Remote Excavator Display Overlay for Posture and Surrounding Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators remotely controlling work vehicles, such as hydraulic excavators, lack the sensory feedback of the vehicle's inclination and surroundings, making it difficult to accurately assess the vehicle's state and perform operations effectively.
Innovation Solution
A display control system that acquires and processes images from cameras on the work vehicle, generating supplementary images representing the vehicle's posture and surroundings, which are displayed alongside the primary image to provide the operator with essential sensory information, including the inclination of the vehicle's components and its environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If remote operation is implemented to operate work vehicle from outside, then operator safety is improved, but operator's sensory feedback is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates visual copies of the work vehicle's components and their movements through imaging devices. The supplementary image displays a virtual representation of the work vehicle's arm, bucket, and other components, allowing the remote operator to visually perceive movements and positions that would normally be sensed through tactile feedback when physically operating the vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of imaging devices, image processing units, and display devices that mediate between the work vehicle and the remote operator. This intermediary system transmits visual information about the vehicle's state and surroundings to the operator, compensating for the loss of direct sensory feedback.
2Loss of information
If supplementary image is displayed to provide sensory information, then operator's situational awareness is improved, but display complexity is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the display information into distinct components: the captured image from the work vehicle's imaging device and the supplementary image generated from vehicle state data. This segmentation allows each type of information to be processed and displayed separately, making the overall system more manageable despite the increased information load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent overlays the supplementary image in a specific spatial relationship with the captured image, creating a composite display that provides depth and contextual information. The supplementary image is disposed in an area where a portion of the work vehicle can be shown in the captured image, creating a multi-dimensional visual representation that enhances situational awareness without requiring separate displays.
Data Source
AI summary
A work vehicle includes work equipment having a work tool and a support member supporting the work tool. A display control system controls a display device provided outside the work vehicle. The display control system includes a captured image acquisition unit, a supplementary image acquisition unit, a display image generation unit, and a display control unit. The captured image acquisition unit acquires a captured image captured by an imaging device mounted on the work vehicle. The supplementary image acquisition unit acquires a supplementary image representing information related to the work vehicle. The display image generation unit generates a display image in which the supplementary image is disposed in an area where a side surface of the support member can be shown in the captured image. The display control unit outputs a display signal in order to display the display image on the display device.