CHARGEMENT DE TERRE DANS UN VEHICULE A L'AIDE D'UN PARC COOPERATIF DE VEHICULES

LOADING EARTH INTO A VEHICLE USING A COOPERATIVE FLEET OF VEHICLES

Abrégé français

Cette description concerne un véhicule autonome ou semi-autonome de mise en forme de terre, apte à exécuter de manière coopérative une routine de mise en forme de terre sur un site de creusement avec d'autres véhicules de mise en forme de terre. Un premier véhicule de mise en forme de terre, conçu avec un outil d'excavation de terre, se déplace jusqu'à un emplacement de creusement contenant de la terre à excaver. Le premier véhicule de mise en forme de terre identifie un emplacement de chargement où le premier véhicule peut transférer de la terre dans un second véhicule de mise en forme de terre, conçu avec un outil permettant de transporter de la terre entre des emplacements. Lors du déplacement jusqu'à l'emplacement de chargement et de la détection du second véhicule de mise en forme de terre au niveau de l'emplacement de chargement, le premier véhicule de mise en forme de terre transfère de la terre de son outil d'excavation à l'outil de transport du second véhicule de mise en forme de terre.

Abrégé anglais

This description provides an autonomous or semi-autonomous earth shaping vehicle that is capable of cooperatively executing an earth shaping routine in a dig site with other earth shaping vehicles. A first earth shaping vehicle configured with a tool for excavating earth navigates to a dig location containing earth to be excavated. The first earth shaping vehicle identifies a loading location where the first vehicle may transfer earth to a second earth shaping vehicle configured with a tool for hauling earth between locations. Upon navigating to the loading location and detecting the second earth shaping vehicle at the loading location, the first earth shaping vehicle transfers earth from its excavation tool to the hauling tool of the second earth shaping vehicle.

Revendications

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for
loading earth
from a first earth shaping vehicle (ESV) into a second earth shaping vehicle
(ESV) encoded
thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
navigate the first ESV to a dig location containing earth to be excavated,
wherein the
first ESV comprises an excavation tool for excavating the earth from the
location;
identify a loading location for the first ESV to load the earth into a hauling
tool of the
second ESV based on a location of the first ESV relative to a location of the
second
ESV;
provide the loading location to the second ESV, the second ESV configured to
navigate to
the loading location;
responsive to excavating the earth, navigate the first ESV to the loading
location; and
transfer the excavated earth from the excavation tool of the first ESV to the
hauling
tool of the second ESV.
2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
adjust a distribution of hydraulic pressure from a drivetrain of the first ESV
to the
excavation tool to lower a tool to a depth of the earth; and
after the excavation tool is lowered, excavate the earth from the dig
location.
3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
measure, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, a volume of earth
at the
dig location;
compare the volume of earth at the dig location to a volume of the excavation
tool
coupled to the first ESV;
responsive to determining that the volume of earth exceeds the volume of the
excavation tool, determine a number of passes required for the first ESV to
excavate the volume of earth; and
navigate the first ESV to excavate earth from the dig site for the number of
passes.
4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
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measure, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, a volume of earth
at the
dig location;
compare the volume of earth at the dig location to a volume of the excavation
tool
coupled to the first ESV; and
responsive to determining that the volume of earth exceeds the volume of the
excavation tool, request a third ESV to excavate any remaining earth, the
third
ESV comprising an excavation tool.
5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
determine, based on a volume of earth to be excavated from the dig location, a
first
amount of time for the first ESV to excavate the volume of earth;
determine a second amount of time for the first ESV to navigate to the loading
location based on the determined amount of time to excavate the earth, the
location of the first ESV relative to the loading location, and a velocity of
the first
ESV;
determine a velocity for the second ESV to navigate to the loading location
based on
the location of the second ESV relative to the loading location and a sum of
the
first amount of time and the second amount of time; and
navigate the second ESV at the determined velocity to the loading location.
6. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second ESV is
identified by:
measuring a location of the first ESV using a global positioning system
mounted to
the ESV;
receiving measurements of locations for a plurality of candidate ESVs;
determine a distance between the location of each candidate ESV and the
location of
the first ESV; and
selecting the candidate ESV that is closest to the first ESV as the second
ESV.
7. The computer readable medium of claim 6, wherein the location of the first
ESV comprises
a location of the excavation tool of the first ESV, and wherein the location
of each candidate
ESV comprises a location of a hauling tool of the candidate ESV.
8. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second ESV is
identified by:
receiving volumes of hauling tools for a plurality of candidate ESVs;
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comparing the volume of earth at the dig location to a volume for each
candidate
ESV; and
selecting a candidate ESV as the second ESV having a hauling tool with a
volume
greater than the volume of earth.
9. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the loading location
comprises a
location midway between the first ESV and the second ESV.
10. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein navigating the first ESV
to the
loading location comprises:
detecting an obstacle between the location of the first ESV and the loading
location
using a sensor coupled to the first ESV;
generating an obstructed route between the location of the first ESV and the
loading
location that travels through the obstacle, wherein the obstructed route
requires a
first time to navigate;
generating an unobstructed route between the location of the first ESV and the
loading location that circumvents the determined obstacle, wherein the
unobstructed route requires a second time to navigate; and
selecting the obstructed route if the first time is less than the second time
and
selecting the unobstructed route if the second time is less than the first
time.
11. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein first ESV and the second
ESV
receive the loading location from a system of a human operator.
12. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
responsive to detecting a location of the excavation tool of the first ESV to
be above
the loading location, halting the navigation of the first ESV.
13. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein transferring the
excavated earth to
the hauling tool comprises:
actuating the excavation tool of the first ESV to an orientation above the
hauling tool
of the second ESV such that the earth falls from the excavation tool into the
hauling tool.
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14. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein the excavated earth is
transferred to
the hauling tool of the second ESV in response to determining that the
location of the hauling
tool of the second ESV is below the location of the excavation tool of the
first ESV.
15. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein transferring the
excavated earth to
the hauling tool of the second ESV comprises:
measuring, by a sensor coupled to the excavation tool of the first ESV, a
distribution
of earth in the hauling tool of the second ESV; and
responsive to measuring an uneven distribution of earth in the hauling tool of
the
second ESV, actuating the excavation tool of the first ESV to even the
distribution
of earth in the hauling tool.
16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein actuating the excavation
tool to
ESVen the distribution of earth in the second ESV comprises one of:
adjusting a position of the excavation tool of the first ESV relative to the
hauling tool
of the second ESV while transferring earth to the hauling tool; or
adjusting a position of the excavation tool of the first ESV relative to the
hauling tool
of the second ESV to smooth a surface of earth in the hauling tool.
17. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein transferring the
excavated earth to
the hauling tool of the second ESV comprises:
measuring, by a sensor coupled to the excavation tool of the first ESV, a
volume of
earth in the hauling tool of the second ESV; and
responsive to determining that the measured volume exceeds a maximum volume of
the hauling tool, halting actuation of the excavation tool to present transfer
of
additional earth to the hauling tool of the second ESV.
18. The compute readable medium of claim 17, wherein halting actuation of the
excavation
tool of the second ESV comprises:
providing the loading location to a third ESV; and
responsive to the third ESV navigating to the loading location, transferring
the
remaining earth in the excavation tool to a hauling tool of the third ESV.
19. A method for loading earth from a first earth shaping vehicle (ESV) into a
second earth
shaping vehicle (ESV), the method comprising:

navigating the first ESV to a dig location containing earth to be excavated,
wherein
the first ESV comprises an excavation tool for excavating the earth from the
location;
identifying a loading location for the first ESV to load the earth into a
hauling tool of
the second ESV based on a location of the first ESV relative to a location of
the
second ESV;
providing the loading location to the second ESV, the second ESV configured to
navigate to the loading location;
responsive to excavating the earth, navigating the first ESV to the loading
location;
and
transferring the excavated earth from the excavation tool of the first ESV to
the
hauling tool of the second ESV.
20. A system comprising:
a processor; and
non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for
loading
earth from a first earth shaping vehicle (ESV) comprising an excavation tool
for
excavating earth into a second earth shaping vehicle (ESV) comprising a
hauling
tool encoded thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor
to:
navigate the first ESV to the dig location containing earth to be excavated;
identify a loading location for the first ESV to load the excavated earth into
the hauling tool of the second ESV;
providing the loading location to the second ESV;
responsive to excavating the earth, navigating the first ESV to the loading
location; and
transferring the excavated earth from the excavation tool of the first ESV to
the hauling tool of the second ESV.
21. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for
navigating an
earth shaping vehicle (ESV) encoded thereon that, when executed by a
processor, cause the
processor to:
generate, by a computer coupled to a first ESV of a fleet of ESV's, a target
tool path
comprising a set of coordinates within a coordinate space of the site
representing a
path from a start location to an end location;
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execute, by the computer coupled to the first ESV, the target tool path to
navigate the
first ESV from the start location to the end location;
during execution of the target tool path,
update the target tool path for the first ESV to avoid collisions between the
first ESV and each neighboring ESV of the fleet, the updates based on a
position of the first ESV relative to a position of each neighboring ESV;
and
adjust a velocity of the first ESV to maintain a threshold distance between
the
first ESV and each neighboring ESV.
22. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the first ESV is coupled
to a hauling
tool for moving earth from the start location to the end location.
23. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
receive, from a human operator, a set of coordinates representing a path from
a start
location to an end location; and
generate a target tool path based on the received set of coordinates.
24. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions for
generating the
target tool path from the start location to the end location further cause the
processor to:
detect an obstacle between the start location and the end location using a
sensor
coupled to the first ESV;
generate an unobstructed route between the start location and the end location
that
circumvents the detected obstacle; and
update the target tool path to circumvent the detected obstacle by following
the
unobstructed route.
25. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions for
generating the
target tool path from the start location to the end location further cause the
processor to:
detect an obstacle between the start location and the end location using a
sensor
coupled to the first ESV; and
responsive to the execution of the target tool path, communicate a request for
a
supplementary ESV coupled to an excavation tool to remove the detected
obstacle.
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26. The computer readable medium of claim 25, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
communicate the detected obstacle to each neighboring ESV traveling to the end
location to update a target tool path navigating the neighboring ESV to the
end
location.
27. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions for
navigating the
first ESV over the target tool path further cause the processor to:
adjust a distribution of hydraulic pressure of the first ESV to actuate a
drivetrain of
the ESV to drive over the target tool path.
28. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
determine the position of the first ESV using a global positioning system
mounted to
the ESV;
receive measurements from global positioning systems mounted to each
neighboring
ESV of the fleet; and
determine the position of each neighboring ESV relative to the first ESV.
29. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
determine, when the first ESV is in motion, an updated position of the first
ESV using
signals recorded at periodic intervals using a global positioning system
mounted
to the ESV;
determine, when one or more neighboring ESV's are in motion, an updated
position
of each neighboring ESV of the fleet using signals recorded at periodic
intervals
using global positioning systems mounted to each neighboring ESV; and
dynamically update the target tool path for the first ESV to avoid collisions
between
the first ESV and each neighboring ESV based on the updated positions of the
first ESV and each neighboring ESV.
30. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
classify, during the execution of the target tool path, one or more regions of
earth
along the target tool based on a soil composition measurement recorded by a
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sensor coupled to the first ESV, each classification describing a difficulty
for
navigating the first ESV through each region of earth; and
responsive to classifying a region with an above threshold difficulty,
dynamically
update the target tool path to circumvent the region.
31. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
classify, during the execution of the target tool path, one or more regions of
earth
along the target tool based on a soil composition measurement recorded by a
sensor coupled to the first ESV, each classification describing a difficulty
for
navigating the first ESV through each region of earth;
responsive to classifying a region with an above threshold difficulty, halt
excavation
of the target tool path of the first ESV; and
communicate a request for a supplementary ESV coupled to an excavation tool to
reduce the difficulty for navigating the first ESV through the region.
32. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions for
adjusting the
velocity of the first ESV further cause the processor to:
responsive to detecting one of the neighboring ESV's to be within the
threshold
distance of the first ESV, increase the velocity of the first ESV to increase
the
distance from detected ESV; and
responsive to detecting the neighboring ESV to be farther than the threshold
distance,
maintain the velocity of the first ESV.
33. The computer readable medium of claim 32, wherein the instructions for
maintaining the
velocity of the first ESV further cause the processor to:
determine an optimized velocity to maintain the distance between the first ESV
and
the neighboring ESV; and
adjust the velocity of the first ESV to the optimized velocity.
34. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
responsive to detecting one or the neighboring ESV's to be within the
threshold
distance of the first ESV, determine a reduced velocity for the neighboring
ESV to
maintain the threshold distance between the first ESV and the neighboring ESV;
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generate an instruction to maintain the velocity of the first ESV at the
reduced
velocity; and
communicate the instruction to the neighboring ESV, wherein receipt of the
instruction adjusts a velocity of the neighboring ESV to the neighboring ESV.
