System and method for worksite project tracking - Patents.com

Abstract

The method (500) includes receiving target data (502) for a paving project (206) corresponding to a work period. 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 progress of the one or more components of the paving project (206), and determining a threshold progress value (510) for a period of time, the period having a duration less than the duration of the work period. The method (500) further includes determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value (512), generating at least one of an alert or recommendation (518), and transmitting the alert or 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 technology]

[0002] Paving machines, compaction machines / rollers, haul trucks, and other paving equipment are often used to perform various tasks associated with a work site. For example, one or more haul trucks may be used to transport paving material from a paving material plant to a work site so that the paving material may be distributed along a work surface of the work site by one or more paving machines. One or more compaction machines may follow behind one or more paving machines and may be operable to compact the newly laid paving material to a desired density or stiffness. The operation of these and other machines must be coordinated to perform paving operations in an efficient manner. However, in some situations, it may be difficult to track the progress of the completion of multiple machines deployed in a paving project. As such, projects are often evaluated upon completion. Thus, site supervisors or other workers involved in the project lack the ability to evaluate the productivity and progress of the project while the project is ongoing.

[0003] An exemplary system for tracking the productivity of machines at a work site is described in U.S. Patent No. 8,306,731 (hereinafter the '731 reference). In particular, the '731 reference describes a system for assessing the productivity of workers using vehicles at a work site. The '731 reference describes, for example, a system that characterizes vehicle usage into different status categories. These status categories may be compared to relevant criteria to provide a measure of the vehicle's productivity. The productivity measures may be combined with geographic information to provide a productivity measure in a geographic context. However, the '731 reference does not describe tracking the progress of work 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 project as a whole. As a result, the system described in the '731 reference is not configured to, among other things, notify site supervisors and other work site personnel that productivity goals are not being met.

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to overcoming the deficiencies discussed above. 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 duration. 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 representative of progress of the paving project, determining, with the controller, a threshold productivity value for a time period less than the work duration, and determining, with the controller, that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. The method further 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 recommendation, and transmitting, with the controller, the at least one of the alert or recommendation to an electronic device associated with a user.

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

[0007] In further exemplary embodiments 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 from an electronic device associated with a user including one or more parameters of the paving project, 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 further include determining a progress value representing an amount of the paving project completed based at least in part on the sensor data, determining a threshold progress value for a period of time 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 the electronic device associated with the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a paving system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an illustration of another exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an illustration of a further exemplary user interface generated by the paving system shown in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for determining and tracking progress of a paving project involving the paving system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Whenever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts. With reference to FIG. 1 , an example paving system 100 may include one or more paving material plants 102 and a number of machines, such as one or more haul trucks 104 and / or one or more paving machines 106. For example, the paving material plant 102 may include various equipment configured to heat, produce, sense, store, and / or transport paving material 108, such as asphalt (or other material). For example, the one or more haul trucks 104 may be loaded with a desired amount of paving material 108 at the paving material plant 102, and the haul trucks 104 may transport the paving material 108 to the paving machine 106. The paving machine 106 may deposit the paving material 108 on a work surface 110 of a work site 112. In any of the embodiments 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 plant 102 to the work site 112. Such travel path 114 may include one or more partially or fully formed roads, highways, bridges, service roads, or other surfaces traversable by construction and / or paving machines. Such exemplary work sites 112 may include, for example, construction sites, road work sites, parking lots, or any other type of job site. Once the one or more haul trucks 104 deliver the paving material 108 to the work site 112, the haul trucks 104 may transfer the paving material 108 to a hopper or other component of the paver 106, and the paver 106 may apply and / or otherwise deposit the paving material 108 onto the work surface 110 in the form of a substantially flat, substantially smooth mat of paving material 108.

[0010] As shown in FIG 1, 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 more or less than the seven haul trucks 104 shown in FIG 1. Additionally, as shown in FIG 1, the haul trucks 104 may travel sequentially (e.g., one after the other) from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112 along a travel path 114 and may return to the paving material plant 102 sequentially along substantially the same travel path 114 or along separate (e.g., different) travel paths 114. For example, the haul truck 104 may transport the paving material 108 to the work site 112 by sequentially traversing a first portion 116 of the travel path 114 that extends from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112, and may return to the paving material plant 102 by sequentially traversing a second portion 118 of the travel path 114 that extends from the work site 112 to the paving material plant 102 (or other location).

[0011] Additionally, although not shown in FIG. 1 , it is understood that the paving system 100 may further include one or more other machines, such as one or more compaction machines and / or one or more remix transfer vehicles. In such an embodiment, the one or more compaction machines may be configured to compact the mat of paving material 108 to a desired density. It is understood that the consistency, density, and / or quality of the mat of paving material may be maximized when the paver 106 is controlled to operate without stopping. Thus, to avoid paving machine stoppages, an arrival time at which the example haul truck 104a is scheduled to arrive at the work site 112 may be determined as described in U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 104,514, filed August 17, 2018, entitled “System and Method for Determining Haul Truck Arrival,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. In any embodiment described herein, the determined arrival time at which the haul truck 104 is scheduled to arrive at the work site 112 may be used to control the speed, paving speed, and / or other operations of the paver 106. For example, the determined arrival time may be used to reduce the speed and / or paving rate of the paver 106 in instances where the determined arrival time indicates that the haul truck 104 is behind schedule and / or will be delayed in arriving at the work site 112 for other reasons. As a result, the determined arrival time of the haul truck 104 may be used to avoid stopping the paver 106. Additionally and / or alternatively, the paving rate at which the paver 106 is operating may be (reasonably) increased to reduce the amount of time the haul truck 104 is waiting at the work site 112 to dispense the paving material 108 to the paver 106 or other machines. 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.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, the paving material plant 102 may produce paving material 108, such as asphalt, which is made from bitumen, aggregates, and other materials or fillers. The paving material 108 is often produced in batches, with each batch being sorted or held in a separate storage or holding location, such as a silo, before being loaded onto one or more haul trucks 104 at a loading station of the paving material plant 102. Each holding location may be dedicated to storing or holding paving material 108 for a particular job site 112, and the paving material 108 in a particular holding location is periodically loaded onto one or more haul trucks 104 for transport to the job site 112. The characteristics of each batch stored in the holding location may be set based on the desired characteristics for a particular paving project. For example, the amount of oil and the size of the aggregates may 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 may be mixed periodically or continuously at the holding location and maintained at a desired temperature. The temperature at which the paving material 108 is maintained may be set based on the desired temperature at which the paving material 108 is loaded onto the haul truck 104. Such loading temperature may be based on the desired temperature at which the load is delivered to the paver 106, the ambient air temperature, the expected time required for the haul truck to drive from the paving material plant 102 to the job site 112 (e.g., the paver 106), as well as any predicted or expected waiting time of the haul truck 104 at the job site 112.

