Mining Machine Obstacle Discrimination Under Off-Road Jolts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mining work machines, such as dump trucks, face challenges in accurately discriminating obstacles on bumpy off-road surfaces due to jolting and varying detection conditions, leading to false positives and missed detections, as conventional obstacle detection techniques designed for paved roads are not suited for their unique environment.
Innovation Solution
A specialized obstacle discrimination system for mining work machines, incorporating a peripheral detection sensor, speed sensor, and obstacle discrimination device that filters data based on travel state and reflection intensity thresholds to differentiate between obstacles and non-obstacles, ensuring accurate detection and reducing false alarms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If a millimeter wave radar is mounted on the vehicle body to detect obstacles, then the detection range is extended, but the radar is shaken violently by jolts on bumpy road surfaces, causing detection accuracy to deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the detection thresholds adaptive rather than fixed. The obstacle determination thresholds are dynamically adjusted based on the vehicle's travel state (stopped, starting, or traveling). When the vehicle is stopped or starting, higher thresholds are used to filter out false positives from road surface reflections. When traveling, lower thresholds enable detection of distant obstacles. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between extended detection range and maintained accuracy under varying vibration conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the detection system by adjusting the obstacle determination thresholds based on travel state. The reflection intensity threshold and distance threshold are modified according to whether the vehicle is stopped, starting, or traveling. This parameter change allows the system to maintain detection accuracy despite varying vibration conditions and detection ranges, resolving the technical contradiction.
2Productivity
If the vehicle travels at high speed, then productivity is improved, but the radar detects more road surface reflections as false obstacles, reducing detection reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the obstacle determination thresholds based on the vehicle's travel state. When traveling at high speed, lower thresholds are applied to distinguish true obstacles from road surface reflections, maintaining detection reliability. When stopped or starting, higher thresholds prevent false positives. This dynamic threshold adjustment resolves the contradiction between productivity and detection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring the vehicle's travel state (stopped, starting, or traveling) and adjusting the obstacle determination thresholds accordingly. The speed sensor provides feedback about vehicle motion, which feeds back to the threshold selection logic, enabling real-time adaptation to maintain reliable obstacle discrimination across different operating conditions.
3Area of stationary object
If the radar is positioned at an elevated location to detect vehicles near the mining work machine, then the detection coverage is improved, but the reflection intensity from obstacles decreases, making detection more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the reduced reflection intensity from elevated positioning by adjusting the obstacle determination thresholds. Lower thresholds are used to accommodate the weaker signals received from elevated positions, enabling reliable detection despite the reduced reflection intensity. This parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between improved detection coverage and maintained detection precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively discriminates obstacles from non-obstacles in off-road environments, enhancing collision avoidance accuracy and reducing unnecessary stops and brake operations by adapting to the mining work machine's state and surface conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a peripheral detection sensor configured to radiate an electromagnetic wave forward in a traveling direction, to receive reflected waves from each obstacle candidate
Implementation Method 2
receive reflected waves from each obstacle candidate
Data Source
AI summary
An obstacle determination device mounted on a mining work machine determines whether the state of the mining work machine is a state immediately after progressing or a normal travel state; selects, as a distance threshold provided to determine a non-obstacle, a starting distance threshold if in the state immediately after starting, or a normal distance threshold if in the normal travel state; extracts obstacle candidates on the basis of the result of comparison of the distance at which an obstacle candidate was initially detected with the distance threshold; selects a starting reflection intensity threshold if the state immediately after starting, or a normal reflection intensity threshold if in the normal travel state; excludes non-obstacles on the basis of the result of comparison of the reception strength of the reflection wave of the remaining obstacle candidates with the reflection intensity threshold; and outputs the remaining obstacle candidates as obstacles.