35. The computer readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
responsive to detecting that the first ESV is incapable of executing the
target tool
path,
halt execution of the target tool path of the first ESV;
identify a loading location for a first neighboring ESV configured with an
excavation tool to transfer earth from a hauling tool of the first ESV to a
hauling tool of a second neighboring ESV, wherein the loading location is
adjacent to the position of the first ESV;
communicate a first request for the first neighboring ESV to navigate to the
loading location and a second request for the second neighboring ESV to
navigate to the loading location; and
responsive to detecting the transfer of earth from the hauling tool of the
first ESV to
the hauling tool of the second ESV, communicate the generated target tool path
from the first ESV to the second neighboring ESV.
36. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instruction for
navigating
a first earth shaping vehicle (ESV) of a fleet of ESV's encoded thereon that,
when
executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
generate a target tool path comprising a set of coordinates within a
coordinate
space of the site representing a path from a start location to an end
location;
execute the target tool path to navigate the first ESV from the start location
to
the end location;
during execution of the target tool path,

update the target tool path for the first ESV to avoid collisions between
each neighboring ESV of the fleet, the updates based on a position of
the first ESV relative to a position of each neighboring ESV; and
adjust a velocity of the first ESV to maintain a threshold distance between
the first ESV and each neighboring ESV.
37. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
determine, when the first ESV is in motion, an updated position of the first
ESV using
signals recorded at periodic intervals using a global positioning system
mounted
to the ESV;
determine, when one or more neighboring ESV's are in motion, an updated
position
of each neighboring ESV of the fleet using signals recorded at periodic
intervals
using global positioning systems mounted to each neighboring ESV; and
dynamically update the target tool path for the first ESV to avoid collisions
between
the first ESV and each neighboring ESV based on the updated positions of the
first ESV and each neighboring ESV.
38. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions for
adjusting the
velocity of the first ESV further cause the processor to:
responsive to detecting one of the neighboring ESV's to be within the
threshold
distance of the first ESV, increase the velocity of the first ESV to increase
the
distance from detected ESV; and
responsive to detecting the neighboring ESV to be farther than the threshold
distance,
maintain the velocity of the first ESV.
39. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
responsive to detecting one or the neighboring ESV's to be within the
threshold
distance of the first ESV, determine a reduced velocity for the neighboring
ESV to
maintain the threshold distance between the first ESV and the neighboring ESV;
generate an instruction to maintain the velocity of the first ESV at the
reduced
velocity; and
communicate the instruction to the neighboring ESV, wherein receipt of the
instruction adjusts a velocity of the neighboring ESV to the neighboring ESV.
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40. A method for navigating an earth shaping vehicle through a dig site, the
method
comprising:
generating a target tool path comprising a set of coordinates within a
coordinate space
of the site representing a path from a start location to an end location;
executing the target tool path to navigate the first ESV from the start
location to the
end location;
during execution of the target tool path,
updating the target tool path for the first ESV to avoid collisions between
each
neighboring ESV of the fleet, the updates based on a position of the first
ESV relative to a position of each neighboring ESV; and
adjusting a velocity of the first ESV to maintain a threshold distance between
the first ESV and each neighboring ESV.
41. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for
filling earth
into a fill location encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause
the processor
to:
navigate a first earth shaping vehicle ("ESV") to the fill location, wherein
the first
ESV comprises a hauling tool for moving earth to the fill location;
generate, by the first ESV, a target tool path comprising instructions for
filling earth
into the fill location;
navigate the first ESV over the target tool path to fill earth into the fill
location;
responsive to filling earth into the fill location, measure, by a measurement
sensor
coupled to the first ESV, a compaction level of earth filled into the fill
location;
and
responsive to determining the compaction level to be below a threshold level,
communicate a request for a second ESV to compact earth in the fill location,
wherein the second ESV comprises a compaction tool.
42. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein generating a target tool
path
comprises:
measuring, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, an amount of
earth in
the fill location;
determining a difference between the measured volume of earth and a target
volume;
and
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updating the target tool path with instructions to fill the difference.
43. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein generating a target tool
path
comprises:
receiving a target volume of earth in the fill location;
measuring a current volume of earth in the fill location; and
updating the target tool path with instructions for the first ESV to repeat
navigation
over the fill location to achieve the target volume of earth in the fill
location.
44. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein generating a target tool
path
comprises:
receiving a target compaction level of earth in the fill location;
measuring a current compaction level of earth in the fill location; and
updating a target tool path with instructions for the second ESV to repeat
navigation
over the fill location to achieve the target compaction level of earth in the
fill
location.
45. The computer readable medium of claim 44, wherein the target tool path is
updated based
on compaction of earth in the fill location resulting from the navigation of
the drivetrain of
the first ESV and the second ESV over the fill location.
46. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein generating a target tool
path
comprises:
measuring, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, an amount of
earth in a
plurality of regions of the fill location;
identifying, from the measurements, a region with the least amount of earth;
and
updating the target tool path to fill earth into the identified region.
47. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein a target tool path
comprises
instructions for the first ESV or second ESV to repeat a pass over the fill
location to achieve a
target volume of earth in the fill location or a target compaction level.
48. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
actuate the hauling tool to an orientation at which earth is released from the
hauling
tool; and
navigating the first ESV over the target tool path to fill earth into the fill
location.
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49. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
communicate a request for a supplementary ESV to transfer earth from the first
ESV
into the fill location, wherein the supplementary ESV comprises an excavation
tool for transferring earth from the hauling tool of the first ESV into the
fill
location.
50. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
responsive to filling earth into the fill location, measure, by a measurement
sensor
coupled to the first ESV, a smoothness of earth filled into the fill location;
and
responsive to determining the smoothness to be below a threshold level,
communicating a request for a supplementary ESV to grade earth in the fill
location, wherein the supplementary ESV comprises a grading tool for smoothing
earth.
51. The computer readable medium of claim 41, wherein the instructions further
cause the
processor to:
generate a representation of the fill location, the representation describing
a volume of
earth in the fill location;
responsive to filling earth into the fill location by the first ESV, update
the
representation of the fill location to describe an updated volume of earth in
the fill
location; and
communicate the updated representation to at least one supplementary loading
ESV
carrying earth to be filled into the fill location, wherein a target tool path
for the
supplementary loading ESV to fill earth into the fill location is updated
based on
the updated representation of the fill location.
52. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instruction for
filling earth
into a fill location encoded thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause
the
processor to:
navigate a first earth shaping vehicle (ESV) comprising a hauling tool to the
fill location;
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generate a target tool path comprising instructions for filling earth into the
fill
location;
navigate the first ESV over the target tool path to fill earth into the fill
location;
responsive to filling earth into the fill location, measure, by a measurement
sensor coupled to the first ESV, a compaction level of earth filled into the
fill location; and
responsive to determining the compaction level to be below a threshold level,
communicate a request for a second ESV comprising a compaction tool to
compact earth in the fill location.
53. The system of claim 52, wherein generating a target tool path comprises:
measuring, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, an amount of
earth in
the fill location;
determining a difference between the measured volume of earth and a target
volume;
and
updating the target tool path with instructions to fill the difference.
54. The system of claim 52, wherein generating a target tool path comprises:
receiving a target compaction level of earth in the fill location;
measuring a current compaction level of earth in the fill location; and
updating a target tool path with instructions for the second ESV to repeat
navigation
over the fill location to achieve the target compaction level of earth in the
fill
location.
55. The system of claim 52, wherein generating a target tool path comprises:
measuring, by a measurement sensor coupled to the first ESV, an amount of
earth in a
plurality of regions of the fill location;
identifying, from the measurements, a region with the least amount of earth;
and
updating the target tool path to fill earth into the identified region.
56. The system of claim 52, wherein the instructions further cause the
processor to:
actuate the hauling tool to an orientation at which earth is released from the
hauling
tool; and
navigating the first ESV over the target tool path to fill earth into the fill
location.

57. The system of claim 52, wherein the instructions further cause the
processor to:
communicate a request for a supplementary ESV to transfer earth from the first
ESV
into the fill location, wherein the supplementary ESV comprises an excavation
tool for transferring earth from the hauling tool of the first ESV into the
fill
location.
58. The system of claim 52, wherein the instructions further cause the
processor to:
responsive to filling earth into the fill location, measure, by a measurement
sensor
coupled to the first ESV, a smoothness of earth filled into the fill location;
and
responsive to determining the smoothness to be below a threshold level,
communicating a request for a supplementary ESV to grade earth in the fill
location, wherein the supplementary ESV comprises a grading tool for smoothing
earth.
59. The system of claim 52, wherein the instructions further cause the
processor to:
generate a representation of the fill location, the representation describing
a volume of
earth in the fill location;
responsive to filling earth into the fill location by the first ESV, update
the
representation of the fill location to describe an updated volume of earth in
the fill
location; and
communicate the updated representation to at least one supplementary loading
ESV
carrying earth to be filled into the fill location, wherein a target tool path
for the
supplementary loading ESV to fill earth into the fill location is updated
based on
the updated representation of the fill location.
60. A method for filling earth into a fill location, the method comprising:
navigating a first earth shaping vehicle ("ESV") to the fill location, wherein
the first
ESV comprises a hauling tool for moving earth to the fill location;
generating, by the first ESV, a target tool path comprising instructions for
filling earth
into the fill location;
navigating the first ESV over the target tool path to fill earth into the fill
location;
responsive to filling earth into the fill location, measuring, by a
measurement sensor
coupled to the first ESV, a compaction level of earth filled into the fill
location;
and
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responsive to determining the compaction level to be below a threshold level,
communicating a request for a second ESV to compact earth in the fill
location, wherein the second ESV comprises a compaction tool.
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Description

CA 03160813 2022-05-09
WO 2021/096549 PCT/US2020/018455
LOADING EARTH INTO A VEHICLE USING A COOPERATIVE FLEET
OF VEHICLES
BACKGROUND
FIELD OF ART
[0001] The disclosure relates generally to methods and systems for moving
earth in a dig site
using an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle, and more specifically to
loading earth
using multiple autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles operating cooperatively.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0002] Vehicles such as backhoes, loaders, and excavators, generally
categorized as earth
shaping vehicles, are used to move earth from locations in a dig site.
Currently, operation of
these earth shaping vehicles is very expensive as each vehicle requires a
manual operator be
available and present during operation. Further complicating the industry,
there is an
insufficient labor force skilled enough to meet the demand for operating these
vehicles.
Because these vehicles must be operated manually, earth moving can only be
performed
during the day, extending the duration of earth moving tasks and further
increasing overall
costs. The dependence of current earth shaping vehicles on manual operators
increases the
risk of human error during earth moving processes and reduce the quality of
work done at the
site.
[0003] Additionally, typical dig sites implement multiple earth shaping
vehicles to
simultaneously perform multiple earth moving tasks. However, in
implementations in which
several autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles simultaneously perform
different tasks,
there exists a need for mechanisms for track the positions of each vehicle
relative to other
vehicles and to update each vehicle's control instructions to prevent
collisions or bottlenecks
in the simultaneous execution of the various earth moving tasks.
SUMMARY
[0004] Described is an autonomous or semi-autonomous earth shaping system that
unifies an
earth shaping vehicle with a sensor system for moving earth within a dig site.
The earth
shaping system controls and navigates an earth shaping vehicle through an
earth shaping
routine of a site. The earth shaping system uses a combination of sensors
integrated into the
earth shaping vehicle to record the positions and orientations of the various
components of
the earth shaping vehicle and/or the conditions of the surrounding earth. Data
recorded by
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the sensors may be aggregated or processed in various ways, for example, to
determine and
control the actuation of the vehicle's controls, to generate representations
of the current state
of the site, to perform measurements and generate analyses based on those
measurements,
and perform other tasks described herein.
[0005] According to a first embodiment, a central control system causes a
first earth shaping
vehicle to load earth from a dig location into a second earth shaping vehicle.
The central
control system causes the first earth shaping vehicle to navigate to a dig
location containing
earth to be excavated. The first earth shaping vehicle comprises an excavation
tool for
excavating earth from the dig location. The central control system identifies
a loading
location for the first earth shaping vehicle to load the excavated earth into
a hauling tool of
the second earth shaping vehicle. The loading location is identified based on
a location of the
first earth shaping vehicle relative to a location of the second earth shaping
vehicle. The
central control system provides the loading location to the second earth
shaping vehicle,
which navigates to the loading location upon receipt of the loading location.
After
excavating the earth from the dig location, the central control system
navigates the first earth
shaping vehicle to the loading location. When the central control system
confirms that the
second earth shaping vehicle has reached the loading location, the first earth
shaping vehicle
transfers the excavated earth from the excavation tool of the first earth
shaping vehicle into
the hauling tool of the second earth shaping vehicle.
