Modelling and Controlling Unmanned Excavation Equipment on Construction Sites

Abstract

Excavators on construction sites can pose a serious hazard for both their operators and the laborers working alongside them because they can easily overturn when operating on uneven ground. Although there have been many suggestions for improving onsite safety, the ultimate solution is to avoid these hazards altogether by utilizing unmanned equipment. Unfortunately it would be both technically challenging and prohibitively expensive to undertake the complete redesign of an excavator to enable it to function autonomously, as this would require an integrated control algorithm capable of real time sensing, analysis, and control if the excavator is to react appropriately to its local environment. We propose an alternative solution, namely the use of a removable manipulator that can be installed in the cockpit to enable an operator at a remote location to control excavator operations for 6 types of movement. A prototype system was constructed and tested. © 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers.