Pad-Building Guidance Using Real-Time Cut-and-Fill Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for building pads at construction sites using track-type tractors are time-consuming and labor-intensive, relying on operator experience and manual checks, which can lead to productivity losses and potential injuries, as they lack automated real-time guidance.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a geography-altering machine equipped with an imaging device and a controller to receive a pad design and terrain surface model, generate a cut-and-fill map, provide real-time guidance for the operator, and monitor the building process, updating the map and guidance as needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual methods with operator experience are used to determine material cutting and filling, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but productivity is reduced and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the geography-altering machine to perform self-measurement and self-guidance functions. The imaging device automatically captures terrain data, the controller processes this data to generate cut-and-fill maps and guidance information, eliminating the need for operators to manually check grades with rods or instruments. The machine essentially guides itself through the pad-building process based on automated terrain analysis and design comparison.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical measurement methods (grade rods, physical inspection) with an automated optical and computational system. The imaging device captures visual data of the terrain, the controller processes this data through algorithms to generate guidance information, and this information is displayed to the operator. This substitutes the mechanical measurement process with an optical-digital-information display system, significantly improving productivity and safety.
2Productivity
If automated real-time guidance systems are implemented, then productivity and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller serves multiple functions within the system: it receives imaging data from the imaging device, processes terrain surface models, compares actual terrain with desired design, generates cut-and-fill maps, calculates guidance information, and displays results to the operator. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single controller unit, the system achieves automation and improved productivity while managing complexity through functional integration rather than proliferation of separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The display device acts as an intermediary between the complex computational processes occurring in the controller and the operator. The controller performs sophisticated terrain analysis, design comparison, and guidance calculation, but presents this complex information in a simplified visual format to the operator. This intermediary layer shields the operator from system complexity while maintaining full automation benefits.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for building a pad at a construction site using a geography-altering machine, the method comprising: receiving a design for the pad at the geography-altering machine, receiving a terrain surface model of the construction site at the geography-altering machine, wherein the terrain surface model is generated using an imaging device located on the geography-altering machine, generating a cut-and-fill map at the geography-altering machine based on the design for the pad and the terrain surface model, generating guidance for building the pad at the geography-altering machine, wherein the guidance includes a starting location and moving directions for the geography-altering machine, monitoring process of building the pad using the imaging device on the geography-altering machine; and updating the cut-and-fill map and the guidance based on the monitored process.