[0006] According to a second embodiment, a central control system causes a
first earth
shaping vehicle to navigate through a dig site. The central control system
generates a target
tool path comprising a set of coordinates within a coordinate space of the
site. The set of
coordinates represent a path from a start location to an end location. The
central control
system executes the target tool path to navigate the first earth shaping
vehicle from the start
location to the end location. During the execution of the target tool path,
the central control
system updates the target tool path for the first earth shaping vehicle to
avoid collisions
between first earth shaping vehicle and each neighboring earth shaping vehicle
of the fleet.
The updates to the target tool path are determined based on a position of the
first earth
shaping vehicle relative to a position of each neighboring earth shaping
vehicle. The
processor adjusts a velocity of the first earth shaping vehicle to maintain a
threshold distance
between the first earth shaping vehicle and each neighboring earth shaping
vehicle.
[0007] According to a third embodiment, a central control system causes earth
shaping
vehicles to fill earth into a fill location. The central control system
navigates a first earth
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shaping vehicle configured with a hauling tool for moving earth to the fill
location. The
central control system generates a target tool path comprising instructions
for the first earth
shaping vehicle to fill earth into the fill location and navigates the first
earth shaping vehicle
over the target tool path. As the first earth shaping vehicle fills earth into
the fill location, a
measurement sensor coupled to the first earth shaping vehicle measures a
compaction level of
the earth filled into the fill location. If the compaction level is determined
to be below a
target compaction, the central control system communicates a request for a
second earth
shaping vehicle configured with a compacting tool to compact earth in the fill
location.
[0008] The described excavation system reduces the cost of excavating a site
by reducing the
need for manual labor, by obtaining actionable information that helps design
and increase the
efficiency of the excavation project, and by improving the overall efficiency,
quality, and
precision of the project by carrying out consistent, repeatable actions in
accordance with
excavation plans.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 shows an earth shaping system for moving earth, according to an
embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 2A illustrates an example placement of sensors on a track trencher
configured to
load earth from a first location to a second location, according to an
embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 2B illustrates an example placement of sensors for a skid-steer
loader configured
to lead earth from a first location to a second location, according to an
embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 2C illustrates an example placement of sensors for a hauling truck
configured to
haul earth from a first location to a second location, according to an
embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 2D illustrates an example placement of sensors for a sheepsfoot
roller
compaction vehicle configured to compact filled earth, according to an
embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram illustrating an example of a
computing device
used in an on-unit computer, off-unit computer, and/or database server,
according to an
embodiment.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a system architecture diagram for controlling an earth
shaping vehicle,
according to an embodiment.
[0016] FIG. 5A is a system architecture diagram for a preparation engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 5B is a flowchart describing a process for an excavation vehicle
to prepare a
digital terrain model for a dig site, according to one embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 6A is a system architecture diagram for an earth removal engine,
according to an
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embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 6B is a flowchart describing a process for an earth shaping
vehicle to execute an
excavation routine, according to one embodiment.
[0020] FIG. 6C is a flowchart describing a process for an earth shaping
vehicle to execute a
fill estimate routine, according to one embodiment.
[0021] FIG. 7A is a system architecture diagram for a volume check engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 7B is a flowchart describing a process for an earth shaping
vehicle to execute a
volume check routine, according to an embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 8 is a system architecture diagram for a fleet operations engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0024] FIG. 9A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
earth shaping
vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a loading routine, according to an
embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 9B is a system architecture diagram for a loading engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0026] FIG. 9C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping vehicles to
execute a loading routine, according to an embodiment.
[0027] FIG. 10A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
a fleet of
earth shaping vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a hauling routine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0028] FIG. 10B is a system architecture diagram for a hauling engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 10C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping vehicles to
execute a hauling routine, according to an embodiment.
[0030] FIG. 11A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
earth shaping
vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a filling routine, according to an
embodiment.
[0031] FIG. 11B is a system architecture diagram for a filling engine,
according to an
embodiment.
[0032] FIG. 11C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping vehicles to
execute a filling routine, according to an embodiment.
[0033] The figures depict various embodiments of the presented invention
for purposes of
illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the
following discussion
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that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein
may be
employed without departing from the principles described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
I. EXCAVATION SYSTEM
[0034] FIG. 1 shows an earth shaping system 100 for moving earth autonomously
or semi-
autonomously from a dig site using a suite of one or more sensors 170 mounted
on an earth
shaping vehicle 115 to record data describing the state of the earth shaping
115 and the
excavated site. As examples, FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate the example placement
of sensors
for a compact track loader and an excavator, respectively, according to
example
embodiments. FIGs. 1-2B are discussed together in the following section for
clarity.
[0035] The excavation system 100 includes a set of components physically
coupled to the
earth shaping 115. These include a sensor assembly 110, the earth shaping 115
itself, a
digital or analog electrical controller 150, and an on-unit computer 120a. The
sensor
assembly 110 includes one or more of any of the following types of sensors:
measurement
sensors 125, spatial sensors 130, imaging sensors 135, and position sensors
145.
[0036] Each of these components will be discussed further below in the
remaining sub-
sections of FIG. 1. Although FIG. 1 illustrates only a single instance of most
of the
components of the excavation system 100, in practice more than one of each
component may
be present, and additional or fewer components may be used different than
those described
herein.
I.A. EARTH SHAPING VEHICLE
[0037] The earth shaping 115 may be an excavation vehicle, for example
excavation vehicle
115d. Excavation vehicles 115d are items of heavy equipment designed to move
earth from
beneath the ground surface within a dig site. Excavation vehicles 115d are
typically large
and capable of excavating large volumes of earth at a single time,
particularly relative to what
an individual human can move by hand. Generally, excavation vehicles 115d
excavate earth
by scraping or digging earth from beneath the ground surface. Examples of
excavation
vehicles 115d within the scope of this description include, but are not
limited to loaders such
as backhoe loaders, track loaders, wheel loaders, skid steer loaders,
scrapers, graders,
bulldozers, compactors, excavators, mini-excavators, trenchers, skip loaders.
[0038] In addition to excavation vehicles 115d, a combination of hauling
vehicles 115b,
compacting vehicles 115c, or addition excavation vehicles 115b may be deployed
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dig site to assist and optimize the execution of various dig site tasks. For
example, an
excavation vehicle 115d may excavate earth from below the surface of a dig
site and deposit
the excavated earth into a hauling vehicle 115b. The hauling vehicle 115b
transports to earth
from a first location in the dig site to a second location, for example a fill
location. At the fill
location, the hauling vehicle 115b empties contents of a hauling tool 175 to
fill earth into a
hole and a compacting vehicle 115c compacts the filled earth. Alternatively,
in place of the
hauling vehicle 115b filling earth at a fill location, another excavation
vehicle 115d may
transfer earth from the hauling vehicle 115b to the fill location. In
implementations for which
multiple vehicles perform tasks, instructions are communicated to each
vehicle, for example
vehicle 115a, 115b, or 115c, via the network 105. As described herein,
excavation vehicles
115d, hauling vehicles 115b, and compacting vehicles 115c may be broadly
referred to as
"earth shaping vehicles."
[0039] In comparison to excavation vehicles 115d, which are configured with an
excavation
tool for moving earth from beneath the ground surface, hauling vehicles 115b
are large and
capable of moving large volumes of earth above the surface from a first
location to a second
location some distance away. Typically, hauling vehicles 115b are configured
with hauling
tools capable of transporting a larger volume of earth than an excavation tool
configured to
an excavation vehicle over larger distances. Examples of hauling vehicles 115b
within the
scope of this description include on-road or off-road trucks, for example dump
trucks,
articulated dump trucks or belly dumps, self-loading trucks, for example
scrapers, scraper-
tractors, high-speed dozers, or other wheeled or tracked equipment configured
to tow a
scraper attachment.
[0040] Compacting vehicles 115c are designed with a compacting tool for
compacting earth
that has been filled into a fill location, earth that has been loosed by the
navigation of other
vehicles through the dig site, earth that was excavated and deposited at a
previous time, or a
combination thereof. Examples of compacting vehicles 115c within the scope of
this
description include, but are not limited to, smooth drum rollers, wheeled
rollers, sheepsfoot
rollers, pneumatic rollers, tandem vibratory compactors, rammers, vibratory
plate
compactors, wheeled dozers, and landfill compactors.
[0041] For the sake of simplicity, components of FIG. 1 are described broadly
with reference
to an earth shaping vehicle 115. However, one skilled in the art would
recognize that the
components of the excavation system 110 as described herein are used to
configure an
excavation vehicle 115d, a hauling vehicle 115c, or a compacting vehicle 115d
to
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autonomously or semi-autonomously perform a dig site task. Among other
components,
earth shaping vehicles 115 generally include a chassis 205, a drive system
210, an earth
shaping tool 175, an engine (not shown), an on-board sensor assembly 110, and
a controller
150. The chassis is the frame upon on which all other components are
physically mounted.
The drive system gives the excavation vehicle 115d mobility through the
excavation site.
[0042] In implementations involving excavation vehicles 115d, the earth
shaping tool 175 is
an excavation tool including not only an instrument collecting earth, such as
a bucket or
shovel, but also any articulated elements for positioning the instrument for
the collection,
measurement, and dumping of dirt. For example, in an excavator or loader the
excavation
tool refers not only to the bucket but also the multi-element arm that adjusts
the position and
orientation of the tool.
[0043] In implementations involving hauling vehicles 115d, the earth shaping
tool 175 is a
hauling tool (not shown) that is an instrument for securely transporting earth
over a distance.
The hauling tool may additionally refer to actuation elements, which when
actuated by a
hydraulic system, adjust the orientation and position of the hauling tool to
fill earth into a
location on the dig site. Additionally, in implementations involving
compacting vehicles
115b, the earth shaping tool 175 is a compaction tool (not shown) that is an
instrument for
improving the compactness of loose earth in the dig site. As described herein,
compaction
tool may refer not only to the tool in contact with loose earth, but also the
element that
adjusts the position and orientation of the tool.
[0044] The engine powers both the drive system 210 and the earth shaping tool
175. The
engine may be an internal combustion engine, or an alternative power source,
such as an
electric motor or battery. In many earth shaping vehicles 115, the engine
powers the drive
system 210 and the excavation tool commonly through a single hydraulic system,
however
other means of actuation may also be used. A common property of hydraulic
systems used
within earth shaping vehicles 115 is that the hydraulic capacity of the
vehicle 115 is shared
between the drive system 210 and the tool. In some embodiments, the
instructions and
control logic for the earth shaping vehicle 115 to operate autonomously and
semi-
autonomously includes instructions relating to determinations about how and
under what
circumstances to allocate the hydraulic capacity of the hydraulic system.
I.B. SENSOR ASSEMBLY
[0045] As introduced above, the sensor assembly 110 includes a combination of
one or more
of: measurement sensors 125, spatial sensors 130, imaging sensors 135, and
position sensors
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145. The sensor assembly 110 is configured to collect data related to the
earth shaping
vehicle 115 and environmental data surrounding the earth shaping vehicle 115.
The
controller 150 is configured to receive the data from the assembly 110 and
carry out the
instructions of the excavation routine provided by the computers 120 based on
the recorded
data. This includes control the drive system 210 to move the position of the
tool based on the
environmental data, a location of the earth shaping vehicle 115, and the
excavation routine.
[0046] Sensors 170 are either removably mounted to the earth shaping vehicle
115 without
impeding the operation of the earth shaping vehicle 115, or the sensor is an
integrated
component that is a native part of the earth shaping vehicle 115 as made
available by its
manufacturer. Each sensor transmits the data in real-time or as soon as a
network connection
is achieved, automatically without input from the earth shaping vehicle 115 or
a human
operator. Data recorded by the sensors 170 is used by the controller 150
and/or on-unit
computer 120a for analysis of, generation of and carrying out of excavation
routines, among
other tasks.
[0047] Position sensors 145 provide a position of the earth shaping vehicle
115. This may be
a localized position within a dig site, or a global position with respect to
latitude/longitude, or
some other external reference system. In one embodiment, a position sensor is
a global
positioning system interfacing with a static local ground-based GPS node
mounted to the
earth shaping vehicle 115 to output a position of the earth shaping vehicle
115.
[0048] Spatial sensors 130 output a three-dimensional map in the form of a
three-dimensional
point cloud representing distances, for example between one meter and fifty
meters between
the spatial sensors 130 and the ground surface or any objects within the field
of view of the
spatial sensor 130, in some cases per rotation of the spatial sensor 130. In
one embodiment,
spatial sensors 130 include a set of light emitters (e.g., Infrared (IR))
configured to project
structured light into a field near the earth shaping vehicle 115, a set of
detectors (e.g., IR
cameras), and a processor configured to transform data received by the
infrared detectors into
a point cloud representation of the three-dimensional volume captured by the
detectors as
measured by structured light reflected by the environment. In one embodiment,
the spatial
sensor 130 is a LIDAR sensor having a scan cycle that sweeps through an
angular range
capturing some or all of the volume of space surrounding the earth shaping
vehicle 115.
