A Platform Moving Model for an Intelligent Excavator

Abstract

Recent advances in automation and robotic technologies in the manufacturing industry suggest that the greater level of automation may be extremely beneficial for the construction industry. However, only some of the high-technology advances may be applied to the construction industry due to the fast-changing construction environment in which work locations are constantly changing and material, equipment, and workers are always moving. The earthwork operation for site development is a good candidate for applying automation technology, because it is a very repetitive and tedious task and needs lots of construction equipment. Many of the recently developed systems for earthworks are intelligent assistant tools that enhance operator?s ability to sense, plan, and monitor their works in real time. These tools integrate human operators and construction machines into a whole effective construction system. This paper presents a model of earthwork task planning for an intelligent excavator as an assitant tool, which can produce an effective moving path of an excavator platform with an Octree model. To generate the moving path, the know-how of skilled operators and construction managers is added in the proposed model.