Adaptive control system for autonomous control of motorized civil engineering vehicles.

Abstract

Systems and techniques are described for an application control system for a powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle. In some situations, the system / technique may receive signals at various high and low voltage levels from various controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle and provide commands to the various controllers by modifying the command signals at various high and low voltage levels. The system / technique employs various modular input / output daughter cards to modify the various signals and commands.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The following disclosure relates generally to systems and techniques for adaptive control systems used for autonomous control of the operation of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Civil construction and / or mining vehicles are used to move earth and other materials (e.g., gravel, rock, asphalt, etc.) or perform other tasks on a job site, and each is typically operated by a human operator (e.g., a human user within the vehicle's cabin, a human user remote from the vehicle but performing interactive remote control of the vehicle, etc.). The human operator typically uses joysticks, pedals, or other controls to control the movement of the various components of the earth moving vehicle. In earth moving vehicles where these controls are electronic, some of the signals used are low-voltage signals to control the various components of the earth moving vehicle, and low-voltage electrical outputs are required to control these signals.

[0003] While limited autonomous operation of some civil engineering vehicles (e.g., operations performed under automated program control without human user interaction or intervention) is occasionally used, existing technologies suffer from a number of problems, including the use of limited types of sensory data, the inability to perform fully autonomous operation when faced with on-site obstacles, the inability to coordinate autonomous operation across multiple on-site civil engineering vehicles, and the need for large and expensive hardware systems to support limited autonomous operation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0004] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment that uses the described systems and techniques for an adaptive control system for one or more powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles at a job site. [Figure 2A]FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicle having multiple types of on-board data sensors arranged to support autonomous operation in a field for use with an adaptive control system. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of a powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicle having multiple types of on-board data sensors arranged to support autonomous operation in a field for use with an adaptive control system. [Figure 2C] FIG. 2C illustrates an example of a powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicle having multiple types of on-board data sensors arranged to support autonomous operation in a field for use with an adaptive control system. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of a level shifter for use in a modular daughter card. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of a level shifter for use in a modular daughter card. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of dynamically changing inputs and outputs using modular daughter cards. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Systems and techniques are described for implementing an adaptive control system for use in autonomous control of the operation of powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicles, e.g., a hardware component architecture for use in autonomous control of the operation of one or more such vehicles on a job site (e.g., automatically determining and controlling the movement of an excavator's boom / arm and attachments to move materials or perform other actions). In at least some embodiments, the described systems and techniques are used to recognize the position of one or more joysticks and pedals of a powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicle (which may be more generally referred to herein as an "earthmoving vehicle") and, e.g., modify input signals and send output signals that can be converted to various power levels for different components of one or more such earthmoving vehicles, thereby implementing fully autonomous operation of the earthmoving vehicle. Such earthmoving vehicles may include, for example, one or more tracked or wheeled excavators, bulldozers, front loaders, skip loaders, graders, cranes, backhoes, compactors, conveyors, trucks, deep sea machines, extraterrestrial machines, mine removal plows, etc., each of which may receive and execute one or more defined operation commands (e.g., dig a hole of a specified size and / or shape and / or in a specified location, move one or more rocks from a specified area, trench, breach, etc.) and / or in at least some embodiments and circumstances, do so when faced with site obstacles (e.g., man-made structures, rocks and other naturally occurring obstacles, other equipment, people or animals, etc.) and / or operate to achieve one or more other goals, including performing coordinated actions of multiple such earthmoving vehicles (e.g., multiple excavators, diggers, and one or more other construction and / or mining vehicles of one or more types).

[0006] As one non-exclusive example, the described systems and techniques may, in some embodiments, include a hardware architecture including multiple types of sensors located at various different points on a powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle (e.g., an excavator) at a job site, and one or more hardware controllers (e.g., microcontrollers) used to acquire and analyze sensor data used in determining operational instructions for one or more such vehicles, which may be used in conjunction with modular output daughter cards to send signal outputs to various components of the earthmoving vehicle. Additional details regarding the hardware architecture and related techniques for implementing autonomous control of a powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle in a particular manner are described below, and in other embodiments, some or all of the described techniques are implemented by an earthmoving vehicle motion control system for controlling one or more such earthmoving vehicles of one or more types. Some illustrative examples are described below with respect to an adaptive control system for controlling one or more excavators, although it will be understood that the same or similar techniques may also be used to control one or more earthmoving and / or mining vehicles other than excavators.

[0007] As described above, in at least some embodiments, as shown in Figure 1, data such as GPS position data, truck and cabin heading data, visual data from captured images, depth data from LiDAR and / or other depth-sensing and proximity devices, infrared data, real-time kinematic positioning information based on GPS data and / or other positioning data, inclinometer data for certain moving parts of the earthmoving vehicle (e.g., the excavator's digging boom / arm / attachment), etc., may be obtained and used by adaptive control system (ACS) 100 from multiple types of sensors located on or near the construction and / or mining vehicle. For example, in at least some embodiments, GPS data may be determined and provided using one or more types of GPS antennas and related components. Additionally, in at least some embodiments, one or more types of LiDAR devices may be used to determine and provide depth data about the environment surrounding the earthmoving vehicle (e.g., to determine a 3D, or three-dimensional, model of a portion or the entire worksite where the vehicle is located), and in some embodiments, other types of depth-sensing and / or 3D modeling technologies may be used in addition to or instead of LiDAR, such as other laser ranging technologies, synthetic aperture radar or other types of radar, sonar, image-based analytics (e.g., SLAM, SfM, etc.), structured light, etc. Additionally, in at least some embodiments, one or more proximity sensor devices may be used to determine and provide short-range proximity data. Additionally, real-time kinematic positioning information about components of the earthmoving vehicle may be determined from a combination of GPS data and other positioning data, and / or radio-received RTK correction data.Other hardware components located on or near the earth moving vehicle and used to provide the data and / or functionality used in the ACS include: one or more inclinometers (e.g., single-axis and / or dual-axis) or other accelerometers, a CAN bus message transceiver, one or more low-power microcontrollers that execute and use the ACS 100 executable software instructions and associated data, one or more voltage converters and / or regulators, voltage level shifters. Additionally, in at least some embodiments and situations, one or more types of data from one or more sensors located on the earth moving vehicle may be combined with one or more types of data (whether of the same type and / or other types of data) obtained from one or more locations remote from the earth moving vehicle (e.g., from an aerial location from a drone aircraft, airplane, satellite, etc., a location other than where the earth moving vehicle is located, e.g., a fixed location and / or another earth moving vehicle of the same or different type, etc.), and combinations of data used in one or more types of autonomous operation as described herein.