Other types of spatial sensors 130 may be used, including time-of-flight
sensors, ultrasonic
sensors, and radar sensors.
[0049] Imaging sensors 135 capture still or moving-video representations of
the ground
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surface, objects, and environment surrounding the earth shaping vehicle 115.
Examples
imaging sensors 135 include, but are not limited to, stereo RGB cameras,
structure from
motion cameras, and monocular RGB cameras. In one embodiment, each camera can
output
a video feed containing a sequence of digital photographic images at a rate of
20 Hz. In one
embodiment, multiple imaging sensors 135 are mounted such that each imaging
sensor
captures some portion of the entire 360 degree angular range around the
vehicle. For
example, front, rear, left lateral, and right lateral imaging sensors may be
mounted to capture
the entire angular range around the earth shaping vehicle 115.
[0050] Measurement sensors 125 generally measure properties of the ambient
environment,
or properties of the earth shaping vehicle 115 itself. These properties may
include tool
position/orientation, relative articulation of the various joints of the arm
supporting the tool,
vehicle 115 speed, ambient temperature, hydraulic pressure (either relative to
capacity or
absolute) including how much hydraulic capacity is being used by the drive
system 210 and
the excavation tool separately. A variety of possible measurement sensors 125
may be used,
including hydraulic pressure sensors, linear encoders, radial encoders,
inertial measurement
unit sensors, incline sensors, accelerometers, strain gauges, gyroscopes, and
string encoders.
[0051] There are a number of different ways for the sensor assembly 110
generally and the
individual sensors specifically to be constructed and/or mounted to the earth
shaping vehicle
115. This will also depend in part on the construction of the earth shaping
vehicle 115.
Using the track trencher of FIG. 2A as an example, the representations with
diagonal
crosshatching represent the example placements of a set of measurement sensors
125, the
representation with diamond crosshatching represent example placements of a
set of spatial
sensors 130, and the representations with grid crosshatching represent example
placements of
a set of position sensors 145. Using the skid-steer loader of FIG. 2B as
another example,
diagonal crosshatchings represent measurement sensors 125, diamond
crosshatchings
represent spatial sensors 130, and grid crosshatchings represent position
sensors 145.
Additionally, vertical crosshatchings near the drive system 210 represent
example placements
for a linear encoder 210 and horizontal crosshatchings near the roof represent
imaging
sensors 135, for example RGB cameras.
[0052] Using the hauling vehicle 115c of FIG. 2C as an exemplary hauling
vehicle, the
representations with diagonal crosshatching represent example placements of
measurement
sensors 125 mounted to the hauling tool of the hauling truck, the
representations with
diamond crosshatching represent example placements of a set of spatial sensors
130 mounted
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to the cab of the hauling truck, the representations with grid crosshatching
represent example
placements of position sensors mounted to the drivetrain, the hauling tool,
and the cab of the
vehicle, and the representations with horizontal crosshatching represent
imaging sensors on
the hauling tool and the cab of the vehicle. Using the compacting vehicle 115d
of FIG. 2D as
an exemplary compaction vehicle, the representations with diagonal
crosshatching represent
example placements of measurement sensors mounted to the compaction tool of
the roller,
the representations with diamond crosshatching represent example placements of
a set of
spatial sensors mounted to the cab and the compacting tool of the compacting
vehicle, the
representations with grid crosshatching represent example placements of
position sensors
mounted to the cab, the tool, and the drivetrain of the compacting vehicle,
and the
representations with horizontal crosshatching represent imaging sensors
mounted to the cab,
the tool, and the drivetrain of the compacting vehicle.
[0053] Generally, individual sensors as well as the sensor assembly 110 itself
range in
complexity from simplistic measurement devices that output analog or
electrical systems
electrically coupled to a network bus or other communicative network, to more
complicated
devices which include their own onboard computer processors, memory, and the
communications adapters (similar to on-unit computer 120a). Regardless of
construction, the
sensors and/or sensor assembly together function to record, store, and report
information to
the computers 120. Any given sensor may record or the sensor assembly may
append to
recorded data a time stamps for when data was recorded.
[0054] The sensor assembly 110 may include its own network adapter (not shown)
that
communicates with the computers 120 either through either a wired or wireless
connection.
For wireless connections, the network adapter may be a Bluetooth Low Energy
(BTLE)
wireless transmitter, infrared, or 802.11 based connection. For wired
connection, a wide
variety of communications standards and related architecture may be used,
including
Ethernet, a Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus, or similar.
[0055] In the case of a BTLE connection, After the sensor assembly 110 and on-
unit
computer 120a have been paired with each other using a BLTE passkey, the
sensor assembly
110 automatically synchronizes and communicates information relating to the
excavation of a
site to the on-site computer 120a. If the sensor assembly 110 has not been
paired with the on-
unit computer 120 prior to the excavation of a site, the information is stored
locally until such
a pairing occurs. Upon pairing, the sensor assembly 110 communicates any
stored data to the
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[0056] The sensor assembly 110 may be configured to communicate received data
to any one
of the controller 150 of the earth shaping vehicle 115, the on-unit computer
120a, as well as
the off-unit computer 120b. For example, if the network adapter of the sensor
assembly 110
is configured to communicate via a wireless standard such as 802.11 or LTE,
the adapter may
exchange data with a wireless access point such as a wireless router, which
may in turn
communicate with the off-unit computer 120b and also on-unit computer 120a.
This type of
transmission may be redundant, but it can help ensure that recorded data
arrives at the off-
unit computer 120b for consumption and decision making by a manual operator,
while also
providing the data to the on-unit computer 120a for autonomous or semi-
autonomous
decision making in the carrying out of the excavation plan.
I.C. ON-UNIT COMPUTER
[0057] Data collected by the sensors 170 is communicated to the on-unit
computer 120a to
assist in the design or carrying out of an excavation routine. Generally,
excavation routines
are sets of computer program instructions that, when executed control the
various
controllable inputs of the earth shaping vehicle 115 to carry out an
excavation-related task.
The controllable input of the earth shaping vehicle 115 may include the
joystick controlling
the drive system 210 and excavation tool and any directly-controllable
articulable elements,
or some controller 150 associated input to those controllable elements, such
as an analog or
electrical circuit that responds to joystick inputs.
[0058] Generally, excavation-related tasks and excavation routines are broadly
defined to
include any task that can be feasibly carried out by an excavation routine.
Examples include,
but are not limited to: dig site preparation routines, excavation routines,
fill estimate routines,
volume check routines, dump routines, wall cutback routines,
backfill/compaction routines.
Examples of these routines are described further below. In addition to
instructions,
excavation routines include data characterizing the site and the amount and
locations of earth
to be excavated. Examples of such data include, but are not limited to, a
digital file, sensor
data, a digital terrain model, and one or more target tool paths. Examples of
such data are
further described below.
[0059] The earth shaping vehicle 115 is designed to carry out the set of
instructions of an
excavation routine either entirely autonomously or semi-autonomously. Here,
semi-
autonomous refers to an earth shaping vehicle 115 that not only responds to
the instructions
but also to a manual operator. Manual operators of the earth shaping vehicle
115 may be
monitor the earth moving routine from inside of the earth shaping vehicle
using the on-unit
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computer 120a or remotely using an off-unit computer 120b from outside of the
excavation
vehicle, on-site, or off-site. Manual operation may take the form of manual
input to the
joystick, for example. Sensor data is received by the on-unit computer 120a
and assists in the
carrying out of those instructions, for example by modifying exactly what
inputs are provided
to the controller 150 in order to achieve the instructions to be accomplished
as part of the
excavation routine.
[0060] The on-unit computer 120a may also exchange information with the off-
unit computer
120b and/or other excavation vehicles (not shown) connected through network
105. For
example, an earth shaping vehicle 115 may communicate data recorded by one
earth shaping
vehicle 115 to a fleet of additional earth shaping vehicle 115's that may be
used at the same
site. Similarly, through the network 105, the computers 120 may deliver data
regarding a
specific site to a central location from which the fleet of earth shaping
vehicle 115's are
stored. This may involve the earth shaping vehicle 115 exchanging data with
the off-unit
computer, which in turn can initiate a process to generate the set of
instructions for
excavating the earth and to deliver the instructions to another earth shaping
vehicle 115.
Similarly, the earth shaping vehicle 115 may also receive data sent by other
sensor
assemblies 110 of other earth shaping vehicles 115 as communicated between
computers 120
over network 105.
[0061] The on-unit computer 120a may also process the data received from the
sensor
assembly 110. Processing generally takes sensor data that in a "raw" format
may not be
directly usable, and converts into a form that useful for another type of
processing. For
example, the on-unit computer 120a may fuse data from the various sensors into
a real-time
scan of the ground surface of the site around the earth shaping vehicle 115.
This may
comprise fusing the point clouds of various spatial sensors 130, the stitching
of images from
multiple imaging sensors 135, and the registration of images and point clouds
relative to each
other or relative to data regarding an external reference frame as provided by
position sensors
145 or other data. Processing may also include up sampling, down sampling,
interpolation,
filtering, smoothing, or other related techniques.
[0062] In implementations involving cooperation between multiple earth shaping
vehicles in
a dig site, the on-unit computer 120a coupled to a primary vehicle tasked with
executing an
earth moving routine may communicate instructions including a request to on-
unit computers
120a for one or more secondary vehicles such that each secondary vehicle
assists the primary
vehicle with the execution of the earth-moving routine. For example, in the
embodiment of
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FIG. 1, the excavation vehicle 115d may be the primary vehicle and the on-unit
computer
120a generates instructions for the excavation vehicle 115d to execute an
excavation routine
that requires earth be hauled over a distance and compacted. Accordingly, the
on-unit
computer 120a communicates a request via the network 105 to an on-unit
computer coupled
to each of the hauling vehicle 115c and the compacting vehicle 115b. Upon
receipt of the
request, each on-unit computer generates instructions for the hauling vehicle
115c and the
compacting vehicle 115b to assist the excavation vehicle 115a with performing
the
excavation routine.
I.D. OFF-UNIT COMPUTER
[0063] The off-unit computer 120b includes a software architecture for
supporting access and
use of the excavation system 100 by many different excavation vehicles 115
through network
105, and thus at a high level can be generally characterized as a cloud-based
system. Any
operations or processing performed by the on-unit computer 120a may also be
performed
similarly by the off-unit computer 120b.
[0064] In some instances, the operation of the earth shaping vehicle 115 is
monitored by a
human operator. Human operators, when necessary, may halt or override the
automated
excavation process and manually operate the earth shaping vehicle 115 in
response to
observations made regarding the features or the properties of the site.
Monitoring by a
human operator may include remote oversight of the whole excavation routine or
a portion of
it. Human operation of the earth shaping vehicle 115 may also include manual
or remote
control of the joysticks of the earth shaping vehicle 115 for portions of the
earth moving
routine (i.e., preparation routine, excavation routine, etc.). Additionally,
when appropriate,
human operators may override all or a part of the set of instructions and/or
excavation routine
carried out by the on-unit computer 120a.
[0065] In implementations involving cooperation between multiple earth shaping
vehicles in
a dig site, the off-unit computer 120b may operate as a central control
system, generating
instructions for a combination of earth shaping vehicles to cooperatively
perform an
excavation routine. During the generation of those instructions, the off-unit
computer 120b
may generate a separate set of instructions for each earth shaping vehicle
involved in the
execution of the routine and communicate a specific set of instructions to
each vehicle via the
network 105. For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the off-
unit computer
120b may generate a set of instructions for each of the excavation vehicle
115d, compacting
vehicle 115b, and the hauling vehicle 115c. In another embodiment, the off-
unit computer
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120b may generate a single set of complete instructions and communicate
vehicle-specific
subsets of the instructions to each of the vehicles 115a, 115b, and 115c. As
described herein,
such an off-unit computer 120b may also be referred to as a "central computer
120."
I.E. GENERAL COMPUTER STRUCTURE
[0066] The on-unit 120a and off-unit 120b computers may be generic or special
purpose
computers. A simplified example of the components of an example computer
according to
one embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 3.
[0067] FIG. 3 is a high-level block diagram illustrating physical
components of an
example off-unit computer 120b from FIG. 1, according to one embodiment.
Illustrated is a
chipset 305 coupled to at least one processor 310. Coupled to the chipset 305
is volatile
memory 315, a network adapter 320, an input/output (I/O) device(s) 325, and a
storage
device 330 representing a non-volatile memory. In one implementation, the
functionality of
the chipset 305 is provided by a memory controller 335 and an I/0 controller
340. In another
embodiment, the memory 315 is coupled directly to the processor 310 instead of
the chipset
305. In some embodiments, memory 315 includes high-speed random access memory
(RAM), such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory
devices.
[0068] The storage device 330 is any non-transitory computer-readable
storage
medium, such as a hard drive, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), DVD, or
a solid-
state memory device. The memory 315 holds instructions and data used by the
processor
310. The I/0 controller 340 is coupled to receive input from the machine
controller 150 and
the sensor assembly 110, as described in FIG. 1, and displays data using the
I/O devices 345.
