Pile Geometry Control System for Material Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators of heavy machinery face challenges in accurately estimating and maneuvering material movement operations, especially in remote operations, due to a lack of visual and tactile feedback, leading to inefficiencies in forming stable mounds or piles.
Innovation Solution
A system that utilizes sensors and processors to determine geometric characteristics of material piles, calculates target positions for material movement, and provides visual, audible, or haptic indications to operators to assist in achieving desired pile configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual operators estimate material volume based on experience, then operational flexibility is maintained, but measurement precision and manufacturing precision deteriorate due to substantial variation in estimates
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback to the operator by displaying the target position on a display device. The processor continuously monitors the material pile's geometric characteristics and compares them against target characteristics, then guides the operator on where to deposit material next. This closed-loop feedback system eliminates the need for operators to mentally calculate volumes while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary computational layer between the raw sensor data and the operator's decisions. The processor acts as a mediator that handles the complex volumetric calculations and presents simplified guidance information to the operator, reducing the cognitive burden while improving measurement precision.
2Reliability
If remote operation is implemented, then operator safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to lack of visual and tactile feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The system compensates for the lack of natural visual and tactile feedback in remote operations by providing artificial feedback through the display device. The target position indicators give remote operators the same spatial awareness and control guidance they would have with direct visual observation, making remote operation as intuitive as on-site operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual representation of the material pile and target positions that serves as a substitute for the physical visual field. By displaying calculated target positions and geometric characteristics, the system replicates the visual feedback that would naturally be available to on-site operators, enabling effective remote control.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple passes are used to form material piles, then manufacturing precision can be maintained, but productivity deteriorates due to increased time and operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of the target position based on the current material pile geometry and desired final configuration. By providing the operator with the optimal next deposit location before the operation occurs, the system enables more precise single-pass operations, reducing the total number of passes needed while maintaining or improving geometric accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically updates the target position as the material pile changes during the operation. The processor continuously recalculates based on new geometric characteristics, allowing the operator to adapt in real-time and achieve the final configuration more efficiently with fewer passes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for controlling a machine is provided herein, including: receiving, by one or more processors and from one or more sensors, measurements indicative of one or more geometric characteristics of a material pile; determining, by the one or more processors, a difference between the one or more geometric characteristics of the material pile and one or more target geometric characteristics of the material pile, the difference being indicative of material to be moved by the machine; determining, by the one or more processors, a target position associated with a material movement operation of the machine, wherein the target position is based on the difference, wherein the target position corresponds to a single material movement operation, and wherein the target position is updated for each subsequent material movement operation of a plurality of material movement operations that are calculated to collectively result in the one or more target geometric characteristics of the material pile; and providing, by the one or more processors, an indication of the target position to an operator of the machine.