Assistive Vehicular Guidance System for Mining Truck Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of aligning a truck with a shovel for loading in mining operations is inefficient and hazardous due to the difficulty in navigating large vehicles in close proximity, leading to time-consuming and potentially dangerous maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
An assistive vehicular guidance system that uses global positioning sensors, operator interfaces with visual and auditory cues, and a communications system to help the truck operator accurately position the vehicle near the shovel, reducing the need for manual alignment and minimizing collisions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual alignment and navigation is used to position the truck near the shovel, then the operator maintains full control of the vehicle, but the positioning process becomes time-consuming and hazardous due to difficulty in navigating large vehicles in close proximity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical navigation with an automated guidance system that uses GPS positioning, onboard sensors, and computer vision to automatically align and position the truck under the shovel. The system substitutes human-operated mechanical steering with automated control algorithms that calculate and execute precise positioning maneuvers, thereby reducing both time and improving accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated guidance system that acts as a mediator between the operator and the vehicle's movement. This system processes sensor data, calculates optimal paths, and provides guidance cues to the operator, serving as an intermediate layer that enhances positioning capability without completely removing human control.
2Ease of operation
If manual navigation is used in close proximity to the shovel and its moving bucket, then the operator can respond to unexpected situations, but safety risks increase due to difficulty in navigating and potential collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where onboard sensors continuously monitor the truck's position, orientation, and distance to the shovel and bucket. This real-time feedback is processed by the guidance system, which then provides corrective guidance cues to the operator, enabling continuous adjustment of the vehicle's path to avoid collisions while simplifying the navigation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of safe paths and positioning maneuvers before the operator executes them. By pre-computing optimal trajectories and identifying potential collision risks in advance, the system enables the operator to follow predetermined safe paths, reducing reaction time and collision risk during critical maneuvering phases.
Data Source
AI summary
An assistive vehicular guidance system for locating a spotter vehicle in a target location near a target machine. The guidance system has a positioning system including global positioning sensors on the spotter vehicle and target machine, and user interfaces providing visual and/or auditory cues. An assist module includes long-range and short-range network radios and an analyzer. The analyzer interfaces with the global positioning sensors, the long-range and short-range network radios, and the user interfaces, planning a path for the spotter vehicle and providing cues in guiding the spotter vehicle along the path to the target location. A communications system includes short-range and long-range networks, the short-range network connecting the short-range network radios of the spotter vehicle and the target machine. The long-range network includes a VPN and server, connecting the long-range radios of the spotter vehicle and target machine with the server via the VPN.