The I/O device 345 may be a touch input surface (capacitive or otherwise), a
mouse, track
ball, or other type of pointing device, a keyboard, or another form of input
device. The
network adapter 320 couples the off-unit computer 120b to the network 105.
[0069] As is known in the art, a computer 120 can have different and/or
other
components than those shown in FIG. 2. In addition, the computer 120 can lack
certain
illustrated components. In one embodiment, a computer 120 acting as server may
lack a
dedicated I/O device 345. Moreover, the storage device 330 can be local and/or
remote from
the computer 120 (such as embodied within a storage area network (SAN)), and,
in one
embodiment, the storage device 330 is not a CD-ROM device or a DVD device.
[0070] Generally, the exact physical components used in the on-unit 120a
and off-unit
120b computers will vary. For example, the on-unit computer 120a will be
communicatively
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coupled to the controller 150 and sensor assembly 110 differently than the off-
unit computer
120b.
[0071] Typically, the off-unit computer 120b will be a server class system
that uses
powerful processors, large memory, and faster network components compared to
the on-unit
computer 120a, however this is not necessarily the case. Such a server
computer typically
has large secondary storage, for example, using a RAID (redundant array of
independent
disks) array and/or by establishing a relationship with an independent content
delivery
network (CDN) contracted to store, exchange and transmit data such as the
asthma
notifications contemplated above. Additionally, the computing system includes
an operating
system, for example, a UNIX operating system, LINUX operating system, or a
WINDOWS
operating system. The operating system manages the hardware and software
resources of the
off-unit computer 120b and also provides various services, for example,
process
management, input/output of data, management of peripheral devices, and so on.
The
operating system provides various functions for managing files stored on a
device, for
example, creating a new file, moving or copying files, transferring files to a
remote system,
and so on.
[0072] As is known in the art, the computer 120 is adapted to execute
computer
program engines for providing functionality described herein. A engine can be
implemented
in hardware, firmware, and/or software. In one embodiment, program engines are
stored on
the storage device 330, loaded into the memory 315, and executed by the
processor 310.
I.F . NETWORK
[0073] The network 105 represents the various wired and wireless communication
pathways
between the computers 120, the sensor assembly 110, and the earth shaping
vehicle 115.
Network 105 uses standard Internet communications technologies and/or
protocols. Thus,
the network 105 can include links using technologies such as Ethernet, IEEE
802.11,
integrated services digital network (ISDN), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM),
etc.
Similarly, the networking protocols used on the network 150 can include the
transmission
control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), the hypertext transport protocol
(HTTP), the
simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), the file transfer protocol (FTP), etc.
The data
exchanged over the network 105F can be represented using technologies and/or
formats
including the hypertext markup language (HTML), the extensible markup language
(XML),
etc. In addition, all or some links can be encrypted using conventional
encryption
technologies such as the secure sockets layer (SSL), Secure HTTP (HTTPS)
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private networks (VPNs). In another embodiment, the entities can use custom
and/or
dedicated data communications technologies instead of, or in addition to, the
ones described
above.
II. EARTH SHAPING VEHICLE OPERATION OVERVIEW
[0074] FIG. 4 is a diagram of the system architecture for the control logic
400 of an
earth shaping vehicle 115, according to an embodiment. The control logic 400
is
implemented by s software within a central computer, for example an on-unit
computer 120a
or the off-unit computer 120b, and is executed by providing inputs to the
controller 150 to
control the control inputs of the vehicle 115 such as the joystick. The system
architecture of
the control logic 400 comprises a navigation engine 410, a preparation engine
420, an earth
moving engine 430, a volume check engine 440. In other embodiments, the
control logic 400
may include more or fewer components. Functionality indicated as being
performed by a
particular engine may be performed by other engines instead.
[0075] The navigation engine 410 provides mapping and orientation instructions
to the
drivetrain 210 of the earth shaping vehicle 115 to navigate the vehicle
through the coordinate
space of the site and along the target tool paths within the fill location.
The preparation engine
420 creates and/or converts the digital file describing the target state of
the site into a set of
target tool paths. In combination, the set of target tool paths describes an
earth moving routine
and an organizational layout of a dig site along with any other instructions
needed to carry out
the earth moving (e.g., a location of earth to be moved, a location at which
earth is to be filled,
and a location of other vehicles relative to a primary vehicle). The
preparation engine is further
described with reference to FIGs. 5A and 5B.
[0076] The earth moving engine 430 executes instructions (e.g., instructions
encoded as a set
of target tool paths) to actuate a tool 175 and the drive train to perform an
earth shaping routine,
for example an excavation routine to excavation from a location, a filling
routine to fill earth
at a location in a dig site, or a hauling routine to move earth from location
to location in a dig
site. The earth moving engine 430 will be further discussed with reference to
FIGs. 6A-6C.
The volume check engine 440 measures the amount of earth in a tool 175 of an
earth shaping
vehicle 115, for example an excavation tool coupled to an excavation vehicle
or a hauling tool
coupled to a hauling vehicle, and makes a determination regarding whether or
not the earth
shaping vehicle should release the contents of the tool or continue executing
an earth shaping
routine. The volume check engine 440 will be further discussed with reference
to FIGs. 7A
and 7B.
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[0077] The fleet operations engine 450 generates instructions for multiple
earth shaping
vehicles in a dig site to operate cooperatively to more efficiently execute an
earth moving
routine. The fleet operations engine 450 may implement a combination of
protocols
implemented by each of the navigation engine 410, the preparation engine 420,
the earth
moving engine 430, and the volume check engine 440 to execute vehicle-specific
instructions
for each vehicle 115 involved in an earth moving routine. The fleet operations
engine 450 is
further discussed with reference to FIGs. 8-11C.
III. PREPARING INSTRUCTIONS FOR AN EARTH-SHAPING ROUTINE
[0078] Prior to an earth shaping vehicle 115 executing the set of
instructions to navigate
through the site and excavate earth from a dig location, the earth shaping
vehicle 115
generates the set of instructions based on a known target state of the site
and contextual data
describing the initial state of the site. FIG. 5A is a diagram of the system
architecture for the
preparation engine 420 of a central computer 120, according to an embodiment.
The
preparation engine 420 generates a digital terrain model including one or more
target tool
paths which can be followed by the earth shaping vehicle 115. The system
architecture of the
preparation engine 420 comprises a digital file store 510, a sensor data store
520, a digital
mapping engine 530, and a target tool path generator 550. In other
embodiments, the
preparation engine 420 may include more or fewer components. Functionality
indicated as
being performed by a particular engine may be performed by other engines
instead. Some of
the engines of the preparation engine 410 may be stored in the control logic
400.
[0079] The digital file store 510 maintains one or more digital files, which
may be accessed
from a remote database. In some instances, the controller 150 may access these
digital files
from the central computer 120b and subsequently store them in the digital file
store 510.
Digital files may be image files describing the geographic layout of the site
as a function of
location within a coordinate space of the site, with different images
representing a dig
location, fill location, an entry ramp, etc. Geographic locations in the
coordinate space may
be represented as one or more two-dimensional points or three-dimensional
points. The
digital file may also include data describing how the earth shaping vehicle
115 ought to
interact with each location discussed in the digital file. The digital files
stored in the digital
file store 510 may also include a digital file representing a target state of
the site once all
excavation has been completed. Digital files may be constructed using known
computer
programs and file types, such as a Computer Aided Design (CAD) file or a
Building
Information Modeling (BIM) file.
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[0080] For example, a dig location may be characterized by a set of target
volume
dimensions which should be achieved upon the conclusion of an excavation
routine. At a
boundary of the dig location, the digital file may also include a ramp.
Geometrically, the
width of the ramp is generally greater than the maximum width of the
combination of vehicle
115 and the tool 175 coupled to the vehicle. Additionally, the location of the
fill location
may be extracted from the digital file or received manually from a human
operator.
Alternatively, the location of the fill location within the site may be based
on the estimated
maximum size of the fill location and a specified relative distance between
the fill location,
the dig location, and other equipment in the site. The placement of the fill
location may also
be determined based on several considerations including, but not limited to:
the risk of
excavated earth caving in above the dig location or the fill location, the
volume of excavated
earth required to form the planned hole, the estimated compaction factor of
the excavated
earth, and the estimated swell factor of the excavated earth.
[0081] When appropriate, the digital file may also describe the location of
fiducials
representing technical pieces of equipment previously placed at the site such
as stakes with
active emitters and grade stakes. In alternate instances, the locations of the
fiducials may be
manually input to a central computer 120 based on the records of a human
operator.
[0082] A representation of the initial state of the site is generated using
sensor 170 data,
stored within the sensor data store 520. As the navigation engine 410
maneuvers the earth
shaping vehicle 115 through the site, sensors 170 gather contextual
information on the site
which is aggregated into a representation of the current state of the site.
More specifically,
spatial sensors 130 record spatial data in the form of point cloud
representations, imaging
sensors 135 gather imaging data, and depth sensors 145 gather data describing
relative
locations. More generally, the sensor data store 520 stores contextual
information describing
the current state of the site which refers to a physical landscape of the site
and physical
properties of soil, or earth, within the site. The navigation engine 410
navigates within the
geospatial boundaries defined by the digital file to record contextual
information describing
the current state of the site.
[0083] When recording data via one or more spatial sensors, the spatial
sensors 130
record one or more photographic images of various portions of the site. Based
on the
photographic images, the preparation engine 420 generates a representation of
a current
physical state of the site by stitching the recorded images into point clouds
of data
representing the portions of the site. Additionally, for each of the recorded
images, the
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position and orientation of features within the site are recorded and
translated into the point
cloud representations with respect to the coordinate space of the digital
file. In alternative
implementations, the sensor assembly 110 uses an imaging sensor 135 to record
the
contextual information as photographic images of portions of the site and, for
each of those
images, stores the associated positions and orientations of the relevant
features within the
photographed portion of the site. Additionally, for each of the recorded
images, the position
and orientation of features within the site are recorded and translated into
the point cloud
representations with respect to the coordinate space of the digital file. In
another alternate
implementation, the sensor assembly 110 uses an imaging sensor 135 to record
the contextual
information as photographic images of portions of the site and, for each of
those images,
stores the associated positions and orientations of the relevant features
within the portion of
the site. Alternatively, the earth shaping vehicle 115 includes sensors and a
software
assembly that generates a digital terrain model of the site using simultaneous
localization and
mapping (SLAM).
[0084] Using the representation of a current physical state of the site
generated based
on the sensor data and the representation of the target state of the site, the
digital mapping
engine 530 generates a digital terrain model of the site. By aligning points
in the target state
of the site with the initial state of the site in the coordinate space,
differences between the two
representations can be identified by the central computer computer 120. For
example, the
central computer 120 may determine a volume of earth to be excavated to form
the planned
hole from the digital file. In one embodiment, the two representations (the
digital file and the
contextual data) are aligned (or register) using the known locations of
fiducials and other
locations within the site common to both representations. Position data from a
position
sensor 145 such as a GPS may also be used to perform the alignment.
Algorithms, such as
Iterative Closest Point (ICP) may be used to align the two representations.
The boundaries of
the sites provided by both representation may also be used to perform the
alignment. In one
embodiment, for every point pair in the actual/target representations, if the
difference in
elevation (e.g., Z-axis relative to the ground plane) is greater than a
threshold, it is multiplied
by the resolution of the representation to calculate a voxel volume, and is
then summed
together. Such a technique can be performed at multiple points to determine
how the two
representations should be adjusted relative to each other along an axis to
align them.
[0085] In some implementations, the central computers 120 use the digital
terrain
model to determine the difference in volume between the two representations
which
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translates into the volume of earth to be excavated from the hole.
Incorporating all the
considerations made above, the physical layout of the site, the volume of
earth to be
excavated, and the creation of cutbacks and slope backs, the central computer
120 generates
one or more target tool paths.
[0086] Using the digital terrain model, the target tool path generator 540
generates one
or more target tool paths for the earth shaping vehicle 115 to move a tool
175, or a
combination of earth shaping vehicles 115 to move multiple tools 175, to
execute an
excavation routine, for example excavating a volume of earth, filling a volume
of earth, or
navigating the earth shaping vehicle 115 within the site. Tool paths provide
instructions for a
semi-autonomous vehicle to perform an earth shaping routine in the form of
geographical
steps and corresponding coordinates for the earth shaping vehicle 115 and/or
coupled tool to
traverse within the site. In implementations where the site is represented in
the digital terrain
model as a coordinate space, for example the implementations described above,
a target tool
path includes a set of coordinates within the coordinate space. A target tool
path may further
represent a measure of volume relative to the volume of the planned hole. For
example, if a
hole is 4" wide, 3" long, and 2" deep, a single target tool path includes
coordinates within
the 12" area of the coordinate space and, at each coordinate, places the tool
at a depth of 2"
in order to excavate the hole using a single target tool path. Target tool
paths may describe a
variety of shapes representing a variety of earth shaping techniques, for
example substantially
rectangular pathways in two dimensions, substantially triangular pathways in
two
dimensions, hyperrectangular pathways in three dimensions, hyperrectangular
pathways in
three dimensions, elliptic pathways in two dimensions, hyperelliptic pathways
in three
dimensions, or curved lines along the plane of the ground surface.
