Excavator Work Area Data Sharing for Collision Avoidance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Construction machines lack the ability to share useful information about their work areas with other machines operating in the same vicinity, limiting collaboration and safety.
Innovation Solution
A support system that enables construction machines to communicate and share information about their work areas through short-range radio communications, allowing them to detect and transmit data on objects and work environments to other machines in the area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If construction machines operate independently without information sharing, then each machine can maintain its own operational simplicity, but the overall work area safety and efficiency deteriorate due to lack of coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a communication device as an intermediary component that enables information exchange between construction machines. This mediator allows machines to share detection results and work area information without requiring complex direct peer-to-peer coordination, thus improving safety while adding only minimal system complexity through a standardized communication interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where detection results from one machine are transmitted to other machines in the work area. This feedback loop allows machines to adjust their operations based on information from colleagues, improving overall safety and coordination without requiring each machine to have sophisticated autonomous decision-making capabilities.
2Productivity
If construction machines share information about work areas, then safety and efficiency improve, but the device complexity increases due to additional communication and processing components
Solution Approach 1:
The communication device is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a data transmission interface and as part of the control system. By making this component universal, the patent avoids adding dedicated separate systems for each function, thereby improving productivity through information sharing while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the communication functions with the existing detection and control systems of the construction machines. Rather than adding entirely separate communication infrastructure, the system integrates information sharing capabilities into the existing machine architecture, achieving productivity improvements while keeping complexity increases manageable.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If construction machines transmit detection results to each other, then collision avoidance improves, but the loss of time for data processing and transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by continuously maintaining detection results in a ready-to-transmit state and keeping communication channels open. This allows collision avoidance information to be transmitted immediately when detected, reducing the time loss associated with data preparation and transmission while effectively preventing collisions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements rapid data transmission protocols that skip unnecessary processing steps and prioritize critical collision avoidance information. By rushing through the essential data exchange process for safety-critical information, the system minimizes transmission time while ensuring collision risks are effectively communicated and avoided.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A technique that enables information on a work area obtained by a construction machine to be available to another construction machine that works in the same work area is provided. The shovel 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes the controller 30 that obtains information on a work area in an area surrounding the shovel 100 (own machine) and the communications device 90 that transmits the information obtained by the controller 30 to another shovel 100 in the area surrounding the shovel 100. Furthermore, the shovel support system SYS according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is the shovel support system SYS including multiple shovels 100 in a predetermined work area, where each of the multiple shovels 100 includes the controller 30 that obtains information on the work area and the communications device 90 that transmits the information obtained by the controller 30 to another shovel 100.