[0013] The paving system 100 shown in FIG. 1 may also include a control system 120 and one or more system controllers 122. In some embodiments, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may be located at the paving material plant 102. In such embodiments, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may also include components located remotely from the paving material plant 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 embodiments, the control system 120 and / or the system controller 122 may be located remotely from the paving material plant 102 and / or remotely from the work site 112, such as at the remote command center described above. In any of the embodiments described herein, the functionality of the system controller 122 may be distributed, such that certain operations are performed at the paving material plant 102 and other operations are performed remotely. For example, some operations of 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 pavers 106, etc. It is understood that the system controller may comprise components of the paving system 100, the paving material plant 102, one or more of the haul trucks 104, one or more of the pavers 106, components of a separate electronic device (e.g., a cell phone, a tablet, a laptop computer, etc.), and / or the control system 120.

[0014] The system controller 122 may be an electronic controller that operates in a logical manner to perform operations, execute algorithms, and store and retrieve data and / or other desired operations. The system controller 122 may include or have access to memory, secondary storage, a processor, and any other components for executing applications. The memory and secondary storage may be in the form of read-only memory (ROM) or random access memory (RAM) or integrated circuits accessible by the controller. Various other circuits, such as power supply circuits, signal conditioning circuits, driver circuits, and / or other types of circuits, may be associated with the system controller 122.

[0015] The system controller 122 may be a single controller or may include two or more controllers (e.g., additional controllers associated with each of the haul trucks 104, the paver 106, the compaction machine (not shown), and / or other machines / components of the paving system 100, etc.) configured to control various functions and / or features of the paving system 100. As used herein, the term “controller” is meant in its 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 plant 102 and the machines of the paving system 100. The functionality of the system controller 122, regardless of functionality, may be implemented in hardware and / or software. 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 that may be stored within the memory of the system controller 122. Each of the above-mentioned data maps 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.

[0016] The components of the control system 120 may communicate with and / or otherwise be operatively connected to any of the pavement system components via a network 124. The network 124 may be a local area network ("LAN"), a larger network such as a wide area network ("WAN"), or a collection of networks such as the Internet. A protocol for network communication such as TCP / IP may be used to implement the network 124. Although embodiments are described herein as using a network 124 such as the Internet, other distribution techniques may be implemented that transmit information via memory cards, flash memory, or other portable memory devices.

[0017] It is also understood that the paving material plant 102, the various haul trucks 104, the pavers 106, the compaction machines (not shown), and / or other components of the paving system 100 may include respective controllers, and that the respective controllers may each communicate with and / or otherwise be operatively connected via a network 124. For example, the network 124 may comprise components of a wireless communication system for the paving system 100, and as part of such a wireless communication system, the paving material plant 102, the one or more haul trucks 104, the pavers 106, the one or more compaction machines, 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 number of signals, commands, and / or information between the paving material plant 102, the haul trucks 104, the pavers 106, the compaction machines, and the system controller 122, as well as to allow communication with other machines and systems remote from the paving material plant 102, the haul trucks 104, the pavers 106, and / or the work site 112. For example, such communication devices 126 may include a transmitter configured to transmit signals 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 signals. In some examples, the transmitter and receiver of a particular communication device 126 may be combined as a transceiver or other such components. In any of the examples described herein, such communication devices 126 may also enable communication with one or more tablets, computers, cell phones / wireless phones, personal digital assistants, mobile devices, or other electronic devices 128 located at the work site 112, at the paving material plant 102, and / or located remotely from the work site 112 or the paving material plant 102. Such electronic devices 128 may include, for example, a cell phone and / or tablet of a project manager (e.g., a site supervisor) who oversees daily paving operations at the work site 112 and / or the paving material plant 102.

[0018] 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 number of communication standards. The desired protocol allows communication between the system controller 122, the one or more 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 such as Bluetooth RTM (e.g., IEEE 802.15), local area networks such as IEEE 802.11b or 802.11g, cellular networks, or any other system or protocol for data transfer. Other wireless communication systems and configurations are contemplated. In some examples, wireless communications may be sent and received directly between the control system 120 and the machines of the paving system 100 (e.g., the paver 106, the haul truck 104, etc.) or between such machines. In other examples, communications may be routed automatically without the need for retransmission by remote personnel.

[0019] In an example embodiment, one or more of the machines of the paving system 100 (e.g., one or more haul trucks 104, paver 106, etc.) may include a position sensor 130 configured to determine a location and / or orientation of the respective machine. In such an embodiment, the communication device 126 of each machine may be configured to generate and / or transmit a signal indicative of such determined location and / or orientation, for example, to the system controller 122 and / or each other machine of the paving system 100. In some examples, the position sensor 130 of each machine may include and / or comprise Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) or Global Positioning System (GPS) components. Alternatively, a Universal Total Station (UTS) may be utilized to identify the respective positions of the machines. In an exemplary embodiment, one or more of the position sensors 130 described herein may comprise a GPS receiver, transmitter, transceiver, laser prism, and / or other such devices, and the position sensor 130 may be in communication with one or more GPS satellites 132 and / or a UTS to determine the location of each of the machines to which the position sensor 130 is connected continuously, substantially continuously, or at various time intervals. One or more additional machines of the paving system 100 may also be in communication with one or more GPS satellites 132 and / or a UTS, and such GPS satellites 132 and / or a UTS may also be configured to determine the location of each of such additional machines. In any of the examples described herein, the locations of the machines determined by each position sensor 130 may be used by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 to coordinate the operation of the haul truck 104, the paver 106, and / or other components of the paving system 100. For example, the location of the machine determined by each position sensor 130 may be used by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 to determine the transport speed of the paving material 108 being transported from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112.For example, the location of such machines may be used by the system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 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 being transported by the haul truck 104 from the paving material plant 102 to the paver 106. The system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may also track the amount of paving material 108 paved by the paver 106, the current and / or past paving speeds, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104, the amount of paving material 108 on route to the work site 112, etc. Such progress data may be compared to target data received by an operator / site supervisor and / or compared to target data (or target goals) automatically generated by the system controller 122 and / or other components (as described further below). The system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may also generate a user interface 133 that includes information indicating, among other things, the progress of the paving project and / or the productivity of one or more components of the paving system 100. The system controller 122 may provide the user interface 133, for example, to the electronic device 128, the controller of the paver 106, and / or other components of the paving system 100, via the network 124, to display such that the operation of the various components of the paving system 100 can be modified and / or otherwise controlled based, at least in part, on the progress data. In instances where the paver 106, compaction machine, and / or other components of the paving system 100 are operating under autonomous or semi-autonomous control, the speed, steering, paving speed, and / or other functions of such components may be automatically or semi-automatically controlled based, at least in part, on the progress data.

