generate recommendations that can be implemented in the paving system (100) to achieve the target data; implementing one or more machine learning techniques to determine which components, individually or in combination, may be hindering progress of the paving system (100); and At least one of the alert or the suggestion is sent, using the control system (120), to an electronic device (128) associated with a user.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The target data includes an amount of material (108) to be laid by the one or more components during the work cycle.

3. The method according to claim 1, in, The sensor data includes at least one of: loading data (218) indicating an amount of material (108) loaded onto one or more haul trucks (104), or paving data (222) indicating an amount of material (108) paved by one or more paving machines (106).

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprising determining a start time of the working cycle, in, Determining the threshold progress value is based at least in part on the start time of the work cycle.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: include: Based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, determining one or more components that are underperforming compared to the target data based at least in part on the sensor data, wherein The recommendation includes one or more strategies to increase the progress value of the one or more components.

6. The method according to claim 1, in, Determining the progress value for the time period includes determining a completion percentage (210) representing an amount of material (108) laid during the work cycle.

7. The method according to claim 4, in, Determining the start time includes receiving a planned start time for the work cycle from a user.

8. The method according to claim 4, in, Determining the start time includes receiving a ticket from a paving material facility indicating a time when a first haul truck (104) was loaded with paving material (108).

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, using the control system (120) and based at least in part on the sensor data, a paving rate at which one or more paving machines (106) are paving a work surface (110), in, The recommendations include one or more suggestions for increasing the paving rate.

10. A paving system (100), include: one or more paving machines (106) configured to pave a working surface (110); one or more haul trucks (104) configured to haul material (108) from the paving material equipment (102) to one or more paving machines (106) at a work site (112); and a system controller (122) in communication with at least one of the one or more paving machines (106), the one or more haul trucks (104), or the paving material equipment (102), the system controller (122) being configured to: receiving target data corresponding to a work cycle, the target data comprising an amount of the paving material (108) to be laid during the work cycle; receiving sensor data from at least one of the one or more paving machines (106), the one or more haul trucks (104), or the paving material equipment (102); determining, using one or more machine learning algorithms and based at least in part on the sensor data, a weighting factor for each of the one or more components, wherein the weighting factor represents a relative impact of the each component on the progress of the paving project (206); determining, using the one or more machine learning algorithms and based at least in part on the sensor data and weighting factors for the various components, a progress value representing at least an amount of the paving material (108) that has been placed during at least a portion of the work cycle; determining a threshold productivity value for a time period having a duration less than a duration of the duty cycle, the threshold productivity value being based at least in part on the target data and the duty cycle; determining that the progress value is less than the threshold productivity value for the time period; utilizing the historical data to generate recommendations that can be implemented in the paving system (100) to achieve the target data; implementing one or more machine learning techniques to determine which components, individually or in combination, may be hindering progress of the paving system (100); and An indication is sent to a device associated with a user that the progress value is less than the threshold productivity value during the time period.

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