[0008] As described above, in at least some embodiments, automated operation of an earthmoving vehicle by ACS 100 may include determining the current and other positions of the earthmoving vehicle on a job site. As one non-exclusive example, such position determination may include using one or more track sensors (or wheel sensors in other embodiments) to monitor whether the tracks or wheels of the earthmoving vehicle are aligned with the cabin, and using GPS data (e.g., data from three or more GPS antennas located in the earthmoving vehicle's cabin or other locations on the earthmoving vehicle's chassis / body) in combination with an inertial navigation system to determine the rotation of the cabin chassis (e.g., rotation relative to true north) and the absolute position of the vehicle's body and / or other parts. When using data from multiple GPS antennas, the data may be integrated in various ways, such as using a microcontroller onboard the earthmoving vehicle, additional RTK (real-time kinematic) positioning data used to provide an RTK-enabled GPS positioning unit that enhances and provides further accuracy (e.g., accuracy of one inch or better in some implementations) to the GPS-based position. Additionally, in some embodiments and situations, the LiDAR data is used to assist in positioning operations, such as surveying the earthmoving vehicle's surroundings (e.g., the entire worksite where the earthmoving vehicle is located) and ascertaining the earthmoving vehicle's current location (e.g., relative to a three-dimensional or 3D map of the worksite generated from the LiDAR data). Additional details regarding such automated operations for determining the earthmoving vehicle's current location and other positions at the worksite are described below.

[0009] Additionally, automated operation by ACS 100 may further include receiving instructions from AI system 130 that determine at least a portion of actions or operation commands to control the operation of some or all of the components of the earth moving vehicle (e.g., the boom / arm and attachments of an excavator) to move material or perform other actions for one or more tasks at a job site or other geographic area, and ACS 100 may be used to send corresponding module outputs to the components of the earth moving vehicle. Additionally, autonomous operation of the earth moving vehicle to perform one or more tasks may be initiated in various ways, such as partially or wholly by an operator component of AI system 130, based on inputs received from one or more human users or other sources, etc.

[0010] The activities of this non-exclusive embodiment may be further implemented by a system comprising one or more hardware processors, a plurality of sensors onboard the earth moving vehicle to acquire vehicle data regarding the earth moving vehicle, including a real-time kinematic (RTK)-enabled positioning unit and one or more inclinometers using GPS data from one or more GPS antennas on the cabin of the earth moving vehicle, a plurality of additional sensors to acquire environmental data regarding an environment surrounding the earth moving vehicle, including at least one of one or more LiDAR sensors or one or more image capture devices, and one or more storage devices having software instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of the one or more hardware processors, cause the at least one processor to perform automated operations to implement any or all of the above activities, optionally by a system further comprising an earth moving vehicle. The activities of this non-exclusive embodiment may be further implemented using content stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that causes one or more computing devices to perform automated operations to implement any or all of the above activities.

[0011] Furthermore, while the autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle controlled by ACS 100, in some embodiments, is fully autonomous and is performed without the input or intervention of any human user using ACS 100, in other embodiments, the autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle controlled by ACS 100 may include providing information regarding the operation of ACS 100 to one or more human users, such as through one or more GUIs (graphical user interfaces) displayed on one or more computing devices that provide user-selectable controls and other options through which a user can interactively request or specify information to be displayed and / or interactively provide information for use by ACS 100, and optionally receiving information from one or more such human users (whether on-site or remote from the site) for use as part of the automated operation of AI system 130 (e.g., one or more target tasks, high-level work plans, etc.).

[0012] For illustrative purposes, several embodiments are described below that acquire specific types of data, use specific types of automated actions performed on specific types of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles, and perform specific types of autonomous operation activities in specific ways. However, it will be understood that the described systems and techniques may use other types of data, vehicles, and associated autonomous operation activities in other ways in other embodiments, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrative details presented herein. Furthermore, the terms "acquire," "capture," or "record," as used herein with respect to sensor data, may refer to recording, storing, or logging media, sensor data, and / or other information associated with an earthmoving vehicle, worksite, or other location, or a subset thereof, such as by a recording device or another device that receives information from the recording device (unless the context clearly indicates otherwise). Furthermore, various details are set forth in the drawings and text for illustrative purposes and not to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, the sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and some details have been omitted and / or shown more prominently (e.g., by size and position) to enhance readability and / or clarity. Additionally, the same reference numbers may be used in the drawings to identify similar elements or operations that may be used to implement at least a portion of the described systems and techniques for implementing autonomous control of powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicles, such as automatically determining and controlling the movement of a hydraulic arm and / or attachment (e.g., an excavation bucket) of an earthmoving vehicle to move material or perform other operations according to a specified task.

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an adaptive control system (“ACS”) 100. ACS 100 may be implemented on one or more network-accessible configured computing devices 190, whether integrated with a particular earthmoving vehicle (e.g., located on an earthmoving vehicle not shown in FIG. 1 ), integrated with multiple earthmoving vehicles (e.g., operating in a distributed manner on multiple vehicles, such as one computing device on each of multiple vehicles interacting in a peer-to-peer manner), or alternatively located remotely from one or more such earthmoving vehicles (e.g., communicating with one or more such earthmoving vehicles via one or more networks). In some embodiments, the one or more other computing devices or systems, for example, one or more other computing devices each having one or more associated users, and / or one or more other computing systems (e.g., storing and providing data, providing supplemental computing functionality, etc.), may further interact with ACS 100 (e.g., obtaining and / or providing information). The one or more computing devices may include any computing device or system that receives data and / or requests in the manner described herein and takes corresponding action (e.g., stores the data, answers the request, etc.).