[0020] 1 , the paving material plant 102 may include various material handling components, mixers, heaters, and / or other equipment configured to assist in the production of paving material 108 for use in various paving operations. Such equipment may include, for example, one or more conveyors or other devices configured to transport the paving material 108 to one or more paving material silos 134 or other holding locations for storage therein. The paving material plant 102 may also include one or more loading stations 136 configured to transfer the paving material 108 from the one or more paving material silos 134 to one or more haul trucks 104. In such examples, the paving material silo 134 may include one or more sensors 138 configured to determine a temperature of the paving material 108 stored in the paving material silo 134 and / or an amount of the paving material 108 stored in the paving material silo 134 (e.g., the fill level of the paving material silo 134). Similarly, the loading station 136 may include one or more sensors 140 configured to determine the presence and / or location of one or more haul trucks 104 (e.g., haul truck 104a shown in FIG. 1 ), the time the haul truck 104a arrived at the loading station 136, the time the haul truck 104a departed the loading station 136, the amount (e.g., weight) of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104a, and / or other information related to the haul truck 104a. In some examples, the sensors 140 may include a scale 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 onto the haul truck 104a, and / or the change in weight of the haul truck 104a.

[0021] The paving material plant 102 may also include one or more weigh houses, operator stations, or other stations 142 for use by paving material plant personnel. For example, as illustrated abstractly in FIG. 1 , one or more such stations 142 may include a paving material plant controller 144 that is substantially similar and / or identical to the system controller 122 described above. In some examples, the paving material plant controller 144 may include components of the control system 120. In any of the examples described herein, the paving material plant controller 144 and / or other components of the paving material plant 102 may be configured to monitor, record, and / or communicate activity of the various haul trucks 104 entering and leaving the paving material plant 102. For example, various sensors at the paving material plant 102 and / or the paving material plant controller 144 may monitor, sense, determine, record, and / or transmit information indicative of the time when a particular haul truck 104a enters the paving material plant 102, the time when a haul truck 104a leaves the paving material plant 102, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto a particular departing haul truck 104a, the destination of the particular haul truck 104a (e.g., the location of the job site 112), the operator of the haul truck 104a, and / or other information. Such information may be used, for example, by the system controller 122 in any of the progress determinations, productivity determinations, and / or other operations described herein.

[0022] In some examples, additional information associated with a particular haul truck 104a may be collected while the particular haul truck 104a is positioned at the paving material plant 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 unique to each haul truck 104a. In such examples, the unique haul truck identifier for each haul truck 104a may be scanned, observed, and / or otherwise determined by sensors 140 while the haul truck 104a is positioned at the loading station 136. Additionally and / or alternatively, the unique haul truck identifier for each haul truck 104a may be scanned, observed, and / or otherwise determined by one or more sensors (not shown) associated with station 142 when the haul truck 104a is positioned at station 142. Additionally and / or alternatively, paving material plant personnel may use one or more handheld scanners, sensors, or other devices to scan, observe, and / or otherwise determine a unique haul truck identifier for each haul truck 104a when the haul truck 104a is positioned at loading station 136, station 142, and / or other locations within paving material plant 102. In any such embodiments, the sensors, handheld scanners, or other devices may provide the determined haul truck identifier to paving material plant controller 144 in one or more signals transmitted over network 124 along with a timestamp indicating the time the haul truck identifier was determined.

[0023] As mentioned above, the haul trucks 104 of the paving system 100 may be operable to transport paving material 108 between the paving material plant 102 and one or more paving machines 106 located at the work site 112. Each of the haul trucks 104 may include a chassis 146 that supports a prime mover, such as an engine, and a cab 148 in which an operator may be positioned to provide input commands to operate the haul truck 104. The engine is operatively connected to and drives a ground engaging drive mechanism, such as wheels. A material transport 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 transported from one location to another.

[0024] Each haul truck 104 may include a track control system 152 and a track controller 154 that are generally similar or identical to the control system 120 and the system controller 122, respectively. The track control system 152 and the track controller 154 may be located on each one of the haul trucks 104 or may include components located remotely from each one of the haul trucks 104, such as on any of the other machines of the paving system 100, at the paving material plant 102, or at a command center (not shown). The functionality of the track controller 154 may be distributed such that certain functions are performed on each one of the haul trucks 104 and other functions are performed remotely. In some embodiments, the track control system 152 and / or the track controller 154 may enable autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control of each haul truck 104.

[0025] The haul trucks 104 may also be equipped with a number of sensors connected to and / or in communication with the truck controller 154 and / or the system controller 122. Such sensors may be configured to provide data indicative (directly or indirectly) of various operating parameters of each one of the haul trucks 104, a system associated with each one of the haul trucks 104, and / or various operating parameters of the work site 112 and / or other environment in which each one of the haul trucks 104 operates. In any of the embodiments described herein, such sensors may comprise components of the track control system 152, the control system 120, and / or the paving system 100 in general. 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 a location and / or orientation of each one of the haul trucks 104. The position sensor 130 may include a number of individual sensors that cooperate to generate and provide to the truck controller 154 and / or the system controller 122 a position signal indicative of a location and / or orientation of each one of the haul trucks 104. In some embodiments, the position sensor 130 may be fixed to the cab 148, the chassis 146, and / or any other component of the haul truck 104. However, in other embodiments, the position sensor 130 may be removably attached to a respective one of the haul trucks 104 and / or may be disposed within the cab 148 of the haul truck 104a, for example, during operation of the haul truck 104a. In some embodiments, 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 trucks 104 may further 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.

[0026] 1 , the paver 106 may include a frame 160 having a set of ground-engaging wheels or tracks 162 mounted thereon, as well as a screed 164 for spreading the paving material 108 across the width of the work surface 110. The paver 106 may further 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 transferring the paving material 108 from the hopper 166 to the screed 164. The paver 106 may further 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 described below, the example user interface 133 may include, among other things, a visual indicia of the paving material plant 102, a visual indicia of the work site 112, an identifier associated with one or more of the respective 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. The example user interface 133 may additionally or alternatively include information indicative of projected productivity and progress based on the target data for the paving project, a current paving speed, location and loading data for one or more haul trucks 104, etc.