[0087] For holes of greater volumes or requiring a graded excavation, multiple
target tool
paths may be implemented at different offsets from the finish tool path. For
example, if three
target tool paths are required to excavate a 6" deep hole, the first may be
executed at a depth
of 3", the second at a depth 2", and the third at a depth of 1". As a result,
a target tool path
may represent instructions for excavating only a fraction of the volume of
excavated earth.
For example, the last tool path used at the conclusion of the excavation of
the hole may be
referred to as a finish tool path, which digs minimal to no volume, but is
primarily intended
to even the surface of the bottom of the dug hole. While moving through the
finish tool path,
the tool excavates less earth from the hole than in previous tool paths by
adjusting the depth
of the leading edge or the angle of the tool beneath the ground surface. To
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excavation routine, the earth shaping vehicle 115 adjusts a non-leading edge
of the tool and
reduces the speed of the drive. In some implementations, instructions included
in each target
tool path may be executed by a different earth shaping vehicle 115, resulting
in a fleet of
earth shaping vehicles 115 operating cooperatively to complete a task.
[0088] For holes of greater volumes that may require a graded excavation, the
target tool path
generator 540 may generate multiple tool paths at different offsets from the
finish tool path.
For example, if three tool paths are required to excavate a 6" deep hole, the
first may be
executed at a depth of 3", the second at a depth 2", and the third at a depth
of 1". As a
result, a tool path may represent only a fraction of the volume of excavated
earth. In one
embodiment, the target tool path generator 540 calculates the number of tool
paths by
dividing the target depth of the hole by the maximum depth that each tool path
is capable of.
In some instances, the maximum depth that each tool path is capable of is also
defined by the
dimensions of the tool 175 attached to the earth shaping vehicle 115. In other
embodiments,
the tool paths may be manually generated using the off-unit computer 120b as
the central
controller 120.
[0089] In some implementations, tool paths may not describe the shape of the
hole in three-
dimensions, instead removing the depth measurement to only specify a two-
dimensional
pathway or two-dimensional plane in the three or two-dimensional coordinate
system. In
such instances, the depth instructions for how deep to dig with a tool path
may be provided
for separately in the set of instructions.
[0090] The target tool path generator 540 may define tool paths are defined
based on several
factors including, but not limited to, the composition of the soil, the
properties of the tool
being used to excavate the hole, the properties of the drive system 210 moving
the tool, and
the properties of the earth shaping vehicle 115. Example properties of the
earth shaping tool
175 and earth shaping vehicle 115 include the size of the tool, the weight of
the excavation
tool, and the force exerted on the excavation tool 175 in contact with the
ground surface of
the site.
[0091] When executed in reverse or in alternative sequences, the processes
described above
and below with respect to trenching and drilling as specific examples may also
perform other
earth shaping routines including, but not limited to, digging, grading,
filling, trenching,
compacting, aerating, ripping, stripping, spreading, and smoothing.
[0092] To implement the system architecture of the preparation engine, FIG. 5B
shows an
example flowchart describing the process for a preparation engine 420 to
prepare a digital
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terrain model of the site, according to an embodiment. As described above, a
digital file of
the site detailing planned excavation of a hole and the area surrounding the
hole is received
560 by the controller 150 and stored within the digital file store 510. In
some instances, the
controller 150 may access these digital files from an central computer 120 and
subsequently
store them in the digital file store 510.
[0093] The navigation engine 410 navigates 565 the earth shaping vehicle 115
within the
geospatial boundaries defined by the digital file to record contextual
information describing
the current state of the site. Contextual information refers to the physical
landscape of the
site and the physical properties of the soil within the site. The contextual
information, stored
in the data store 520, is recorded using the system of sensors, such as
spatial sensors and
imaging sensors. When recording data via one or more spatial sensors, the
spatial sensors
130 record one or more photographic images of various portions of the site and
stitches the
recorded images into one or more point clouds of data representing the
portions of the site to
generate 570 a representation of a current physical state of the site.
Additionally, for each of
the recorded images, the position and orientation of features within the site
are recorded and
translated into the point cloud representations with respect to the coordinate
space of the
digital file. In other implementations, the sensor assembly 110 uses an
imaging sensor 135 to
record the contextual information as photographic images of portions of the
site and, for each
of those images, stores the associated positions and orientations of the
relevant features
within the portion of the site. In another implementation, the earth shaping
vehicle 115
includes sensors and a software assembly that generates a digital terrain
model of the site
using simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
[0094] Using the generated representation of a current physical state of the
site and
representation of the target state of site to generate 575 a digital terrain
model of the site. As
described earlier, the digital mapping engine aligns the digital terrain model
by aligning the
two representations using common features such as physical fiducials within
the sites or the
boundaries of the site.
[0095] Using the digital terrain model, the central computer 120 determines
580 the volume
of earth to be excavated based on the differences between the representation
of the current
state of the site and the target state of the site. More specifically, using
the digital terrain
model, the central computer 120 determines the difference in volume between
the two
representations which translates into the volume of earth to be excavated from
the hole.
Incorporating all the considerations made above, the physical layout of the
site, the volume of
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earth to be excavated, and the creation of cutbacks and slope backs, the
central computer 120
generates 585 one or more target tool paths. Finally, the central computer 120
delivers a set
of instructions, in the form of target tool paths, for controlling the tool
175 and vehicle 115 to
perform an earth shaping routine or a part of an earth shaping routine.
IV. REMOVING EARTH FROM A DIG LOCATION
IV.A OVERVIEW
[0096] FIG. 6A is a diagram of the system architecture for the earth moving
engine of an
earth shaping vehicle 115, according to an embodiment. The earth moving engine
430
executes a set of instructions for guiding the tool through an excavation
routine to excavate
earth from the hole. The instructions cause the controller 150 to control the
tool 175 to be
lowered into contact with the ground surface and then advanced (directly or
indirectly by
moving the entire vehicle 115 with the drive train 210) forward to excavate
earth from the
ground into the tool. The system architecture of the earth removal engine 530
comprises a
digging engine 610, a fill estimate engine 620, and a hydraulic distribution
engine 640. In
other embodiments, the earth moving engine 430 may include more or fewer
components.
Functionality indicated as being performed by a particular engine may be
performed by other
engines instead. Some of the engines of the earth moving engine 430 may be
stored in the
control logic 400. For the sake of simplicity, functionality of the earth
moving engine 430 is
described within the context of an excavation vehicle 115d, however such
functionality may
be applied to any earth shaping vehicle 115, for example compacting vehicle
115b or hauling
vehicle 115c, configured to remove earth from a dig location.
[0097] The digging engine 610 executes a digging routine to excavate a volume
of earth from
a planned hole at a dig location consistent with a set of instructions
received in the form of a
target tool path. The digging engine 610 executes a digging routine by
accessing the one or
more target tool paths for an excavation routine, for example as generated by
the preparation
engine 420, and moves the tool 175 and/or vehicle 115 accordingly. The digging
engine 610
may also continuously or periodically track the position of the tool within
the coordinate
space using information obtained from the position sensor 145. In response to
instructions
from another engine attempting to carry out an earth moving routine (e.g., the
digging engine
610), the hydraulic distribution engine 630 monitors and adjusts the
distribution of hydraulic
pressure from the engine that is allocated between the drive system 210 and
tool 175. In
practice, the digging engine 610 may specify some vehicle or tool parameters
to be
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maintained, such as the tool 175 breakout angle, and the hydraulic
distribution engine 630
sets the hydraulic distribution between the tool 175 and drive system 210 to
maintain those
parameters.
[0098] The fill estimate engine 620 determines an estimate of the volume of
earth in-situ as
the tool is moved over a target tool path. The fill estimate engine 620
compares the estimate
to a threshold volume of earth and when the estimated volume is greater than
the threshold
volume, the fill estimate engine 620 interrupts an earth shaping routine and
raises the tool
above the ground surface and executes a check routine to better estimate the
amount of earth
currently in the tool.
[0099] The hydraulic distribution engine 630 monitors and adjusts the
distribution of
hydraulic pressure from the engine that is allocated between the drive system
210 and tool
175. The hydraulic distribution engine 630 does this in response to
instructions from another
engine (such as the digging engine 610) attempting to carry out the excavation
routine, as
control of the hydraulic pressure dictates the actuation of the tool 175 and
movement of the
vehicle 115. In practice, the digging engine 610 may specify some device
parameter to be
maintains, such as the tool 175 breakout angle, and the hydraulic distribution
engine 610 sets
the hydraulic distribution between the tool 175 and drive system 210 to
maintain that
breakout angle. As described herein, a breakout angle refers to the threshold
angle of the tool
at which the tool is capable for breaking through the ground surface during a
digging routine.
IV.B DIGGING ROUTINE
[00100] In one implementation, the navigation engine 410 on an excavation
vehicle
115d moves an excavation tool 175 forward through a dig location within the
site to excavate
earth from the dig location. The earth moving engine 430 receives 650 the one
or more target
tool paths generated by the preparation engine 420 and positions 652 the
leading edge of the
tool below the ground surface. The depth below the ground surface at which the
tool is
placed is guided by the set of instructions received from the controller(s)
120.
[00101] In addition to defining the height at which the leading edge is
lowered beneath
the ground surface, the target tool path may also include instructions for how
far the
navigation engine 410 should move 654 the excavation tool without raising the
tool above the
ground surface. To maintain the movement of the excavation tool beneath the
ground
surface, the digging engine 610 dynamically adjusts 656 mechanical conditions
of the
excavation vehicle 115 including, but not limited to, the angle of the tool
beneath the ground
surface, the torque output of the engine system, and the true speed of the
tool. The angle of
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the tool beneath the ground surface can be adjusted to reduce the rate at
which the tool
collects excavated earth. For example, when the tool is angled perpendicular
to the flat
ground surface, the rate of excavation may be at its highest. Alternatively,
when the tool is
angled parallel to the flat ground surface, the rate of excavation may be at
its lowest.
Additionally, at lower speeds, the tool is generally often better able to
maintain the angle
optimal for excavating earth.
[00102] While moving through the excavation routine at the dig location,
the earth
moving engine 430 tracks 658 the position and orientation of the excavation
tool within the
coordinate system using the position sensors 145 physically mounted on the
excavation
vehicle 115 as described above in reference to FIGs. 2A-2D. The orientation of
the tool,
described with reference to the angle of the tool relative to a reference
orientation, is recorded
using one or more position sensors 145. Examples of reference orientations
include the
ground surface, a gravity vector, or a target tool path. As the tool is moved
along the target
tool path, the soil may push the leading edge to a neutral to the angle of the
reference
orientation, at which point the tool is raised above the ground surface.
[00103] As the excavation vehicle 115d moves the excavation tool along a
target tool
path, soil friction and soil composition factors may result in tool deviating
from the target
tool path, creating an actual tool path that was travelled by the tool 175 or
vehicle 115.
Because of the deviation between the target tool path and the actual tool
path, the actual tool
path is associated with a different set of coordinates within the coordinate
space than those
associated with the target tool path. In one embodiment, the digging engine
610 repeats 660
the same target tool path until a deviation between the target tool path and
the actual tool path
is less than a threshold deviation, or until some other outcome is achieved,
such as a threshold
amount of earth is removed. Alternatively, if the deviation between the target
tool path and
the actual tool path is below a threshold deviation, the excavation tool
executes the next
portion of the excavation routine which may be a check routine, a dump
routine, or second
(e.g., deeper) target tool path. Periodically while moving through the actual
tool path, the
digging engine 610 updates the tool fill level and records the speed of both
the tool and the
drive system. Based on these recorded considerations, the digging engine 610
either
continues to move the excavation tool through the earth or interrupts the
digging routine to
execute a check routine. In response the excavation vehicle 115d, the
controller 150 may
update the tool fill level, before continuing with the excavation routine for
the planned hole.
[00104] The digging engine 610 can also determine that the target tool
path is

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obstructed by one or more obstacles, for example rocks, trees, roots, wooden
beams, buried
pipelines, cables, pieces of concrete, asphalt, and steel. Determinations
regarding the
presence of obstacles along the tool path are made based on occurrence of one
or more of a
set of conditions, including, but not limited to, an engine load greater than
the target engine
load, a ground speed lower than the minimum ground speed, and a tool angle
lower than a
target tool angle. These inputs may be received by the sensors 170 and passed
to the central
computer 120 for evaluation by the digging engine 610.