[0014] In particular, in this example shown, and as further illustrated with respect to Figures 2A-2C, the earthmoving vehicle 170 / 175 (e.g., construction vehicle 170 and / or mining vehicle 175), in this illustrated example, a tracked excavator 170a, includes various sensors, including one or more GPS antennas 220, an RTK-enabled GPS positioning unit (not shown) that receives GPS signals from the GPS antenna and RTK-based correction data from a remote base station (not shown), and optionally other data from one or more other sensors and / or devices (e.g., an inertial navigation system, not shown), one or more inclinometers and / or other position sensors 210, one or more track sensors 240, one or more image sensors (e.g., part of one or more cameras or other image capture devices, not shown), one or more LiDAR emitters and / or sensors (not shown), one or more infrared sensors (not shown), one or more microcontrollers or other hardware CPUs (not shown), one or more material analysis sensors, etc., for acquiring and determining information about the earthmoving vehicle 170 and its surrounding environment (e.g., a work site where the earthmoving vehicle is located). ACS 100 and / or AI system 130 obtain some or all of the data from sensors on earth moving vehicle 170, store the data in a corresponding database or other data storage format (sensor data, location information, place information, vehicle information, environmental information, etc.) on storage, and use the data in conjunction with AI system 130 to perform automated actions that control the autonomous operation of the earth moving vehicle.

[0015] One or more other earthmoving vehicles 170x and / or 175x are likewise present (e.g., at the same site as earthmoving vehicles 170 / 175), including some or all of such components and / or ACS 100 (although not shown here for brevity), and having corresponding autonomous operation controlled by ACS 100. Computing device 190 may be part of one or more types of networks (not shown) (e.g., the Internet, one or more cellular networks, etc.), and in some cases may be implemented or replaced by direct wireless communication between two or more devices (e.g., via Bluetooth, LoRa, or long-range radio, etc.). Furthermore, other embodiments may similarly collect and use other types of data in place of, or in addition to, the types of data shown, including, but not limited to, image data in one or more light spectrums, non-light energy data, types of location data other than satellite-based navigation systems, depth or distance data to objects, audio data, etc. Additionally, in some embodiments and situations, different devices and / or sensors may be used to acquire the same or overlapping types of data (e.g., simultaneously or sequentially), and ACS 100 may combine or otherwise use such different types of data, including determining differential information for one type of data.

[0016] It will be understood that the computing devices 190, computing systems, and other equipment (e.g., earthmoving vehicles) included in FIGS. 1 and 2A-2C are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the present invention. The systems and / or devices may each include multiple interacting computing systems or devices and may be connected to other devices not specifically shown via Bluetooth communication, mesh networking, or other direct device-to-device communication, through one or more networks such as the Internet, via the Web, or one or more private networks (e.g., mobile communication networks), etc. More generally, a device or other system may include any combination of hardware that, when programmed or configured with specific software instructions and / or data structures, can interact to perform the types of functions described above, including, but not limited to, desktop or other computers (e.g., tablets, slates, etc.), database servers, network storage devices and other network devices, smartphones and other mobile phones, consumer electronics devices, wearable devices, digital music player devices, portable game consoles, PDAs, wireless telephones, Internet appliances, camera devices and accessories, and various other consumer products with appropriate communications capabilities. Furthermore, the functionality provided by the illustrated ACS 100 may, in some embodiments, be distributed among various components, some of the aforementioned functionality of ACS 100 may not be provided, and / or other additional functionality may be provided.

[0017] It will also be understood that while various items may be stored in memory 132 or storage 120 during use, these items, or portions thereof, may be transferred between memory 132 and other storage devices for memory management, data integrity, and execution / use. Alternatively, in other embodiments, some or all of the software components and / or systems may execute in the memory of another device and communicate with the illustrated computing system via computer-to-computer communications. Thus, in some embodiments, some or all of the described techniques, when configured by one or more software programs (e.g., ACS 100 executing on computing device 190), may be executed by hardware means including one or more processors and / or memory 132 and / or storage 120, e.g., by executing software instructions of one or more software programs and / or storing such software instructions and / or data structures to perform the algorithms and other disclosures described herein. Additionally, in some embodiments, some or all of the system and / or components may be implemented or provided in other ways, such as comprising one or more means that are partially or fully implemented in firmware and / or hardware (e.g., rather than means that are implemented in whole or in part by software instructions that configure a particular CPU or other processor), including, but not limited to, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), standard integrated circuits, controllers (e.g., including microcontrollers and / or embedded controllers, by executing appropriate instructions), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.Some or all of the components, systems, and data structures may be stored (e.g., as software instructions or structured data) on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a hard disk, flash drive, other non-volatile storage device, volatile or non-volatile memory (e.g., RAM or flash RAM), network storage device, or portable media item (e.g., DVD disk, CD disk, optical disk, flash memory device, etc.), which can be read via an appropriate drive or connection. The systems, components, and data structures may, in some embodiments, be transmitted via a generated data signal (e.g., as part of a carrier wave or other analog or digital propagated signal), over various computer-readable transmission media, including wireless-based and wired / cable-based media, and may take various forms (e.g., as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or as multiple individual digital packets or frames). Such computer program products may take other forms in other embodiments. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced with other computer system configurations.

[0018] 1, ACS 100 may operate on one or more computing devices 190 and communicate with, provide information to, and receive operational commands from AI system 130 via Ethernet, a wireless link, a closed-loop communication system, or other communication means. As shown in FIG. 1, ACS 100 may include, among other things, a machine interface 102, one or more safety shut-off switches 104, a power system 106, a modular input daughter card 108, a modular output daughter card 110, a processor 112, expansion signals 114, storage 120, and / or memory 132.