[0027] In still further examples, the user interface 133 may include a map of the work site 112 including icons or other visual indicia representing the work surface 110, the paver 106, the one or more haul trucks 104, and / or other components of the paving system 100. The user interface 133 may also include a map of the area surrounding the work site 112. For example, such a map may include lines, icons, markers, or other visual indicia representing the paving material plant 102, the work site 112, a travel path 114 extending from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112, one or more haul trucks 104 located on the travel path 114, one or more additional roads, or other items. In additional examples, the user interface 133 may include information associated with each one of the haul trucks 104, information about the paving material, and / or other information typically included in a paving ticket generated at the paving material plant 102. It will further be understood that such user interface 133 may be displayed via the display 168, the electronic device 128, and / or via any other display associated with the system controller 122, the paving material plant controller 144, or other components of the control system 120.

[0028] The paver 106 may also include a paver control system 170 and a paver controller 172, which are generally similar or identical to the control system 120 and the system controller 122, respectively. The paver control system 170 and the paver controller 172 may be located on the paver 106 or may include components located remotely from the paver 106, such as, for example, on other machines of the paving system 100, at the paving material plant 102, or at a command center (not shown). The functionality of the paver controller 172 may be distributed, such that certain functions are performed on the paver 106 and other functions are performed remotely. In some examples, the paver control system 170 and / or the paver controller 172 may enable autonomous and / or semi-autonomous control of the paver 106. For example, the paver controller 172 may be configured to receive progress data indicative of the progress and / or productivity of the paving project and / or target data from the system controller 122. In an autonomous or semi-autonomous operating mode, generally, the paver controller 172 and / or paver control system 170 may be operable to move the paver 106 at a desired paver speed while depositing paving material 108 on the work surface 110 based at least in part on received progress and / or target data. Such operation and / or control of the paver 106 may ensure that the paving project progresses according to schedule.

[0029] The paver 106 may also be equipped with a number of sensors connected to and / or in communication with the paver controller 172 and / or the system controller 122. Such sensors may be configured to provide data indicative (directly or indirectly) of various operating parameters for the paver 106, the systems associated with the paver 106, and / or the work site 112, and / or other environment in which the paver 106 is operating. In any of the examples described herein, such sensors may comprise components of the paver control system 170, the control system 120, and / or the paving system 100 in general. For example, in addition to the position sensor 130 and communication device 126 described above, the paver 106 may also include a temperature sensor 174 mounted, for example, on or proximate to 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 by the screed 164 on the work surface 110. In some examples, the temperature sensor 174 may comprise an optical temperature sensor, such as an infrared camera, while in other embodiments, the temperature sensor 174 may comprise a non-optical sensor, such as a digital or analog thermometer. Although the temperature sensor 174 is shown mounted on the screed 164 so that it can determine the temperature of the paving material 108 deposited on the working surface 110 and located behind the screed 164 as paving progresses, the disclosure is not limited to this configuration. For example, in other embodiments, the temperature sensor 174 may be mounted at a different location on the paver 106 and configured to sense the paving material temperature within the paver 106.

[0030] FIGURE 2 illustrates an example user interface 200 of the present disclosure. The example user interface 200 may comprise any of the user interfaces 133 described above with respect to FIGURE 1, with the user interface 200 of FIGURE 2 being shown as being displayed on an LCD display, a CRT display, a touch screen (e.g., capacitive / touch sensitive) display, and / or other display 202. In some embodiments, the display 202 may comprise a display of the electronic device 128, a display associated with the system controller 122, a display associated with the paving material plant controller 144, and / or a display associated with one or more other components of the control system 120. In further embodiments, the display 202 may comprise a display of the paver 106 similar and / or identical to the display 168 described above with respect to FIGURE 1.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 2 , the example user interface 200 may include information 204 indicative of 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 progress values ​​generated from the sensor data. For example, the information 204 may include progress values ​​generated from sensor data from one or more of a paving material plant, a paver, a haul truck, etc. In some examples, such information 204 may include indicators 204a, 204b, 204c, etc., indicative of the status of the respective paving projects. While FIG. 2 depicts information 204a-204c indicative of the project status of three different paving projects 206a-206c, it is understood that the example user interface 200 may 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 indicative of a location of the paving project 206a (i.e., the location of the work site 112), information indicative of an operator of the paving project 206a, and / or any other unique information or identifier that is automatically generated or set by a user, such as a site supervisor or operator. In some examples, the information 204a may include information indicative of a percentage of completion 210 that represents an amount of the paving project 206a that has been completed compared to target data. The percentage of completion 210 may also be presented as a completion bar 212 proximate to the percentage of completion 210. As previously discussed, the percentage of completion 210 may be based in part on the 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 site supervisor) may input one or more parameters, including, but not limited to, a total amount of paving material 108 needed (or desired) to pave and complete the paving project 206a, the work hours needed to complete the paving project 206a, a projected start time / date, a projected 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 a total amount of paving material 108 to be paved and a target completion date to complete the paving project. From such information, the system controller 122 may calculate target data for the paving project, such as a proposed paving speed, a daily amount of paving material 108 to be paved each day on the project, the number of work hours to be completed in a day, the number of haul trucks to be deployed for the paving project, etc. For example, the system controller 122 may determine the number of work days prior to the completion date, the number of work hours to be completed, etc., based in part on the target completion date. From such determinations, the system controller 122 may then calculate the amount of paving material 108 to be paved each day, each hour, etc. For example, system controller 122 may divide the total amount of paving material to be paved for the paving project by the total number of work days and / or work hours to be completed to finish the paving project. In some embodiments, system controller 122 may calculate the target data based in part on historical data for one or more paving projects.

[0032] The completion percentage 210 may represent an actual amount of any one or more of the aforementioned parameters completed by the paving system. That is, the completion percentage 210 and / or the completion bar 212 may represent an amount of the paving project 206a that has been completed (i.e., the amount of paving material 108 paved, the work hours completed, etc.). In some examples, the completion percentage 210 may represent the actual amount of paving material 108 that has been paved out of the total amount of paving material 108 to be paved throughout the project (i.e., (actual amount paved / total amount to be paved) multiplied by 100). Such completion percentage 210 may be represented at a project level, a daily level, and / or a crew / shift level (among other things). In some examples, a user may toggle between different completion metrics that indicate a project-level completion percentage, a daily completion percentage, and / or a crew / shift level completion percentage. In some examples, a user may enter project-level total 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., total amount of paving material 108 to be paved, start date, completion date, etc.) and the paving system 100 may automatically determine target data at the project level, daily, and / or crew level. Such a process is described further herein below. In such a process, a user may input such parameters using input fields in the user interface 200.

