Development of a simulator for modeling robotic earth-moving tasks

Abstract

Functions for modeling vehicle-ground interaction for an Avant front-end loader were developed for the simulation of robotic earth-moving tasks. A stand-alone Matlab program was used to test the functions, which are meant to be the first step in implementing vehicle-ground interaction capability in the GIM Integrator simulator, part of a joint project between TKK and TUT. The test program consisted of an automated sequence of scooping and dumping operations for moving a pile from one location to another. Slope re-settling algorithms were developed to make the simulation more realistic. Ground penetration by the scoop was purely kinematic, i.e. no forces were modeled. The overall program provides a good simulation of volume distribution and soil behaviour during earth-moving tasks, and total volume is conserved within a small margin.