[0019] The machine interface 102 may include software and / or logic for interfacing with one or more controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. The machine interface 102 may receive inputs representing various controls from the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 and send outputs to various controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. In some embodiments, the controllers may include power inputs / outputs, one or more joysticks, horns, switches, transmission controls, one or more pedals, one or more safety levers, etc. The machine interface 102 may receive various input signals from the controllers and pass them to other components of the ACS 100 for further processing. The machine interface 102 may receive one or more output commands from the modular output daughter card 110 and send the output commands to appropriate controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. In some implementations, the machine interface may include software and hardware components for connecting to various controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. In some implementations, the machine interface 102 may provide a signal to the power system 106, such as when a power control or transmission control of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 is actuated, and the machine interface 102 may send a command to the power system 106 to turn power on / off or adjust the power system 106 based on the command. The machine interface 102 may cause the earthmoving vehicle to perform a set of mechanical operations corresponding to the set of operation instructions.

[0020] The safety shut-off switch 104 can be a hardware switch, a software switch, or a combination of software and hardware switches that can be used to control the power system 106. In some implementations, the safety shut-off switch 104 can be used to shut off power to the ACS 100 in response to a threshold event, such as the detection of a power surge or transient voltage that exceeds a threshold. In further implementations, the safety shut-off switch 104 can be used to shut off power to the output drivers, meaning that the adaptive control system 100 can stop sending signals to the earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175, but the adaptive control system 100 itself remains powered and continues to operate. In some implementations, the safety shut-off switch 104 may be operated by a user and, when activated or actuated, may shut off the power system 106 and stop use of one or more of the powered earth moving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175, the controls for the powered earth moving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175, components of the powered earth moving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175, etc.

[0021] The ACS 100 may include one or more power systems 106 that operate the powered earthwork and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 and / or components of the powered earthwork and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. In some implementations, the power system 106 may be a power system 106 already installed on the powered earthwork and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 (e.g., machine voltage). In some implementations, the earthwork and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 receives power provided from a vehicle system (e.g., machine voltage) and converts the provided power for use in the ACS 100, such as in the power tree circuits described herein. In some implementations, the power system 106 may implement ultra-low heat dissipation. In some implementations, the power system 106 may be transient protected.

[0022] In some implementations, the power system 106 may include a machine voltage (e.g., 12V / 14V / 24V) as a direct input, then provide an external safety monitoring module that can monitor it using a time constant, such as a PMOS gate, to shut down or disable the entire power system 106 as needed based on reaching a threshold or manual shutoff. The power system 106 may include overvoltage protection, undervoltage lockout, fault detection, reverse polarity protection, and / or transient protection. In some implementations, the power tree may be partitioned for redundancy and / or power sharing. A partitioned power tree provides redundancy in the event of a failure in one portion, and a second partition may step in and provide power in the event of a failure. In further implementations, power sharing allows various components of the system to use the entire power tree without affecting the voltage provided.

[0023] ACS 100 may include one or more modular input daughter cards 108. The modular input daughter card 108 may be a removable circuit board configured to be installed within ACS 100 to further expand adaptive control options. In some implementations, ACS 100 may function as a motherboard or mother card for the modular input daughter card 108 and / or the modular output daughter card 110. In some implementations, the modular input daughter card 108 is configured to receive various signals from the machine interface 102 representing different control signals for the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175, and the modular input daughter card 108 can modify the input signals into signals that can be processed by the processor 112, such as by modifying the signals from a machine voltage to the native voltage of the ACS 100 (e.g., 3.3 V or 5 V, in various embodiments). By using removable and interchangeable modular input daughter cards 108, the ACS 100 may be used with a variety of different powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175, and different modular input daughter cards 108 may be installed depending on the type of control device sending signals to the machine interface 102, without reconfiguring or modifying the entire ACS 100. In further implementations, if a supply chain issue necessitates a change in the modular input daughter card 108, the modular input daughter card 108 can be changed without replacing other components (e.g., motherboard / mother card) of the ACS 100. In some implementations, the modular input daughter card 108 can modify the input signal by boosting, lowering, or filtering the voltage level of the input signal. For example, some controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 may provide low voltage signals, other controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 may provide high voltage signals, and the modular input daughter card 108 may receive both the low voltage and high voltage signals and change between those different voltage levels.In some implementations, the modular input daughter card 108 also functions as the modular output daughter card 100, modifying outputs from the ACS 100 and shifting voltage levels from the ACS 100 back into low-voltage and / or high-voltage signals for control of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175, such that a single physical daughter card functions as both the modular input daughter card 108 to shift inputs and the modular output daughter card 110 to shift outputs, eliminating the use of two separate physical daughter cards. In this example, the single modular input daughter card 108 can shift both input voltage levels from the controller of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 into signals that can be processed by the processor 112, and the modular input daughter card 108 can also receive outputs from the processor 112 of the ACS 100 and shift those output voltages back to the appropriate voltages for control of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175. In some embodiments, when a single daughter card is used to modify the inputs and outputs, the single daughter card may include the circuitry shown in both Figures 3A and 3B, although in other implementations other types of level shifters for modifying the input and / or output voltages are contemplated, and the circuitry shown in Figures 3A and 3B is merely exemplary. Additionally, in some implementations, the modular input daughter card 108 may include one or more bypass circuits that allow signals to pass unmodified from the controller of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 to the processor 112. In some implementations, the bypass option may include a non-stuffed resistor to bypass the voltage modification of the input signal by the modular input daughter card 108. Furthermore, in some implementations, the ACS 100 may only include a modular input daughter card 108 for modifying the input and may not include a modular output daughter card 110, while in other implementations, the ACS 100 may only include a modular output daughter card 110 for modifying the output and may not include a modular input daughter card 108.

[0024] ACS 100 may include a processor 112 that can receive various signals from modular input daughter cards 108 and / or power system 106 using software and / or logic and provide output instructions using modular output daughter cards 110 and / or expansion signals 114. In some implementations, processor 112 may be configured to send and / or receive information from AI system 130, such as providing control signals received from machine interface 102 to AI system 130 and receiving operation commands in the form of output signals that can be sent to modular output daughter cards 110 and / or expansion signals 114. In some implementations, processor 112 may generate a set of operation instructions based on input signals from various components of earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 and / or any machine learning instructions from AI system 130. Processor 112 may then provide the generated set of operation instructions to corresponding components of earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 using modular output daughter cards 110. In some implementations, the processor 112 can also provide dynamic voltage changes from input to output. For example, if a particular component requires a specific power output, such as a 24V output. The processor 112 can include a voltage level shifting / changing command for that particular component as one of the commands to the output daughter card 110. Using dynamic level shifting, any configuration of inputs / outputs can be selected using a group of level shifters on the daughter card, and a specific voltage configuration can be achieved simply by selecting different sides of each level shifter.