[0033] In some examples, the target data may be represented by a predicted completion bar 214 (also referred to herein as a "forecast bar"). The forecast 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 at a particular time, such as the current time or the end of a specified time period (hours, days, weeks, etc.). Displaying the completion bar 212 adjacent to the forecast bar 214 provides the user with a visual indication of their progress against the target data. Thus, a user, such as a site supervisor, can easily and quickly determine whether the paving project 206a is ahead of schedule, on schedule, 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 indicia. The forecast bar 214 may represent the target data at a project level, a daily level, and / or a crew / shift level, thereby providing the site supervisor with multiple levels of detail and project tracking. 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 embodiments, the percentage of completion 210, the completion bar 212, and / or other portions of the progress status 204 may be colored, patterned, shaded, hatched, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether the progress status 204 indicates that the paving project 206 is ahead of schedule, on schedule, 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 target data for the paving project 206c has not been set by a user and / or calculated by the paving system 100, the user interface 200 may present a selectable control 216 for setting the target data. In some examples, selecting the control 216 may present one or more parameters for which a user may provide input, and the target data may be calculated by the paving system 100 based in part on the one or more parameters. Additionally and / or alternatively, selecting the control 216 may cause the system controller 122 and / or other paving system 100 components to calculate the target data based in part on data received from the user.

[0034] 2, the progress status 204a of the paving project 206a may further include progress data for one or more components of the paving system 100. For example, the progress status 204a may display metric information indicative of progress data 218a (also referred to herein as “metric data”) for the paving material plant 102. Such metric data 218a may be expressed as an amount of paving material 108 that has been weighed at the paving material plant 102. As previously discussed, the paving material plant 102 may be in communication with the control system 120, the system controller 122, and / or other components of the paving system 100. The paving material plant 102 may communicate the metric data 218a, such as an amount of paving material 108 that has been weighed and / or an amount of paving material 108 that has been loaded onto the haul truck 104. Such metric data 218a may include weights of paving material weighed and / or loaded at the paving material plant 102, volumes of paving material 108 loaded at the paving material plant 102, etc. In some examples, the metric data 218a may be expressed as quantities weighed out of total quantities weighed at a project level, daily, or crew / shift level. Similar to percent complete 210 described above, the metric data 218a may be colored, patterned, shaded, hatched, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether the metric data 218a is ahead of, substantially equal to, or lagging behind the target data.

[0035] Additionally, the progress status 204a may display information indicative of the amount of paving material 108 being transported on the haul truck 104. Such information may be displayed as transportation data 220a. The transportation data 220a may include data received from the paving material plant 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 onto the paver 106. For example, the transportation data 220a may indicate that the haul truck 104 is between the paving material plant 102 and the work site 112. In some examples, the progress status 204 may further include information indicative of the amount of paving material 108 that has been paved onto the work surface 110. Such information may be displayed as paving data 222a. The paving data 222a may include data received from the paver 106 and / or the haul truck 104 indicating that the paving material 108 has been paved. Similar to percent complete 210 described above, pavement data 222a may be colored, patterned, shaded, hatched, and / or otherwise displayed depending on whether pavement data 222a is ahead of, substantially equal to, or lagging behind the target data. Although FIG. 2 depicts progress status 204a including metering data 218a, haulage data 220a, and pavement data 222a, progress status 204a may be configured to display any data received from paving system 100.

[0036] In any of the example embodiments described herein, the user interface 200 may comprise an interactive user interface configured to receive one or more inputs from a user via the display 202 and provide one or more outputs responsive to such inputs via the display 202. In such examples, one or more of the progress status 204, the paving project 206, the paving project identifier 208, the percentage of completion 210, the metering data 218, the transportation data 220, and the paving completion data 222, etc., may be configured to receive one or more inputs from a user via the display 202 and provide various information and / or other outputs responsive 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 typically associated with the paving ticket, the paving material plant 102, the work site 112, and / or various components of the paving system 100 via the display 202. The user interface 200 may also include various other controls 224, 226 configured to operate, access, and / or control various other functions of the user interface 200 and / or various other operations of the paving system component with which the display 202 is associated.

[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates another exemplary user interface 300 of the present disclosure provided by the display 202. In some examples, the user interface 300 may be provided by the display 202 at least in part in response to the paving system 100 determining that the progress status 204 indicates that the paving project 206 is lagging behind the target data. Such a process is described further herein below. Additionally and / or alternatively, the paving system 100 may provide the user interface at least in part in response to the progress status 204 being determined to be below a threshold below the target data for one or more parameters. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the user interface 300 may be information indicative of the project status 204 of the paving project 206. For example, the user interface 300 may provide a dialog box 302 informing the user that the project status 204 indicates that the paving project 206 is lagging behind the target data for one or more parameters. In some examples, the dialog box 302 may include text informing the user which parameters are lagging behind the target data. For example, the dialog box 302 may include text describing that the amount of paving material 108 metered at the paving material plant 102 is below a threshold amount of paving material 108 needed to keep the paving project 206 on schedule. 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 representing components and / or parameters of the paving system 100 that are lagging behind the 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 examination of the components and / or parameters of the paving system 100.

[0038] The dialog box 302 may further include a second selectable control 306 that, when selected by the user, may cause one or more recommendations to be presented on the display 202. The one or more recommendations may include data describing which components of the paving system 100 may be causing the paving project 206 to fall behind schedule. For example, the paving system 100 may identify one or more inefficiencies in the paving system 100 and present the one or more inefficiencies to the user on the display 202. Additionally and / or alternatively, the paving system 100 may analyze data received during the paving project 206, target data, and / or other paving project historical data to identify one or more strategies for overcoming the one or more inefficiencies. These strategies may be presented to the user on the display when the user selects the control 306. In some examples, the user interface 300 may include an additional dialog box or selectable control that notifies the user that the paving project 206 is behind schedule.

