Real-Time Terrain Validity Checker for Automated Excavators
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current automated excavation machines lack the capability to real-time avoid adverse terrain and transient obstacles while relocating outside a pre-defined slot, as they rely on pre-planned routes and do not account for unexpected terrain or obstacles during repositioning.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for routing mobile excavation machines that includes remote control equipment for steering, speed, and direction control, a controller for receiving location information and providing instructions, and a planner for programming autonomous operation, terrain analysis, and dynamic route adjustment to avoid unacceptable terrain and obstacles by segmenting routes into piecewise linear segments and performing real-time terrain validation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the machine uses pre-planned routes for relocation outside the slot, then the routing simplicity is maintained, but the ability to avoid unexpected terrain and obstacles in real-time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary terrain analysis by segmenting the route into piecewise linear segments before execution. The terrain contour is analyzed in advance to identify unacceptable terrain, and a modified route is planned beforehand to avoid hazards while maintaining real-time adaptability during actual traversal.
Solution Approach 2:
The route is divided into multiple piecewise linear segments for systematic terrain analysis. This segmentation allows the system to process and evaluate terrain characteristics section by section, enabling real-time detection and avoidance of adverse terrain and obstacles without overwhelming computational complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the machine operates only in pre-defined slots with pre-planned routes, then the operational reliability is maintained, but the flexibility for relocation and real-time route adjustment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors terrain contours along the planned route and provides feedback to the planner. When unacceptable terrain or obstacles are detected during real-time operation, the system generates a modified route that avoids the hazard while ensuring the machine can still reach its destination safely and reliably.
Solution Approach 2:
The routing system transitions from static pre-planned routes to dynamic real-time route adjustment. The system adapts the travel path dynamically based on current terrain conditions and obstacle detection, allowing flexible relocation while maintaining operational reliability through continuous monitoring and modification of the route.
3Measurement precision
If the system performs real-time terrain analysis of the entire route, then the terrain validation accuracy is improved, but the computational time and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The route terrain analysis is divided into piecewise linear segments that can be processed sequentially. This segmentation allows the system to analyze terrain characteristics section by section, maintaining high precision in terrain validation while reducing the computational burden by processing smaller, manageable segments rather than the entire route at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary terrain analysis on segmented portions of the route before the machine reaches those sections. This advance analysis of individual segments allows sufficient time for processing while maintaining real-time adaptability, as the machine can be instructed to avoid identified hazards before encountering them.
Data Source
AI summary
Automated excavating uses automated dozers and other earthmoving equipment to move material at a worksite. When such equipment is required to avoid a temporary obstruction, traverse between work slots, or traverse between work areas, a controller uses information from real-time sensors and contour maps to determine a new route to the destination. The controller also determines in real time whether the proposed route will keep the equipment on terrain with slopes that do not exceed a slope limit set for the mobile excavation machine. If not, the controller re-routes the machine to a new path over terrain with acceptable slopes.