Cooperative Earthmoving Vehicle Loading With Collision-Aware Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

The earth moving industry faces high costs and inefficiencies due to the reliance on manual operators for earth shaping vehicles, which limits operation to daytime hours and increases the risk of human error, and there is a need for mechanisms to prevent collisions and bottlenecks when multiple autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles perform tasks simultaneously.

Innovation Solution

An autonomous or semi-autonomous earth shaping system that integrates sensors to record and process data for navigation, collision avoidance, and task management, allowing central control systems to coordinate multiple vehicles and optimize earth moving tasks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If multiple autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles perform earth moving tasks simultaneously, then productivity increases, but the risk of collisions and bottlenecks increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveearth moving task execution speedVSAvoidcollision avoidance

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously tracks the position of each vehicle relative to other vehicles and uses this feedback to update control instructions in real-time, preventing collisions while maintaining simultaneous operation of multiple vehicles

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

A central control system acts as an intermediary that receives position data from multiple vehicles, processes collision risk information, and distributes updated navigation instructions to prevent collisions without requiring direct vehicle-to-vehicle communication

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If manual operators are used to operate earth shaping vehicles, then ease of operation is maintained, but labor costs increase and operational duration is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevehicle control simplicityVSAvoidoperational efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The earth shaping vehicles are equipped with autonomous navigation capabilities and sensor systems that enable them to perform earth moving tasks independently without continuous human intervention, allowing operations to continue beyond normal daytime hours

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical operation with automated control systems that use sensor data and processing units to navigate and execute earth moving tasks, eliminating the need for human operators while maintaining operational capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11385646B2Loading earth into a vehicle using a cooperative fleet of vehicles

Publication Date: 2022.07.12 BUILT ROBOTICS INC

AI summary

This description provides an autonomous or semi-autonomous earth shaping vehicle that is capable of cooperatively executing an earth shaping routine in a dig site with other earth shaping vehicles. A first earth shaping vehicle configured with a tool for excavating earth navigates to a dig location containing earth to be excavated. The first earth shaping vehicle identifies a loading location where the first vehicle may transfer earth to a second earth shaping vehicle configured with a tool for hauling earth between locations. Upon navigating to the loading location and detecting the second earth shaping vehicle at the loading location, the first earth shaping vehicle transfers earth from its excavation tool to the hauling tool of the second earth shaping vehicle.