[0025] ACS 100 may include a modular output daughter card 110, which is a removable circuit board configured to be installed within ACS 100, to further expand adaptive control options. In some implementations, modular output daughter card 110 is configured to receive various commands, such as sets of operating instructions, from processor 112 and may convert the input commands from processor 112 into higher or lower voltage signals for different control of various components of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175. In other implementations, modular output daughter card 110 may convert the input signal into an entirely different signal type. For example, modular output daughter card 110 may receive a PWM signal and convert it to a static analog output voltage (i.e., 50% PWM = 1.65 V output, 25% PWM = 0.825 V). By using removable and interchangeable modular output daughter cards 110, ACS 100 can be used with a variety of different powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175, and different modular output daughter cards 110 can be installed without reconfiguring or modifying the entire ACS 100, depending on the type of control and required voltage level to which the modular output daughter card 110 sends commands. In further implementations, the modular system allows for a portion of ACS 100 to be redesigned to address supply chain issues, etc., and only the updated portion, such as the output daughter card 110, can be replaced without modifying other components of ACS 100. In some implementations, the modular output daughter card 110 can change the output command by boosting or lowering the voltage level of the output signal. For example, some controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 may receive commands as low voltage signals, other controllers of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 may receive commands as high voltage signals, and the modular output daughter card 110 may output both the low voltage and high voltage signals and change between these different voltage levels.In some implementations, the modular output daughter card 110 may amplify various signals using amplifiers. In some implementations, the amplifiers of the modular output daughter card 110 may be configurable in real time or substantially real time. In some implementations, the amplifiers may be application-specific output drive amplifiers. In some implementations, the modular output daughter card 110 and the modular input daughter card 108 include multiple optically isolated PWM (pulse width modulation) input read amplifiers, one for each PWM machine input signal, allowing the ACS 100 to read a variable voltage PWM input ranging from 3.3V to 20V and shift it to a range of 0-5V.

[0026] In some implementations, the modular output daughter card 110 may include one or more bypass circuits, such as a set of physical bypass options (e.g., not stuffed resistors) that allow signals to pass from the processor 112 to the controller of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 without modification, instead allowing signals to be routed directly to or from the processor 112. In some implementations, the removable output daughter card 110 may take a signal from the processor at some operating logic level (e.g., 3.3 V) and modify the set of operating instructions by changing it to a different logic level (e.g., 5 V), a static output voltage, a range of analog values, a boosted PWM signal, or an attenuated PWM signal. In some implementations, the ACS 100 may include one or more expansion signals 114 that form an expansion signal support system. The expansion signals 114 add various configurations of expansion control to the ACS 100, allowing for further modular configurations. In some implementations, the augmented signal 114 may be configured to connect to one or more digital drives, one or more analog drives, and / or one or more binary switches. In some implementations, the augmented signal 114 includes one or more amplifiers, where the amplifiers are configurable substantially in real time.

[0027] In one implementation, the expansion signal 114 may include a shift register, such as an 8-bit shift register, configured to receive microcontroller signals (such as from the processor 112), three microcontroller signals in the example of an 8-bit shift register, an optocoupler receiving the shift register input, a configurable drive voltage from either the power system 106 (e.g., a machine voltage such as 12 V or 24 V) or the circuit board power supply (e.g., a native voltage such as 5 V), and an output connected to opto-isolated driver circuits, with the output connected to an amplifier (e.g., an NMOS) with the MOSFET drain connected to a jumper to allow field selection of either the supply voltage or the circuit board power supply. In some implementations, the circuitry may include voltage transient protection and an output flyback diode. In some implementations, the ACS 100 may include one or more low-power microcontrollers with signal interconnections, which may function as specific components, such as the modular input daughter card 108 and / or the modular output daughter card 110, as part of the ACS 100. The ACS 100 may include one or more status indicators, such as multi-colored LEDs, that indicate various board conditions, such as a fault or type of fault, thereby providing information regarding the board status to the user.

[0028] 2A illustrates an example of an excavator as one type of powered earthmoving construction and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 having multiple types of onboard data position sensors 210 arranged to support autonomous operation on a job site. In particular, FIG. 2A illustrates the exemplary excavator 170 / 175 using a top elevational view from the side of the excavating boom 206 and arm (or "stick") 204 and from the opposite side of the cabin 202, and further includes a body chassis 201 (e.g., enclosing an engine and counterweight and including the cabin 202), tracks 203, and a bucket (or "scoop" or "claw") attachment 205, although in other embodiments, excavating arm attachments other than buckets may be used, such as hydraulic thumbs, couplers, breakers, compactors, digging buckets, grading buckets, hammers, demolition grapples, tiltrotators, etc. The exemplary embodiment also shows four exemplary position sensors (such as inclinometers) 210a-210d in locations that usefully provide position data for calculating the position of the bucket 205 and other portions of the digging boom 206 / arm 204 relative to the cabin 202 of the excavator 170 / 175. In this example, three position sensors 210a-210c are mounted at respective locations on the excavator's digging boom 206 / arm 204 (position 210c near the intersection of the digging boom and excavator body, position 210b near the intersection of the digging arm and bucket attachment, and position 210a near the intersection of the digging boom and arm), and a fourth position sensor 210d is mounted within the excavator's cabin and is shown with an approximate position indicated using a dashed line, such as using a dual-axis inclinometer that measures pitch and roll; data from the inclinometers may be used to track the position of the excavator's boom / arm / attachment, for example, if it is determined that the truck's direction of travel 207 is different from the cabin / body's direction of travel 208 (not shown in this example). It will be appreciated that in other implementations, numbers, locations, and types of inclinometers may be used.In some implementations, the excavator 170 / 175 may also include GPS antennas 220 in locations that beneficially provide GPS data to assist in determining the position and orientation of the cabin / body, including using data from three GPS antennas to provide greater accuracy than is obtainable from a single GPS antenna. In this example, the GPS antennas 220 are positioned on the chassis of the earthmoving vehicle proximate to three corners of the chassis (e.g., at a forward position on the left side of the cabin, a rearward position on the left side of the cabin, and a forward position on the right side of the cabin, as far away from each other as possible), such that differential information between the GPS antennas 220 can provide cabin heading information and approximately 90 degree lateral information from the cabin heading information.