[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates another exemplary user interface 400 of the present disclosure provided by the display 202. In some embodiments, the user interface 400 may be provided by the display in response to at least a user selecting the first selectable control 304. The user interface 400 may include information 402 indicative of cycle times for one or more haul trucks 104 of the paving system 100. For example, the information 402 may include data representing the amount of time it takes for one or more haul trucks to be loaded with paving material 108 at the paving material plant 102, reach the work site 112, dump the paving material 108 onto the paver 106 and / or other locations, return to the paving material plant 102, and be loaded with paving material 108 at another time. As shown in FIG. 4, the user interface 400 may include indicia representing locations of the paving system 100. For example, the user interface 400 may include loading indicia 404 representing the time at which the haul truck 104 is loaded with paving material 108. The user interface 400 may include a work site indicia 406 representing the time the haul truck will arrive at the work site 112. The user interface 400 may further include a dump indicia 408 representing the time the haul truck 104 will dump the paving material 108 to the paver 106 and / or other location. The user interface 400 may also include a return to plant indicia 410 representing the time the haul truck will return to the paving material plant 102 to receive a load of additional paving material 108. In some embodiments, the user interface 400 may include additional indicia representing other events within the paving system 100. While FIG. 4 is described as representing information 402 related to the cycle times of one or more haul trucks 104, the user interface 400 may generate other cycle time information for other components of the paving system 100. For example, the user interface 400 may provide information indicative of the production of paving material 108 at the paving plant 102, cycle times for one or more events of the paver 106 (e.g., shutdowns, loading events, etc.), compaction cycles, etc.

[0040] In some examples, the user interface 400 may include information 412 indicative of a total cycle time average. The total cycle time average 412 may represent the average time it takes for a haul truck to be loaded with paving material 108, arrive at the work site 112, dump the paving material 108 to the paver 106, return to the paving material plant 102, and be reloaded with paving material 108. Such a process may be referred to herein as a "cycle." The total cycle time average 412 may represent an average calculated for one or more haul trucks comprising one or more cycles. The user interface 400 may further include information 414 indicative of a previous cycle time. In such examples, the previous cycle time 414 may include a timeline with indicia representing one or more events of the cycle last completed by the haul truck. The user interface 400 may further include information 416 indicative of a moving average. The moving average 416 may represent the average length of time that a haul truck is at the work site 112. The user interface 400 may further include information indicative of a planned cycle time 418. The planned cycle time 418 may represent an estimated length of time that a user and / or the paving system 100 calculates to plan the length of time required to complete a cycle and / or portions thereof.

[0041] FIG. 5 shows a flow chart depicting an example method 500 of project tracking of a work site 112 for one or more paving projects 206. The example method 500 is illustrated as a collection of steps in a logical flow diagram, which 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 memory. When such instructions are executed, for example, by the system controller 122, such instructions may cause the system controller 122, various components of the control system 120, the paving material plant controller 144, the track controller 154, the paving machine controller 172, and / or other components of the paving system 100 to perform the recited operations. Such computer-executable instructions may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types. The order in which the operations are described is not intended to be construed as limiting, and any number of the described steps may be combined in any order and / or in parallel to perform a process. For purposes of discussion, and unless otherwise specified, method 500 will be described with reference to paving system 100, control system 120, paving material plant 102, and / or other items shown in Figures 1-4. In particular, although any portion and / or the entirety of method 500 may be performed by track controller 154, paver controller 172, paving material plant controller 144, electronics 128, and / or other components of paving system 100, unless otherwise specified, the method will be described below with respect to system controller 122 for ease of explanation.

[0042] 5, at 502, the system controller 122 may receive target data for the paving project 206. In some examples, a 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 paved to complete the paving project 206, a start date for the paving project 206, a completion date for the paving project 206, the number of work hours required to complete the paving project 206, an estimated daily start time, an actual daily start time, the number of work hours per day, the number of days the paving will be performed, and the like. The user may input the target data at a project level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be paved for the entire paving project 206), a daily level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be paved each day of the paving project 206), and / or a worker / shift level (e.g., a total amount of paving material 108 to be paved during a shift and / or by a particular worker). Thus, the system controller 122 may receive target data for the paving project 206 corresponding to a work duration. The work duration may include a period corresponding to the entire paving project 206, a daily work duration, and / or segments of shorter work durations. In some examples, a user may input target data at one or more of the above-mentioned levels, and the system controller 122 may determine target data at the remaining levels. For ease of reference, such target data may be referred to herein as project-level target data, daily target data, and crew / 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 input via the electronic device 128 in lieu of target data. The one or more parameters may include, but are not limited to, dimensions of the working surface 110 to be paved, a total amount of paving material 108 to be paved, a start date, a completion date, and the like. Once the system controller 122 receives 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, daily level, and / or crew / 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 target data for a 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 condition of the one or more components and to 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 feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithms to identify one or more factors that most affect the progress of the paving project. In such examples, the 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 decomposition, diversity selection based on latent space from matrix decomposition, a relief algorithm, or combinations thereof.

[0043] 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 paver 106, the haul truck 104, the paving material plant 102, etc. In some examples, the system controller 122 may receive sensor data from one or more pavers 106 indicative of an amount of paving material 108 laid on the work surface 110 and / or a paving speed at which the one or more pavers 106 pave the work surface 110. The system controller 122 may receive sensor data from the haul truck 104 indicative of an amount of paving material 108 transported from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112. In some examples, the system controller 122 may generate a geofence around the work site 112 and / or around the paver 102. In such examples, the system controller 122 may track the movement of the haul truck 104 as they enter the geofence of the work site 112 and / or the paver 106. For example, the system controller 122 may determine the amount of time the haul truck 104 is on the work site 112 before dispensing the paving material 108 to the paver 106. The system controller 122 may also determine the amount of time the haul truck spends within the geofence of the work site 112 and / or the paver 106, and may use the determined amount of time as an indication that the haul truck 104 has entered the work site 112 and / or dispensed the paving material 108 to the paver 106. In some examples, the system controller 122 may determine that a threshold amount of time has elapsed since the haul truck 104 entered the work site 112 and may assume that the haul truck 104 has dispensed the paving material 108 into the paver 106. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the haul truck 104 has entered the work site 112 and has been on the work site 112 for more than three hours. In such a situation, the system controller 122 may assume that the haul truck 104 has delivered the paving material 108 to the paver 106 .Additionally and / or alternatively, the system controller 122 may send a request to the display 168 of the paver 106 requesting confirmation from the machine operator that one or more of the haul trucks 104 have dispensed the paving material 108 into the paver. The system controller 122 may also receive loading data from a loading station sensor 140 of the paving material plant 102 indicating the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul trucks 104 and / or the amount of time it took to load the paving material 108 onto the haul trucks 104.

