Construction Site Mobility Platform Using Landmark-Based Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional autonomous systems in construction sites require constant human supervision, are prone to navigation errors, and have limited mobility, making them inefficient for performing tasks autonomously without additional navigational equipment.
Innovation Solution
A mobility platform equipped with multiple sensors (such as stereo cameras, inertial measurement units, and LiDAR) that can autonomously navigate and position tools by generating paths based on landmark detection, allowing for precise and repeated task execution without the need for additional beacons or equipment, using a holonomic drive system for three degrees of freedom movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional autonomous systems use total station surveying equipment or beaconed navigation systems, then navigation capability is provided, but the system complexity increases due to requiring additional navigational equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the need for external navigational beacons and total station equipment by implementing an autonomous vision-based navigation system. The mobility platform uses onboard sensors (cameras, LiDAR, inertial measurement units) to detect landmarks and navigate independently, removing the disturbing external equipment while maintaining navigation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobility platform performs self-navigation by using its own sensors to detect landmarks and compute its position and orientation. The system serves itself by generating navigation paths and executing tasks autonomously without requiring external navigational infrastructure, thereby reducing system complexity.
2Reliability
If conventional systems require constant human supervision, then task performance is monitored, but productivity decreases due to reduced autonomy
Solution Approach 1:
The mobility platform autonomously performs task execution and monitoring without human intervention. The onboard controller automatically processes sensor data, navigates to target locations, and executes tasks based on pre-programmed instructions, enabling the system to serve itself and eliminating the need for constant human supervision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where sensors monitor the platform's position, orientation, and task execution status. This feedback is processed by the controller to make real-time adjustments, ensuring reliable task performance while maintaining autonomous operation and improving productivity.
3Ease of operation
If conventional systems are prone to navigation errors, then basic navigation is achieved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sensing modalities (stereo cameras for visual landmark detection, LiDAR for depth measurement, inertial measurement units for motion tracking) into an integrated navigation system. This fusion of sensors compensates for individual sensor limitations and significantly improves navigation accuracy while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses continuous feedback from multiple sensors to detect and correct navigation errors in real-time. By comparing expected positions with actual sensor measurements and adjusting the navigation path accordingly, the system maintains high measurement precision while preserving basic navigation functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
An autonomous tool including a multi-sensor package enabling identification of the position of the tool in a construction site so that the tool may navigate to locations where tasks are performed. The tool may include at least one sensor from the group of a drive system encoder, stereo camera, inertial measurement unit, optical flow sensor, and LiDAR. The tool may include a holonomic drive allowing at least one tool of the mobility platform to reach the extremities of a construction site. The platform may be used as part of a system that receives design information relating to the construction site and tasks to be performed by the tool and then generates commands that control the tool to navigate along a path generated to include landmarks within range of and therefore detectable by the sensors for a large percentage of the path.