Site Traversability Sensing for Soft Ground Equipment Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large machinery used in farming and construction often faces issues with traversability due to site conditions such as soft soil, which can lead to equipment getting stuck and site damage, impacting operations and profitability.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses real-time and historical data on site conditions, including soil properties, weather, and equipment specifications to generate traversability maps, allowing operators to identify safe paths and schedule appropriate equipment for tasks, thereby preventing equipment damage and site disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If large and heavy machinery is used to increase productivity, then productivity is improved, but the risk of getting stuck in soft ground increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of site conditions (soil type, moisture content, terrain) before equipment operation. Traversability maps are generated in advance to identify suitable paths and problematic areas, allowing operators to plan routes that avoid soft ground and other hazardous conditions before heavy machinery arrives, thus preventing getting stuck while maintaining productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of sensors, processors, and mapping software that mediates between the heavy machinery and the site conditions. This intermediary assesses traversability in real-time and provides guidance to operators, enabling heavy equipment to navigate safely without directly interacting with problematic soil conditions
2Reliability
If real-time site condition monitoring is implemented to improve traversability assessment, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs multi-functional sensors that can detect multiple parameters simultaneously (soil moisture, terrain elevation, ground composition) using single devices. The processing system integrates multiple data sources and performs comprehensive traversability assessment through unified algorithms, reducing the number of separate components needed while maintaining high reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the machinery's own operational data (engine load, wheel slip, fuel consumption) combined with environmental sensors to self-assess traversability conditions. This self-monitoring capability reduces the need for external monitoring equipment and simplifies the overall system architecture while improving reliability through continuous feedback
Data Source
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AI summary
One or more techniques and/or systems are disclosed for a identifying traversability of a site. Site conditions of a target site affecting traversability can be identified using real-time or historical data. Soil conditions, weather conditions, moisture levels, and other factors may be used to determine whether a target site is traversable by a target piece of equipment. The traversability information can be identified for a target area, that comprises a target site, and a traversability map can be generated for the site. Target equipment specifications can be used to determine whether the target equipment may effectively traverse the target site based on the traversability map. Further, a traversability path may be generated for a piece of target equipment based on the traversability map, site conditions, and the equipment specifications. Additionally, site management may be enhanced using the site condition data to plan traversability of target equipment at the target site.