[0044] 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 paving project 206 overall and / or may include a start time for each day. For example, the system controller 122 may determine a date and time when the paving project 206 started. Additionally and / or alternatively, the system controller 122 may determine a start time for the paving project 206 for each day that the paving project 206 is still pending. In some examples, the start time may be determined from sensor data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine a time when the first haul truck 104 was loaded with the paving material 108 at the paving material plant 102 from the sensor data. Additionally, the system controller 122 may receive an electronic ticket from the paving material plant 102 indicating the time the haul truck was loaded, the identity of the haul truck 104, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104, etc. Typically, daily project tracking may be performed over a 24-hour period beginning at 12:00 a.m. and ending at 11:59 p.m. However, determining the daily start time may allow a user to more accurately track the progress of the paving project 206. Additionally, the system controller 122 may use the daily start time to determine and / or adjust daily target data and / or crew / 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 patterns. In some examples, the user may indicate a predicted start time and / or the system controller 122 may determine a proposed start time. In such an embodiment, the system controller 122 may compare the actual start time to the predicted and / or proposed start time and transmit to the electronic device 128 associated with the user an indication of whether the current work day started earlier, later, or substantially on time (i.e., within about 15, 25, 30 minutes, etc.) than scheduled.In examples where the system controller 122 determines that the start time was later than the predicted start time and / or the proposed start time, the system controller 122 may automatically update the target data to achieve the target data for the day. For example, the system controller 122 may adjust the amount of paving material 108 that needs to be paved each hour to achieve the target data for the day and / or paving project 206.

[0045] At 508, the system controller 122 may determine a progress value representative of the progress of the paving project 206. In some examples, the progress value may include the percentage of completion 210 described above in connection with FIG. 2. The progress value may be determined at a project level, a daily level, and / or a crew / shift level. The progress value may be a value that the system controller 122 generates by analyzing the sensor data and / or the start time. For example, the progress value may be a composite value representative of the overall progress of the paving system 100 of the paving project 206. In such examples, the system controller 122 may determine weighting factors, constants, and / or modifiers 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 discussed, in such examples, the system controller 122 may use feature reduction and / or feature selection algorithms to determine which one or more components have the greatest impact on the progress of the paving project 206. The system controller 122 may weight such components more highly than others when determining the progress value. 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 examples, the system controller 122 may weight the progress of the haul truck 104 more highly than the amount of paving material 108 paved by the paver 106. In some examples, the progress value may represent the progress of less than all of the components of the paving system 100. For example, the progress value may represent the progress of the haul truck 104 of 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 percentage of completion for one or more components of the paving system. The progress value may further include a productivity value and / or an efficiency value for one or more components. Additionally, the progress value may be calculated relative to a predicted 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 examples, the system controller 122 may determine that the paving project 206 is behind schedule such that a site supervisor can make changes to the paving system 100 before the paving project 206 falls behind schedule.

[0046] 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 embodiments, 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 elapsed since the start of the paving project 206. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that at 1:00 p.m., 1000 tons of paving material 108 will be required to be paved by the paving system 100 to reach the daily target data and / or the project-level target data. Such a threshold progress value may be determined by dividing the total amount of paving material by the total number of work hours completed for the paving project and / or by dividing the daily amount of paving material paved by the number of work hours in a day to determine the amount of paving material paved per hour in a 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 at least in part for a start time of a particular day for the paving project 206. In some examples, the system controller 122 may determine multiple threshold progress values. In such examples, the system controller 122 may use the multiple threshold progress values ​​to indicate whether the paving project 206 is behind schedule and / or to determine the type of alert / notification to send to a user.

[0047] At 512, system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. If system controller 122 determines multiple threshold progress values ​​at 510, system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than one or more of the threshold progress values. For example, system controller 122 may determine that the progress value is greater than one or more of the threshold progress values, that the progress value is less than a first threshold progress value but greater than a second threshold progress value, or that the progress value is less than the first threshold progress value and the second progress value.

[0048] If the system controller 122 determines at 512 that the progress value is greater than or equal to the threshold progress value, the system controller 122 may receive the 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 previously determined the start time, the system controller 122 may not need to determine the start time again and thus may skip one or more of the previous steps. Optionally, if the system controller 122 determines at 512 that the progress value is greater than or equal to the threshold progress value and / or if 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 the system controller 122 determines at 512 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 paving speeds, reducing the number of days required to complete the paving project 206, reducing the number of crew / shifts per day and / or project work duration, etc. However, in some examples, the system controller 122 may omit 514 and continue to monitor the sensor data at 504.

[0049] However, if the system controller 122 determines at 512 that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, the system controller 122 may determine at 516, based in part on the sensor data, the one or more parameters, the target data and / or historical data associated with the paving project 206 and / or other paving projects, one or more components of the paving system 100 that are underperforming compared to the target data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine, in part based on the sensor data, that the paver 106, the haul truck 104, and / or the paving material plant 102 may be underperforming compared to the target data for the paving project 206. For example, the system controller 122 may determine that the haul truck is waiting too long to load the paving material 108 at the paving material plant 102. In another example, the system controller 122 may determine that there are too few haul trucks 104 in the paving system 100, causing delays for the pavers 106. In such an example, the system controller 122 may compare the sensor data of one or more components to their respective target data to determine whether the one or more components have reached their target data. If the system controller 122 determines that a component has not reached its target data for that particular component (i.e., the haul truck 104 has not delivered the target amount of paving material 108 from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112), the system controller 122 may analyze the sensor data to determine one or more factors that may have caused the component to not reach the target data. For example, the system controller 122 may determine from historical data that a haul truck typically spends less than one hour at the paving material plant 102 when loading paving material 108. However, the system controller 122 may determine from the sensor data that the haul truck 104 has spent approximately two hours at the paving material plant 102, and that such waiting time is causing delays in the paving system 100.As previously discussed, the system controller 122 may use feature selection and / or feature reduction algorithms to determine which components 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 impeding the progress of the paving project 206.

[0050] 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 progress value is less than the threshold progress value. In some examples, the notification may include multiple levels of urgency based on which of the multiple threshold progress values ​​the progress value is less than. The notification may indicate the period of time during which the progress value is less than the threshold progress value. As described above with respect to FIG. 3, the notification may include one or more selectable controls that, when selected, may display progress data and / or recommendations to the user. The notification of one or more recommendations may be based, at least in part, on determining one or more components of the paving system 100 that are impeding 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 the historical data to generate one or more recommendations that may be implemented in the paving system 100 to reach 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, are likely to impede 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 most impact the progress of the paving project and / or will impact the paving project. In such examples, the 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 decomposition, diversity selection based on latent space from the matrix decomposition, relief algorithms, or combinations thereof. Additionally, through one or more machine learning techniques, the system may learn the types of recommendations that would be most effective when implemented in the paving system 100 to reach the target data.

