Remote Work Machine Imaging With Index Overlay for Travel Direction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Operators of work machines, such as hydraulic excavators, face difficulty in determining the forward or backward direction due to the revolving upper body, leading to confusion in traveling operations, and existing solutions impose heavy processing loads.
Innovation Solution
A remote operation system that superimposes index images on captured images to indicate the forward or backward direction of the lower traveling body, using a support processing element to generate combined images based on the appearance of designated components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex image processing is used to estimate the relative angle of the lower traveling body, then direction recognition accuracy is improved, but processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a marker (index image) as a simplified copy or representation of the actual direction information. Instead of processing complex image data to estimate angles, the system places a recognizable marker on the work machine that directly encodes directional information. The recognition device simply detects this marker's position and orientation in the image, which is computationally much simpler than performing full image processing for angle estimation.
Solution Approach 2:
The marker (index image) uses distinct visual characteristics (color, pattern, or shape) that make it easily distinguishable from the background. This allows the recognition device to quickly identify the marker and determine direction without complex analysis of the entire image, reducing processing load while maintaining high direction recognition accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If no direction indicator is provided in the bird's-eye image, then the display configuration remains simple, but the operator cannot easily recognize the front or back direction of the lower traveling body
Solution Approach 1:
The marker serves as a visual copy of directional information that the operator can immediately understand. By placing the marker at a known position on the work machine (such as on the upper revolving body or cab), the marker's position in the bird's-eye image directly indicates the machine's orientation, making direction recognition intuitive without requiring complex processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The marker is pre-positioned on the work machine at a location that provides reliable directional information (such as the cab or upper body). This preliminary placement ensures that the marker will always appear in a predictable position in the bird's-eye image, allowing the operator to easily determine direction without real-time complex analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
A remote operation system has respective mutual communication functions of communicating with a work machine (40) and a remote operation apparatus (20) and includes a support processing element (101) configured to transmit, to the remote operation apparatus (20), a combined image in which an index image is superimposed at least partially on the work machine (40) or a region around the work machine (40) in a captured image obtained through an imaging device disposed around the work machine. The index image is generated based on a mode of appearance of the lower traveling body (430) in the captured image and a mode of appearance of a designated component in the captured image. The designated component is unevenly disposed in a front or back direction of the lower traveling body (430). The index image indicates at least one of the front and back directions of the lower traveling body (430).