[00105] When an obstruction, for example an obstacle or another vehicle
115, is
determined to be within the target tool path, the digging engine 610 may store
the geospatial
location of the obstacle, for example a current location of the vehicle 115 as
provided by the
position sensor 145, execute a dump routine to release earth from the tool,
and return to the
location of the obstacle within the site to execute a break routine to
hopefully break up and/or
remove the object. Break routines, in one embodiment, include instructions to
the controller
to repetitively drive the leading edge of the tool downward into the earth
around the location
of the obstacle, running the leading edge of the tool over the location of the
detected obstacle
to "scrape" or loosen this earth, and activating an alternate tool (not shown)
to break down
the obstacle. In another embodiment, after determining that an obstacle lies
within the target
tool path, the earth removal engine 530 may halt the digging routine until a
human operator
can manually operate this 115 or another excavation vehicle to remove the
object.
[00106] In addition to finishing target tool paths and possibly separately
from a
digging routine, the digging engine 610 may execute a grading routine to
perform grading
tasks. A grading routing may, for example, include moving the tool forward
through the hole
to grade the ground surface of the hole, where the tool is set at a shallow or
zero depth
position relative to the aggregate or average ground plane. At such a shallow
depth, the tool
requires less forward force from the drive system 210 to move the tool forward
than when the
tool is lowered to a greater, digging-oriented depth. This allows the earth
shaping vehicle
115 to be fitted with a tool suited to grading, such as a tool of greater
volume relative to a
digging routine oriented tool, which would be able to hold a greater amount of
earth within
the mechanical and hydraulic constraints of the earth shaping vehicle 115 and
while also
requiring fewer dump routines for dumping excess graded earth. Grading of the
ground
surface may result in an uneven ground surface when the tool moves in a first
direction, so
the digging engine 610 may further cause the tool to be moved in a reverse
direction and
possibly further cause the excavation tool to repeat movement over the
previously graded
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earth.
IV.C. FILL LEVEL ESTIMATE ROUTINE
[00107] Before executing a check routine, having to interrupt the
execution of a target
tool path, and raising the tool above the ground surface, an excavation
vehicle 115d may
execute a digging routine that includes instructions for a fill estimate
routine. As described
herein, a fill estimate routine causes the controller 120 to estimate the tool
fill level of without
interrupting the movement of the tool within the target tool path. FIG. 6C
shows a flowchart
describing the process for the fill estimate engine 620 to execute a fill
estimate routine,
according to an embodiment.
[00108] The fill estimate engine 620 estimates 676 a fill level of an
excavation tool
coupled to an excavation vehicle 115d using any one or more of a number of
techniques. The
fill level of the tool describes the volume of earth in the tool. In one
implementation, the fill
estimate engine 620 of the excavation vehicle 115d estimates the volume by
mathematically
integrating the depth of the leading edge beneath the ground surface over the
distance traveled
by the tool over the target tool path. In another implementation, the fill
estimate engine 620
uses the point cloud representation of the current state of the site gathered
using one or more
spatial sensors to determine a pre-excavation volume of earth in the hole and
accesses, from
the central computer 120 or a remote server, a swell factor of the earth
relating the volume of
earth in the tool to the pre-excavation volume of earth in the hole. Using the
pre-excavation
volume of earth in the hole and the swell factor characteristic of the earth,
the fill estimate
engine 620 may estimate the volume of earth in the tool. Additionally, the
fill estimate engine
620 may use the sensor assembly 105 to measure the quantity of earth
accumulated in front of
the leading edge of the tool while the tool is in the position set by the
currently-in-progress
target tool path. The fill estimate engine 620 may also use measurement
sensors to measure
the force of earth acting on the tool beneath the surface and adjust the angle
of the tool to
estimate the fill level of the tool.
[00109] Alternatively, the fill estimate engine 620 may access 678 a
previously trained
prediction model that is capable of receiving as input the distance traveled
by the tool along
with other parameters of the vehicle 115 and excavation routine and outputting
an estimated
amount of earth in the tool. These other parameters include, but are not
limited to, any sensor
value, the tool type and width, the vehicle type, and the depth of the leading
edge of the tool
below the ground surface during the target tool path. The trained prediction
model may further
be capable of generating a trend line that extrapolates tool fill level as a
function of distance
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traveled, which may in turn be used to generate an estimate when to initiate a
check or dump
routine. Alternately, the prediction model may generate such an estimate
directly.
[00110] The fill estimate engine 620 compares 680 the fill estimate to a
threshold
volume. The threshold volume may be the maximum available volume of the tool,
a volume
set manually by a human operator, a volume set by a calibration procedure
using the tool in an
empty state, or another volume.
[00111] When the estimated volume is greater than the threshold volume,
the digging
engine 610 may receive instructions from the fill estimate engine 620 to
measure the angle of
the tool beneath the ground surface, adjusts the angle of tool towards the
breakout angle, and
raises the tool above the ground surface. Alternatively, when the estimated
volume is less than
the threshold volume, the fill estimate engine 620 may instruct the digging
engine 610 to
resume execution of the digging routine. However, in one implementation the
fill estimate
engine 620 calculates 682 the remaining distance for the tool to traverse in
order to be filled at
maximum capacity using a trend line generated by the prediction model. Based
on the available
volume in the tool, the trend line is inputted into the prediction model to
determine the
remainder distance on the target tool path that the tool needs to travel to be
filled at maximum
capacity.
[00112] As previously described, in some implementations, the fill
estimate engine 620
measures the quantity of earth accumulated in front of the leading edge. When
the measured
quantity of earth is above a threshold quantity, the excavation vehicle raises
the tool above the
ground surface. Similarly, the fill estimate engine 620 may measure the force
of earth acting
on the tool beneath the ground surface and, when the measured force of earth
is above a
threshold quantity, the digging engine 610 receives instructions to raise the
tool above the
ground surface.
[00113] After calculating the remaining distance to be traveled, the fill
estimate engine
620 traverses 684 the remaining distance and estimates 686 a new volume of
earth in the tool.
As with the previous volume estimate, the updated volume estimate is compared
688 to the
threshold volume. This process may be repeated multiple times. When the
estimated volume
is greater than the threshold volume, the controller 150 executes a dump
routine and releases
690 earth from the excavation tool. The dump routine is further described
below in reference
to FIG. 8A-8B.
[00114] Alternatively, the controller fill estimate engine 620 estimates
the volume in the
tool to be below a threshold value and repeats the target tool path without
calculating a
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remaining distance. After navigation the tool over the remaining distance of
the target tool
path, the fill level estimate engine 620 periodically measures an updated tool
fill level and
repeats navigation over the target tool path until the updated volume estimate
is greater than
the threshold volume.
IV.D. HYDRAULIC DISTRIBUTION ADJUSTMENT
[00115] Because maintaining the tool at a desired angle or depth through
the carrying
out of a target tool path is a non-trivial task, the hydraulic distribution
engine 630 adjusts the
hydraulic capacity allocated to the drive system and tool path dynamically to
navigate a vehicle
115 over a target tool path, adjust a tool 175 to perform an earth shaping
routine, or a
combination thereof. Generally, the excavation vehicle only has sufficient
hydraulic pressure
to power a single system at full capacity. As a result, both the drive and
tool systems may be
powered equivalently at half capacity. However, if, based on soil friction,
forces, speeds, tool
angles, or other conditions, the angle and depth of the tool cannot be
maintained at half
capacity, the hydraulic distribution engine 740 may redistribute the hydraulic
pressure within
the system to favor the tool over the drive system (e.g., 75%-25%
distribution, or otherwise).
The calibration for the hydraulic system may be performed by observing
joystick
manipulations within the excavation vehicle and recording the changes in
pressure distribution.
The remainder of this section describes a number of example operating
conditions that can
trigger hydraulic pressure adjustments and what those adjustments are.
[00116] In moving the tool through the target tool path, the hydraulic
distribution engine
630 measures the speed of the tool and compares it to a target speed. The
target speed refers
to the speed that the drive system 210 is traveling. The hydraulic
distribution engine 630 may
calculate the target speed based on the knowledge of the earth of the site
exhibiting an industry
standard soil friction or a soil friction determined specifically for a
particular excavation
vehicle 115, a specific target tool path being executed within a site, or more
generally the enter
dig site. If the hydraulic distribution engine 630 measures that the speed of
the vehicle is lower
than the target speed, the hydraulic distribution engine 630 may determine
that the soil friction
(or force of soil exerted on the tool) is greater than expected and, in
response, adjust the
distribution of hydraulic pressure between the drive system and the tool to
favor the tool to
increase the speed of the tool. While this may be accomplished in some
instances by increasing
the amount of hydraulic pressure capacity allocated to the drive system, the
amount of
hydraulic capacity available is finite and so this is not always a viable
solution. Often, greater
than expected soil friction is due to the tool being too deep (or angled along
a path proceeding
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downward), thus generating more friction and often causing the tool to fall
off the target tool
path. To compensate, the hydraulic distribution engine 740 may adjust the tool
to a shallower
depth or angle, which will accomplish reducing the soil friction and raising
tool speed. This
process may play out in reverse for a tool speed greater than expected, which
may be adjusted
by lowering the tool or setting it at a deeper angle.
[00117] The maintenance of the hydraulic capacity in this manner and as
described
elsewhere herein prevents the vehicle 115d from stalling during the execution
of an earth
moving routine or from complications regarding raising a tool above the ground
surface. In
one embodiment, to maintain sufficient hydraulic capacity for the vehicle to
make adjustments
to the position and orientation of the tool during the digging routine, the
hydraulic distribution
engine 630 maintains hydraulic pressure within the hydraulic system below a
threshold 90%
of the maximum hydraulic pressure capacity.
[00118] A breakout event and corresponding breakout angle may be detected
as a tool
175 naturally breaks through the ground surface during the digging routine. At
speeds above
the target speed and/or at forces above the threshold force, the tool is
unable to collect earth
and break out of the ground surface. Similarly, at speeds below the target
speed and forces
below the threshold force, the tool inefficiently collects earth. To reduce
the number of
erroneous breakout events that occur during an earth shaping routine, the
engine 630 measures
the force of earth on the tool and adjusts the distribution of pressure, so
that the tool angle has
sufficient hydraulic pressure to be adjusted beneath the ground surface. For
example, the tool
may be lowered or angled downward to dig more deeply in cases of high
speed/low force, and
angled upward / raised to dig more shallowly in cases of low speed / high
force. Additionally,
as the tool moves through the target tool path and collects earth, the
excavation vehicle may
continuously adjust the angle of the tool. If the tool eventually breaks out
of the ground surface,
the excavation vehicle 115 records the breakout angle and may voluntarily opt
to execute a
volume check routine rather than continuing a digging routine.
[00119] Before a breakout event occurs, the digging engine 610 may also
calculate an
expected breakout angle based on the soil composition properties for the earth
within the hole.
Soil composition properties are further described below. During a digging
routine, the digging
engine 610 may define the breakout angle as the minimum angle of the tool at
rest.
Alternatively, the breakout angle may be established as inversely proportional
to the soil
cohesion measurement. To achieve the breakout angle as the tool is raised
above the ground
surface, the hydraulic distribution engine 740 adjusts the distribution of
hydraulic pressure

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between the drive system 210 and the tool 175 by monitoring engine load or
line pressure
sensors in the hydraulic system and dynamically adjusting power output
commands to the
drivetrain and to the tool actuators.
[00120] In another implementation, if the difference in the set of
coordinates for the
actual tool path and the target tool path is greater than a threshold
difference, the distribution
of hydraulic pressure is adjusted to lower or raise the tool at a greater or
lesser depth below the
ground surface to more closely match the target tool path.
[00121] Additionally, the hydraulic distribution engine 630 may use the
set of
instructions received by the digging engine 610 to maintain the hydraulic
capacity of the
hydraulic system and, when appropriate, adjust the target speed of the drive
system 210 by
adjusting the distribution of hydraulic pressures. Decreasing the target speed
results in a
reduction of the overall hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic system to ensure
that the hydraulic
system offers sufficient scope in to adjust the position and orientation of
the tool during the
digging routine within minimal delay. For example, if the hydraulic pressure
within the system
is 98% of the maximum hydraulic pressure, exceeding the threshold hydraulic
pressure, the
hydraulic distribution engine 740 can reduce the target speed of the
excavation vehicle 115 by
dynamically executing instructions to divert hydraulic pressure from the
drivetrain to the set of
tool actuators. By redistributing hydraulic pressure away from the certain
components of
engine system and towards other components of the engine system, the hydraulic
distribution
engine 740 can prioritize certain excavation functions and maintain high
excavation efficiency
by the tool and excavation vehicle 115.