[0029] FIG. 2B is a continuation of the example of FIG. 2A and shows information regarding various non-exclusive exemplary types of powered earthwork construction vehicles 170 that may be controlled by embodiments of ACS 100, including two exemplary earthwork construction tracked excavators 170a shown with different attachments (an excavator with a bucket attachment 170a1 and an excavator with a grapple attachment 170a2) that may be controlled by ACS 100. Other exemplary types of civil engineering construction vehicles 170 shown include a bulldozer 170c, a backhoe loader 170d, a wheel loader 170e, a skid steer loader 170f, a dump truck 170j, a forklift 170g, a trencher 170h, a mixer truck 170i, a flatbed truck 170k, a grader 170l, a wrecking ball crane 170m, a truck crane 170n, a mobile crane 170p, a heavy goods vehicle 170q, a scraper 170r, a pile driver 170o, a road roller 170b, etc. It will be understood that in other embodiments, other types of civil engineering construction vehicles may be controlled by the ACS 100 as well. Similarly, FIG. 2C shows information regarding various non-exclusive types of exemplary earth mining vehicles 175 that may also be controlled by embodiments of ACS 100, including several exemplary earth mining tracked excavation vehicles 175a with different attachments that may be controlled by ACS 100 (e.g., excavator with bucket attachment 175a1, excavator with dragline attachment 175a3, excavator with clamshell extractor attachment 175a4, excavator with front shovel attachment 175a5, excavator with bucket wheel extractor attachment 175a6, excavator with power shovel attachment 175a7, etc.).Other exemplary types of mining and earthmoving vehicles 175 shown include a dump truck 175m, an articulated dump truck 175n, a mining dump truck 175b, a bulldozer 175c, a scraper 175d, a tractor scraper 175g, a wheel loader 175e, a wheeled skid steer loader 175f, a tracked skid steer loader 175i, a wheeled excavator 175h, a backhoe loader 175k, a motor grader 175j, a trencher 175l, etc. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, other types of mining and earthmoving vehicles may be similarly controlled by the ACS 100, and that these various vehicles 170 and 175 may advantageously include modular input daughter cards 108 and modular output daughter cards 110 to allow for a variety of different voltage levels for controlling each of the various vehicles 170 and 175.

[0030] FIG. 3A is an exemplary embodiment of a level shifter 302 circuit that can be utilized to change inputs / outputs to different voltages. As shown in FIG. 3A, the level shifter 302 can include multiple non-isolated optically isolated output driver load switch amplifiers for PWM signals, e.g., 14 level shifters in some implementations. The multiple load switch amplifiers enable the ACS 100 to drive both low-current and high-current PWM outputs at variable voltages. In some implementations, the low-current PWM outputs can be driven by an onboard power system. In some implementations, there can be a selectable voltage rail of 12V-24V that powers the high-current PWM channels capable of outputting 1.5 A per channel. In some implementations, this implementation of the level shifter 302 can be used in older generations of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 that used hydraulic manifolds with solenoid valves to control various components. The high current drive uses load switches in the level shifter 302 together with high current transistors to change the voltage levels.

[0031] 3B illustrates another embodiment of a level shifter 304 circuit that can be utilized to change the input / output to different voltages. As shown in FIG. 3B, the level shifter 304 can include multiple level shifter 304 circuits to create a bidirectional level shifter circuit with very fast edge control, whereby the input can read a 5V input signal and convert it to a 3.3V signal, and the output can go the other way and receive a 3.3V command and output a 5V command for a component. Multiple level shifters 304 enable the ACS 100 to drive both low-current and high-current PWM outputs with variable voltages.

[0032] FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart 400 illustrating one example of a method for regulating voltage input and output using a modular daughter card. As shown in FIG. 4 , at block 402, the modular input daughter card 108 may receive a machine voltage input signal from a component of the powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 via the machine interface 102. For example, the machine voltage often operates at 12 V, 14 V, or 24 V, although other machine voltages are contemplated. At 404, the modular input daughter card 108 may convert the input signal from the machine voltage to the native voltage of the modular system. The native voltage may be a low-power board voltage, such as 3.3 V or 5 V, depending on the microcontroller configuration. In some implementations, the modular input daughter card 108 may convert the voltage as needed using various level shifter circuits, as described elsewhere herein. At 406, the processor 112 of the modular system's ACS 100 may generate a set of operational instructions based on the converted input signal. The operation instructions may be based on input signals representing various positions and configurations of components of the powered earthmoving construction vehicle and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175 detected by various sensors and / or operational commands, control changes, etc. For example, the input signals may be input from pedals or joysticks on the earthmoving vehicle and represent changes in component position. Using the input signals, other position information, and / or machine learning information from the AI ​​system 130, the processor 112 generates a set of operation instructions as commands that can be sent to one or more components of the powered earthmoving construction vehicle and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175.

[0033] At 408, the processor 112 identifies a corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle associated with the operation instruction from the set of operation instructions. In some implementations, the processor 112 may perform dynamic voltage shifting based on determining the voltage required for the corresponding component. In yet another implementation, the processor 112 may identify a path to open to set a voltage level through a voltage shifter of the modular output daughter card 110 to provide the appropriate voltage to the corresponding component.

