Analytical Framework for Field Positioning and Work Planning for a Backhoe Excavator

• Author / Creator

  Hasan, Md Monjurul

• The accomplishment of a successful construction project depends on proper planning, progress monitoring and adaptation to the continually changing complex situations in the field. Efficient remote tracking of multiple disparate resources and establishing the collaboration and coordination between them in field operations are indispensable in an efficient construction management system. With the advances in the sensor technology, real-time process monitoring, and site survey capabilities are available and affordable to construction applications. This also presents challenges to advancing work planning methods in order to account for equipment operations in sufficient details. Work planning demands a significant level of expertise and human interaction in applying adaptive decision making by monitoring the ongoing work progress. This thesis research explains the necessity and advantage of using the construction machinery itself as the automatic data collection device to sense the field it is working on. The research introduces the sensor equipped backhoe excavator which is capable of tracking its bucket tip with respect to its base and functions as the mobile survey robot. The sensor-augmented equipment would thus be instrumental in eliminating human errors but also be effective in avoiding productivity losses, while at the same time making the job site safe. It is the common practice when any underground utility line is confirmed in the midst of excavation operation, manual excavation proceeds in lieu of the mechanical excavator. Precaution is mandatory because even an expert operator of a mechanical excavator may occasionally fail to perceive the safe depth of the operation. The introduction of a bucket tip tracker with sufficient accuracy can make the work safer and faster and also can eliminate the need for manual excavation thus saving time and cost. The new approach for precise position tracking of the excavator's bucket tip can be used to plan the operation trajectory of the excavator's arm to minimize the movement and cycle time based on the excavating capacity in a single cycle of operation (mainly depends on the bucket capacity). At the same time, the technique discussed above can act as automatic record keeper when integrated with the time domain. These records can be vital to perform the work progress measurement (as needed in productivity study). A technique to aid in the selection process of sensors (precision level) for tracking the excavator (pose and position) considering the tradeoff between the level of precision required in field operation on a specific task and the cost of sensors, is also elaborated. Besides presenting the analytical methodology of tracking the excavator's pose, this study explains the detailed analytics for positioning the backhoe excavator by three-point reference system without the help of external remote sensing survey devices (such as Global Positioning System, robotic total station, etc.). This thesis shows how the latest self-tracking machinery can be adopted in the field in a more efficient way to confirm the project progress as per engineering design (design grade). Thus, the needs for extra specialized survey equipment, staffing, and remote monitoring would be eliminated all at a time. The operation algorithm developed for such excavator is not limited to only such an excavator retrofitted with sensors but can also be readily adapted for a complete autonomous model in the future. Several civil construction applications are addressed, and potential field applications of this proposed methodology are illustrated.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Construction machinery
  • Excavator
  • Positioning mechanism
  • Survey robot

• Graduation date

  Spring 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3891260B

• License

  Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.