Autonomous Earth-Moving Vehicle Risk-Based Pause Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current earth moving vehicles require manual operators, leading to high operational costs and increased risk of human error due to unpredictable earth movement and lack of sensor data.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous or semi-autonomous earth moving system that integrates sensors into earth moving vehicles to record positions, orientations, and site conditions, allowing the system to navigate and control the vehicle within a dig site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operators are used to control earth moving vehicles, then operational flexibility and decision-making are maintained, but operational costs increase and human error risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The earth moving vehicle is equipped with sensors, processors, and control systems that enable it to autonomously detect earth movement conditions, make decisions about when to move earth, and execute moving operations without human intervention. The system serves itself by using onboard sensors to detect conditions, processors to determine whether triggering conditions are present, and control systems to automatically operate the earth moving tool.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual operator control with an automated system comprising sensors (optical, acoustic, electromagnetic), processors for analyzing sensor data, and electronic control systems. This substitution eliminates the need for human operators while maintaining or improving operational reliability through consistent automated decision-making based on real-time sensor data analysis.
2Productivity
If manual operators are required for earth moving vehicles, then complex decision-making about earth movement can be handled, but operational costs increase due to the need for continuous human presence
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous control system is divided into distinct functional modules: sensor modules (optical sensors, acoustic sensors, electromagnetic sensors) for data collection, processor modules for analyzing sensor data and determining triggering conditions, and control modules for executing earth moving operations. This segmentation allows each module to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall system efficiency while reducing operational costs through automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The earth moving vehicle integrates multiple sensor types (optical, acoustic, electromagnetic) and processing capabilities into a single multi-functional autonomous system. This universal system can detect various earth movement conditions, make decisions about when to move earth, and control the earth moving tool, replacing multiple separate systems or human operators with one integrated autonomous vehicle.
3Reliability
If manual operators control earth moving vehicles, then adaptability to unpredictable earth movement is maintained through human judgment, but the quality of work decreases due to lack of sensor data and knowledge about earth moving techniques
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous earth moving vehicle continuously receives feedback from multiple sensors (optical, acoustic, electromagnetic) that monitor earth movement conditions, tool position, and operational parameters. The processors analyze this feedback data in real-time to determine whether triggering conditions are present and to adjust control signals accordingly, enabling high-quality autonomous decision-making that improves work quality through consistent, data-driven operations.
Data Source
AI summary
An earth moving vehicle (EMV) autonomously performs an earth moving operation within a dig site. If the EMV determines that a state of the EMV or the dig site triggers a triggering condition associated with a pause in the autonomous behavior of the EMV, the EMV determines a risk associated with the state or triggering condition. If the risk is greater than a first threshold, the EMV continues the autonomous performance and notifies a remote operator that the triggering condition was triggered. If the risk is greater than the first threshold risk but less than a second threshold risk, the EMV is configured to operate in a default state before continuing and notifying the remote operator. If the risk is greater than the second threshold risk, the EMV notifies the remote operator of the state pauses the performance until feedback is received from the remote operator.