[0034] At 410, the removable output daughter card 110 converts the operation instructions for the corresponding components of the earth moving vehicle from a native voltage, such as 3.3V or 5V, on the ACS 100 board to an appropriate machine voltage, such as 12V or 24V, for the corresponding components of the powered earth moving vehicle and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. At 412, the output of the appropriate machine voltage is sent, and the converted operation instructions at the appropriate machine voltage are used to perform the operation of the corresponding components of the powered earth moving vehicle and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175.

[0035] It should be appreciated that the use of modular components such as the input daughter card 108 and the output daughter card 110, as well as any other daughter card components such as GPS, RTK, power trees, etc., allows the ACS 100 to be connected to a variety of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 simply by connecting different modular daughter cards without changing the layout of the ACS 100. This allows the ACS 100 to be easily retrofitted into existing powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicles 170 / 175 without tedious and expensive modifications for each type of powered earthmoving and / or mining vehicle 170 / 175. Furthermore, as requirements change or the level shifter configuration of the daughter cards is improved, the ACS 100 can remain unchanged, allowing for easy adaptation of hardware improvements.

[0036] The non-exclusive exemplary embodiments described herein are further described in the following sections. A01. 1. A method for controlling autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle, comprising: modifying input signals from one or more components of the earth moving vehicle via a removable input daughter card; generating, by a processor, a set of operational instructions based at least in part on the modified input signal; converting, via a removable output daughter card, the set of motion instructions into a form capable of controlling one or more components of the earth moving vehicle to perform a set of mechanical movements of the earth moving vehicle; causing the earthmoving vehicle to perform the set of mechanical operations corresponding to the set of operation instructions via a machine interface; A method comprising: A02. 1. A method for controlling autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle, comprising: receiving a machine voltage input signal from a component of the earth moving vehicle; converting the input signal from the machine voltage to a native voltage of the modular system by a removable input daughter card of the modular system; generating, by a processor of the modular system, a set of operational instructions based on the converted input signals; identifying, by the processor of the modular system, from the set of motion instructions, a corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle associated with a motion instruction; converting, by a removable daughter card of the modular system, the operation instructions associated with the corresponding components from a native voltage of the modular system to a machine voltage used by the corresponding components of the earth moving vehicle; using the motion command converted in the machine voltage to perform a motion of the corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle; A method comprising: A03. 1. A method for controlling autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle, comprising: receiving a machine voltage input signal from a component of the earth moving vehicle; converting the input signal from the machine voltage to a native voltage of the modular system by a removable input daughter card of the modular system; generating, by a processor of the modular system, a set of operational instructions based on the converted input signals; identifying, by the processor of the modular system, from the set of motion instructions, a corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle associated with a motion instruction; converting, by at least one removable daughter card of the modular system, the operation instructions associated with the corresponding components from a native voltage of the modular system to a machine voltage of an output signal used by the corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle; using the motion command converted in the machine voltage to perform a motion of the corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle; A method comprising: A04. 1. A method for controlling autonomous operation of an earthmoving vehicle, comprising: a removable input daughter card for converting input signals from one or more components of the earthmoving vehicle from machine voltage to native voltage; generating, with a processor, a set of operating instructions based on the modified input signal, and determining an output voltage based on the set of operating instructions; converting, via a removable output daughter card, the operation instructions from the native voltage to the output voltage capable of controlling one or more components of the earth moving vehicle to perform a set of mechanical operations of the earth moving vehicle; causing the earthmoving vehicle to perform the set of mechanical operations corresponding to the set of operation instructions via a machine interface; A method comprising: A05. the processor is protected by an overvoltage fault protection system; The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A04. A06. The processor is protected by a reverse polarity protection system. The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A05. A07. the modular system includes one or more transient protection power systems, the transient protection power systems configured to provide output signals to corresponding components of the earth moving vehicle based on the set of operating instructions. The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A06. A08. the earthmoving vehicle further includes a set of safety shut-off switches configured to disable one or more of the transient protection power systems based on a threshold event. The method according to item A07. A09. The transient protection power system is capable of performing power conversion at full load with very low heat emission. The method according to any one of paragraphs A07 to A08. A10. the earth moving vehicle further includes an extended signal support system for supporting one or more of a digital drive, an analog drive, and a binary switch; The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A09. A11. the augmented signal support system includes an amplifier; The method described in item A10. A12. the amplifier is configurable in real time; The method according to item A11. A13. The extended signal support system comprises: A plurality of drive circuits, an optocoupler for receiving the shift register input; a configurable drive voltage configured to receive one or more of a native voltage from the earth moving vehicle and a power supply voltage of the modular system; an amplifier output connected to an NMOS amplifier; a MOSFET connected to a jumper that allows selection of either the native voltage from the civil engineering vehicle or the supply voltage of the modular system; voltage transient protection for the jumper; a drive circuit including: Two low-power microcontrollers with signal interconnects and one or more status indicators that indicate a board status; further comprising: The method according to any one of paragraphs A10 to A12. A14. the removable input daughter card is further configured to boost the level of an input machine voltage of the input signal to the modified input signal having a high native voltage. The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A13. A15. the removable output daughter card further includes an application specific output driver amplifier; The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A14. A16. one or more optically isolated pulse width modulated (PWM) input read amplifiers receiving the input signals from one or more components of the earthmoving vehicle, the one or more optically isolated PWM input read amplifiers enabling the removable input daughter card to read input signals in a range of 3.3V to 20V and shift the input signals to a range of 0-5V; The method of any one of paragraphs A01 to A15. A17. a set of physical bypass options that allow the one or more optically isolated PWM input read amplifiers to be bypassed and the input signals to be routed directly to the processor; The method according to item A16. A18. the set of physical bypass options is an empty resistor; The method according to item A17. A19. the processor is further configured to receive machine learning instructions used to generate the set of operating instructions. The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A18. A20. the removable input daughter card and the removable output daughter card are part of a single physical card; The method according to any one of paragraphs A01 to A19. A21. determining whether to activate the isolation switch based on the threshold event; disabling the transient protection power system based on the threshold event occurring; further comprising: The method of any one of paragraphs A01 to A20. A22. generating a set of operational instructions based on the transformed input signal; receiving machine learning instructions; generating, by the processor of the modular system, the set of operating instructions using the machine learning instructions and the transformed input signal; further comprising: The method of any one of paragraphs A01 to A21. A23. A computer-implemented method comprising a plurality of steps performing automated operations that implement the described techniques substantially as disclosed herein. B01. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable software instructions and / or other content that causes one or more computing systems to perform automated operations that implement the method of any one of paragraphs A01 through A233. C02. One or more computing systems comprising one or more hardware processors and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by at least one of the one or more hardware processors, cause the one or more computing systems to perform automated operations that implement the described techniques substantially as disclosed herein. D01. A computer program adapted to perform the method of any one of paragraphs A01 to A23 when run on a computer. E01. An earth moving vehicle having a component adapted to carry out the method of any one of paragraphs A01 to A23. E02. An earthmoving vehicle having a component described in any one of paragraphs A01 to A23.