[0051] At 520, the system controller 122 may send a notification to the electronic device 128, various control systems of the paving system 100, and / or other components of the paving system 100. As described above, the notification may use a selectable control that, when selected, causes progress data and / or recommendations to be presented on the display 202. In some examples, the notification may cause the electronic device 128 to output audio data, video data, text data, etc. to notify a user that the progress of the paving system 100 is below a threshold progress value.

[0052] 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 the paving system 100. Still further, in some examples, the machine locations 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 a transport rate of the paving material 108 being transported from the paving material plant 102 to the work site 112. The system controller 122 and / or other components of the paving system 100 may also track the amount of paving material 108 paved by the paver 106, the current and / or past paving speeds, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto the haul truck 104, the amount of paving material 108 on route to the work site 112, and / or the like. In examples where the paver 106, compaction machine, and / or other components of the paving system 100 are operating under autonomous or semi-autonomous control, the speed, steering, paving speed, 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 in the paving material plant 102 and / or paving material plant controller 144 may monitor, sense, determine, record, and / or transmit information indicative of the time a particular haul truck 104a enters the paving material plant 102, the time a haul truck 104a leaves the paving material plant 102, the amount of paving material 108 loaded onto a particular departing haul truck 104a, the destination of the particular haul truck 104a (e.g., the location of the job site 112), the operator of the haul truck 104a, and / or others. Such information may be used, for example, by the system controller 122 in any of the progress determinations, productivity determinations, and / or other operations described herein. In some examples, a user may switch between different completion metrics indicative of project-level completion percentage, daily completion percentage, and / or worker / shift-level completion percentage.Additionally, the paving system 100 may analyze data received during the paving project 206, the target data, and / or other paving project historical data to identify one or more strategies for overcoming one or more inefficiencies. [Industrial Applicability]

[0053] This 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 the paving project 206 while the paving project 206 is underway. 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 on schedule according to target data for the paving project 206. In such an embodiment, 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 that includes such information and provide the user interface 200 to the electronic device 128. As a result, a site supervisor at the work site 112 of the paving project 206 may be able to determine the progress of the paving project 206 in near real time.

[0054] As discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-4 , an example method 500 for determining progress of a worksite 112 of a paving project 206 may include receiving or determining target data for the paving project 206. Such a 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 representative of the progress of the paving project 206. Such an example method 500 may also include determining a threshold progress value based in part on a duration of the paving project 206. In such examples, the system controller 122 may determine whether the progress value is less than a threshold. The system controller 122 may generate and send a notification to a user indicating that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value.

[0055] As described above, the system controller 122 may also generate a user interface 200 that includes information indicative of the progress of one or more paving projects 206. The system controller 122 may provide the user interface 200 to the electronic device 128. As a result, a site supervisor may determine the progress of the paving project 206 in near real-time. In some embodiments, the system controller 122 may also provide recommendations to the site supervisor that may be implemented in the paving system 100 to reach target data for the paving project 206.

[0056] Although 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 contemplated by modifications of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed subject matter. 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. receiving (502) target data for a paving project (206) corresponding to a work period using a controller (120); receiving (504) sensor data from one or more components associated with the paving project (206) using the controller (120); determining (508) a progress value representative of progress of the one or more components of the paving project (206) using the controller (120) and based at least in part on the sensor data; determining (510) a threshold progress value for a period of time with the controller (120), the period having a duration less than a duration of the work period; determining (512) with the controller (120) that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value; generating (518), using the controller (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 for the one or more components to reach the target data; and transmitting (520), using the controller (120), at least one of the alert or the recommendation to an electronic device (128) associated with a user, comprising: the target data is compared to the progress value to indicate a status of the paving project; The method comprises: comparing the sensor data to the target data to determine (516) the one or more components that are underperforming based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, where determining the one or more components includes implementing one or more machine learning techniques to determine which components, individually or in combination, are likely to impede progress of the paving project; Further comprising: the recommendation includes one or more strategies for increasing the progress value of the one or more components. method.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target data comprises a quantity of material (108) to be paved by the one or more components during the work period.

3. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor data includes at least one of loading data (218) indicative of an amount of material (108) loaded onto one or more haul trucks (104) or paving data (222) indicative of an amount of material (108) paved by one or more paving machines (106).

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining (506) a start time of the work period, and wherein determining (510) the threshold progress value is based at least in part on the start time of the work period.

5. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining (506) the progress value for the time period comprises determining a percentage of completion (210) representative of an amount of material (108) paved during the work period.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining (506) the start time comprises receiving a planned start time for the work period from a user.

7. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining (506) the start time comprises receiving a ticket from a paving material plant indicating a time when the paving material (108) was loaded onto the first haul truck (104).

8. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, using the controller (120) and based at least in part on the sensor data, a paving speed at which one or more pavers (106) are paving the work surface (110), and the recommendation comprises one or more suggestions for increasing the paving speed.

9. A pavement system comprising: one or more pavers (106) configured to pave a work surface (110); one or more transport trucks (104) configured to transport material (108) from a paving material plant (102) to the one or more paving machines (106) at a work site (112); 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 plant (102), the system controller (122) comprising: receiving target data corresponding to a work period (502), the target data including a quantity of the material (108) paved during the work period; receiving (504) 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 plant (102); determining (508) a progress value representative of at least an amount of the material (108) paved during at least a portion of the work period based at least in part on the sensor data; determining (510) a threshold progress value for a period having a duration less than a duration of the work period, determining the threshold progress value based at least in part on the target data and the work period; determining (512) that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value for the period of time; generating (518) at least one of an alert or a recommendation for one or more components of the pavement system to reach the target data based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value; and transmitting (520) to a device associated with a user an indication that the progress value during the time period is less than the threshold progress value; the target data is compared to the progress value to indicate a status of the paving project; The system controller further comprises: comparing the sensor data to the target data to determine (516) the one or more components that are underperforming based at least in part on determining that the progress value is less than the threshold progress value, wherein determining the one or more components includes implementing one or more machine learning techniques to determine which components, individually or in combination, are likely to impede progress of the pavement system; the recommendation includes one or more strategies for increasing the progress value of the one or more components. Paving systems.

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