[0037] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart diagrams and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart diagrams and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart diagrams and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-readable program instructions. It will also be understood that in some implementations, the functionality provided by the routines described above may be provided in alternative ways, such as by being divided into more routines or combined into fewer routines. Similarly, in some implementations, the illustrated routines may provide more or less functionality than described, such as when other illustrated routines lack or include such functionality, or provide a modified amount of functionality, respectively. Furthermore, while various operations may be illustrated as being performed in a particular manner (e.g., serially, in parallel, synchronously, or asynchronously) and / or in a particular order, in other implementations, the operations may be performed in other orders and ways. The data structures described above may be structured differently, such as by splitting a single data structure into multiple data structures and / or by combining multiple data structures into a single data structure. Similarly, in some implementations, the illustrated data structures may store more or less information than described, such as when other illustrated data structures do not or do not include such information, or when the amount or type of information stored is changed.

[0038] From the foregoing, it will be understood that, while specific embodiments have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited solely by the corresponding claims and the elements recited therein. Furthermore, while certain aspects of the present invention may be presented in particular claim forms at a particular time, the inventors contemplate various aspects of the present invention in all available claim forms. For example, while only some aspects of the present invention may be described as embodied in a computer-readable medium at a particular time, other aspects may likewise be embodied.

Claims

1. 1. A modular system for controlling an earth moving vehicle, comprising: a removable input daughter card configured to modify input signals from one or more components of the earth moving vehicle; a processor configured to generate a set of operating instructions based at least in part on the modified input signal; a removable output daughter card configured to convert the set of motion instructions into a form capable of controlling one or more components of the earth moving vehicle to perform a set of mechanical movements of the earth moving vehicle; a machine interface configured to cause the earthmoving vehicle to perform the set of mechanical operations corresponding to the set of operation instructions; and A modular system comprising:

2. the processor is protected by an overvoltage fault protection system; The modular system of claim 1 .

3. The processor is protected by a reverse polarity protection system. The modular system of claim 1 .

4. the modular system includes one or more transient protection power systems, the transient protection power systems configured to provide output signals to corresponding components of the earth moving vehicle based on the set of operating instructions. The modular system of claim 1 .

5. and a set of safety shut-off switches configured to disable one or more of the transient protection power systems based on a threshold event.

5. The modular system of claim 4.

6. The transient protection power system is capable of performing power conversion at full load with very low heat emission.

5. The modular system of claim 4.

7. further comprising an extended signal support system for supporting one or more of a digital drive, an analog drive, and a binary switch; The modular system of claim 1 .

8. the augmented signal support system includes an amplifier; 8. The modular system of claim 7.

9. the amplifier is configurable in real time; 9. The modular system of claim 8.

10. The extended signal support system comprises: A plurality of drive circuits, an optocoupler for receiving the shift register input; a configurable drive voltage configured to receive one or more of a native voltage from the earth moving vehicle and a power supply voltage of the modular system; an amplifier output connected to an NMOS amplifier; a MOSFET connected to a jumper that allows selection of either the native voltage from the civil engineering vehicle or the supply voltage of the modular system; voltage transient protection for the jumper; a drive circuit including: two low-power microcontrollers with signal interconnects; one or more status indicators that indicate a substrate status; The modular system of claim 7 further comprising:

11. the removable input daughter card is further configured to boost a level of an input machine voltage of the input signal to the modified input signal having a high native voltage. The modular system of claim 1 .

12. the removable output daughter card further includes an application specific output driver amplifier; The modular system of claim 1 .

13. one or more optically isolated pulse width modulated (PWM) input read amplifiers that receive the input signals from one or more components of the earth moving vehicle, the one or more optically isolated PWM input read amplifiers enabling the removable input daughter card to read input signals in a range of 3.3V to 20V and shift the input signals to a range of 0-5V; The modular system of claim 1 .

14. a set of physical bypass options that allow the one or more optically isolated PWM input read amplifiers to be bypassed and the input signals to be routed directly to the processor; 14. The modular system of claim 13.

15. the set of physical bypass options is an empty resistor; 15. The modular system of claim 14.

16. the processor is further configured to receive machine learning instructions used to generate the set of operating instructions. The modular system of claim 1 .

17. the removable input daughter card and the removable output daughter card are part of a single physical card; The modular system of claim 1 .

18. receiving a machine voltage input signal from a component of the earth moving vehicle; converting the input signal from the machine voltage to a native voltage of the modular system by at least one removable daughter card of the modular system; generating, by a processor of the modular system, a set of operational instructions based on the converted input signals; identifying, by the processor of the modular system, from the set of motion instructions, a corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle associated with a motion instruction; converting, by at least one removable daughter card of the modular system, the operation instructions associated with the corresponding components from a native voltage of the modular system to a machine voltage of an output signal used by the corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle; using the motion command converted in the machine voltage to perform a motion of the corresponding component of the earth moving vehicle; A method comprising:

19. determining whether to activate the isolation switch based on the threshold event; disabling the transient protection power system based on the threshold event occurring; 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

20. generating a set of operational instructions based on the transformed input signal; receiving machine learning instructions; generating, by the processor of the modular system, the set of operating instructions using the machine learning instructions and the transformed input signal; 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

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