V. VOLUME CHECK ROUTINE
[00122] As described above with reference to FIG. 6C, the fill estimate
engine 620, may
interrupt the execution of an earth moving routine to estimate a fill level of
a tool 175 coupled
to an excavation vehicle 115d. If the fill level is estimated to below a
threshold, the excavation
vehicle continues to execute instructions for resuming a target tool path to
complete the earth
moving routine. However, if the fill level of the tool is estimated to be
above a threshold, the
fill estimate engine 620 communicates instructions for the volume check engine
440 to measure
the volume of earth in the tool with higher accuracy. FIG. 7A is a diagram of
the system
architecture for the volume check engine 440 of an excavation vehicle 115,
according to an
embodiment. The volume check engine 440 executes a set of instructions for
measuring the
volume of earth in the tool once raised above the ground surface and
determining whether to
continue moving the tool along the target tool path or to perform a dump
routine of the earth
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within the tool. The system architecture of the volume check engine 440
comprises a current
volume representation generator 710 and a volume comparison engine 720. In
other
embodiments, the volume check engine 440 may include more or fewer components.
Functionality indicated as being performed by a particular engine may be
performed by other
engines instead. Some of the engines of the volume check engine 540 may be
stored in the
control logic 400.
[00123] To generate a current representation of the fill state of the
tool, the current
volume representation generator 810 uses data recorded by the sensors of the
sensor array 110.
The implemented sensors may include an imaging sensor, a spatial sensor, or
some
combination of the two sensors and the data describing the fill state of the
tool may be
represented as a point cloud or an image. The volume check engine 440 adjusts
the tool 175
to a measuring position at a height in the field of view of the one or more
sensors. For example,
the volume check engine 440 can raise and tilt the tool to bring the interior
volume of the tool
into the field of view of the set of sensors. The volume check engine 440 may
confirm that the
tool is in the measuring position by sampling data from the position sensors
145 mounted
directly on the excavation tool 175 or within the hydraulic system. The volume
check engine
440 may also confirm that the tool is in the measuring position by analyzing
images recorded
by a system of depth and imaging cameras mounted to the excavation vehicle
115d. If the
distribution of earth within the tool is uneven, the check routine
instructions may cause the
volume check engine 440 to shake the tool one or more times to achieve a more
uniform
distribution of the earth inside.
[00124] Alternatively, to determine the position of a tool 175 within the
three-
dimensional coordinate space, the current volume representation generator 710
may use the
sensors 170 by measuring the quantity of earth in the tool and referencing a
parametric model
or lookup table to determine the position of the tool in the coordinate space.
Lookup tables are
generated by measuring the output of a sensors at various positions of the
tool and correlating
the two conditions. For example, at a depth of 1 meter, the tool is located at
a position 4 meters
perpendicular to the ground. The correlation between a depth measurement of 1
meter and a
position measurement of 4 meters is stored within the lookup table. The
referenced lookup
table may differ depending on the type of sensor used and the format of the
output provided.
The current volume representation generator 710 may receive outputs from
multiple sensors
facing distinct regions of the interior of the tool.
[00125] Next, the current volume representation generator 710 generates a
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representation of the amount of earth currently in the tool based on the
position of the tool
within the coordinate space and one or more soil composition properties
measured by the
combination of sensors, for example the densities, sizes, shapes, and colors
of the particles of
the earth in the tool. The soil property engine 550 analyzes data captured by
the sensors 170
to determine the soil composition of the excavated earth within the tool.
[00126] In addition to the representation of the amount of earth in the
tool, the current
volume representation generator 710 also accesses an empty representation of
the tool
calibrated prior to the execution of the digging routine. To calibrate the
empty representation
of the tool, the empty tool is adjusted to multiple heights and angles above
the ground surface.
For each of the heights and angles, the current volume representation
generator 710 implements
a sensor to record data describing the available volume within the empty tool.
As described
above, the recorded data and the respective height and angle measurements are
stored in a
lookup table to be referenced by the excavation vehicle 115. Depending on the
sensor used to
record the data, the contents of the lookup table may differ, for example a
lookup table
generated using a spatial sensor 130 includes a point cloud representation of
the empty tool at
various heights whereas a lookup table generated using a measurement sensor
125 includes a
volume measurement of the empty tool at various heights.
[00127] The volume comparison engine 720 compares a representation of the
current
fill state of the tool (e.g., in image or point cloud form) and an empty
representation of the tool
(in a comparable form) to determine the volume of earth within the tool. The
empty
representation of the tool may be generated during an off-run calibration
procedure and stored
in a memory of the central computer 120 for access and use as part of the
check routine.
Alternatively, the empty representation may be provided to the volume
comparison engine 820
manually by a human operator.
[00128] FIG. 7B shows a flowchart describing an alternate implementation
for an
volume check engine 440 to execute a volume check routine. The current volume
representation generator 710 generates 750 the representation of the amount of
earth in the tool
using a sensor, for example a spatial sensor 130, to output a three-
dimensional representation
of the current state of the ground surface. As with the previous
implementation, the volume
comparison engine 720 accesses 755 the digital file describing the expected
state of the site.
Using the digital file and the representation of the current state to describe
the amount of earth
excavated from the hole, the volume comparison engine 720 determines 760 a
volume
difference between the two representations describing the volume of earth
within the tool.
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When comparing 765 the determined volume difference to a threshold difference,
if the volume
difference is less than a threshold difference, the volume check engine 440
readjusts and
maintains the leading edge of the tool beneath the ground surface to adjust
the angle of the tool
and reiterates 770 over the target tool path. Alternatively, if the volume
difference is greater
than a threshold difference, the volume check engine 440 releases 775 earth
from the tool at a
corresponding fill location.
[00129] The
volume check engine 440 may update the predictive excavation model
based on data collected before, during, or after the completion of a target
tool path to guide the
movement of the excavation vehicle 115 within the site during any additional
target tool paths.
For example, the volume check engine 440 updates the trained predictive model
discussed
above with data with collected during the completed target tool path and
implement the updated
predictive model to determine the horizontal distance that the tool must
travel, at a known depth
below the ground surface, to excavate the remaining amount of earth. The
volume check
engine 440 may update the predictive model to define a relationship between
the depths of the
tool below the ground surface of the leading edge, the horizontal distance
traversed by the tool,
the amount of earth loaded into the tool, the soil composition within the
site, and the tool width.
VI. FLEET OPERATIONS OF EARTH SHAPING VEHICLES
VI.A OVERVIEW
[00130] As
described above, in some implementations the efficient execution of an earth
shaping routines requires a combination earth shaping vehicles 115 working
cooperatively.
For example, an objective for a filling routine may be to fill earth at a fill
location and then
compact the filled earth. Rather than having a single excavation vehicle 115d,
excavate the
earth, then fill the earth, and then compact the earth, a target tool path for
such a filling
routine may include a request for a second vehicle- a compacting vehicle 115b
or another
excavation vehicle 115d- to compact the earth simultaneously as the first
excavation vehicle
115d fills the earth. Additionally, as earth shaping routines increase in
complexity, a single
earth shaping vehicle may be incapable of executing the entire routine
independently. For
example, an objective for a hauling routine may be to move a large volume of
earth from a
dig location to a fill location within a specified amount of time. However, a
tool 175 of an
excavation vehicle 115d excavating earth from the dig location may not be
large enough to
transport the specified volume of earth in a number of trips within the
specified amount of
time. Accordingly, the target tool path for such a hauling routine may include
a request for a
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second vehicle- a hauling vehicle 115c- with a tool of a larger volume to
transport the earth to
the fill location. As described herein, the coordination of operational
cooperation of multiple
earth shaping vehicles within a dig site is broadly referred to as "fleet
operations." The
multiple earth shaping vehicles may be configured with the same type or
different earth
shaping tools or specifications. For example, in one embodiment an excavator
may operate
in coordination with other excavators, but, in another embodiment, the
excavator may operate
in coordination with one or more hauling vehicles. Fleet operations may
further describe the
coordination of earth shaping vehicles across multiple dig sites.
[00131] FIG. 8 is a diagram of the system architecture for the fleet
operations engine
450, according to an embodiment. The fleet operations engine 450 is
implemented by a
software within a central computer 120b or an on-unit computer 120a or and is
executed by
providing inputs to the controller 150 to control the control inputs of the
vehicle 115, for
example by generating signals that mimic outputs of a manual joystick. The
system
architecture of the fleet operations engine 450 comprises a loading engine
810, a hauling
engine 820, and a filling engine 830. In other embodiments, the fleet
operations engine 450
may include more or fewer components. Functionality indicated as being
performed by a
particular engine may be performed by other engines instead.
[00132] The loading engine 810 generates instructions that may be used to
supplement
an existing target tool path including instructions for moving earth from a
dig location to a fill
location. An excavation vehicle 115d navigates to a dig location where it will
excavate a
volume of earth. In some implementations, earth at the dig location may be
loose earth on
the ground surface or firm earth beneath the ground surface. The loading
engine 810
processes, among other vehicle operation factors, sensor data recorded by
measurement
sensors describing the volume of earth to be excavated, the volume of the tool
coupled to the
earth shaping vehicle and the hydraulic capacity of the vehicle 115d to
determine whether the
deployed vehicle 115d is capable of executing the task. The loading engine 810
may also
consider operational requirements for the routine including, but not limited
to, the distance
between the dig location and the fill location and a time expectation for the
execution of the
routine. If it is determined that one or more vehicle operation factors are
inconducive to at
least one operational requirement, the loading engine 810 generates
instructions for the
excavation vehicle 115d to load the excavated earth into a second, hauling
vehicle 115c that
is capable of meeting the operational requirements. The loading engine 810 is
further
described with reference to FIGs. 9A-C.

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[00133] The hauling engine 820 generates instructions that may be used to
supplement
an existing target tool path including additional instructions for moving
earth from a dig
location to a fill location. An earth shaping vehicle 115, for example an
excavation vehicle
115d carrying a small volume of earth in a bucket tool or a hauling vehicle
115c carrying a
large volume of earth in a hauling tool, may travel from a dig location to a
fill location to
deposit a load of excavated earth. In some implementations, instructions from
the loading
engine 810 for an excavation vehicle 115d to load earth into a single hauling
vehicle 115c are
insufficient to meet operational requirements for a dig site. Accordingly, the
loading engine
810 generates and communicates instructions for several hauling vehicle 115c'
s to travel to
the dig site to be loaded by an excavation vehicle 115c. As a result, several,
if not all, of the
requested hauling vehicles 115c will autonomously or semi-autonomously
navigate over the
same target tool path to arrive at the fill location.
[00134] Commonly the conditions or maintenance of a fleet of hauling
vehicles 115c
deployed in a dig site are not uniform. For example, a first vehicle 115c may
have a full tank
of gas, whereas a second may be nearly empty. As another example, a new model
of a
hauling vehicle 115c may be capable of traveling at higher speeds without
losing earth from
the hauling tools compared to an older model. To prevent traffic bottlenecks
or collisions at
points along the target tool path or the entrance to the fill location, the
hauling engine 820
continuously tracks the location of each hauling vehicle relative to each
other hauling vehicle
115c of the fleet. If the hauling engine 820 detects that a first vehicle 115c
is about to or may
eventually encounter or collide with a second vehicle 115c because the first
vehicle is moving
too fast, the hauling engine 820 generates instructions to reduce the speed of
the first vehicle.
Alternatively, if possible, the hauling engine 820 may generate instructions
to increase the
speed of the second vehicle. In another implementation, a first hauling
vehicle may identity
an obstacle on the target tool path, for example a large rock, standing water
or other physical
obstructions. In response to the identification, the hauling engine 820 may
implement route
generation techniques to update the target tool path for the first vehicle to
circumvent the
obstacle. To preserve the efficiency of the remaining vehicles of the fleet,
the hauling engine
820 further communicates the updated target tool path to each of the remaining
vehicles to
also circumvent the obstacles.
[00135] At the fill location, the hauling engine 820 may detect that first
hauling vehicle
is filling earth slower than expected or a compacting vehicle 115b is
compacting earth slower
than expected. In response, the hauling engine 820 may proportionally decrease
the speed of
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each vehicle traveling to the fill location to ensure that each vehicle
arrives at the fill location
to begin a fill routine just as an earlier vehicle completes its own fill
routine. Alternatively, if
a vehicle is taking less time to complete a fill routine, the hauling engine
820 may increase
the speed of each vehicle traveling to conclude the earth shaping routine more
efficiently. As
another example implementation, the hauling engine 820 may be detect that a
compacting
vehicle is in the process of compacting earth at a fill location and reroute a
second hauling
vehicle, or set of hauling vehicles, to a different fill location to prevent
the compacting
vehicle from bottlenecking the operation of the hauling vehicles. The hauling
engine 820 is
further described with reference to FIGs. 10A-C.
[00136] At the fill location, a hauling vehicle 115c may adjust the
position of the hauling
tool to empty earth in the tool into/onto the fill location. The earth is
emptied into the fill
location as loose pieces of earth, dirt, and rocks, collectively referred to
as "loose earth."
While capable of filling a hole or raising grade at the fill location, loose
earth may pose an
obstacle or hazard to earth shaping vehicles 115 subsequently navigating over
the loose earth.
Accordingly, the filling engine 820 generates instructions that may be used to
supplement an
existing target tool path including instructions for compacting earth in a
fill location. In one
implementation, the filling engine 830 communicates a request to a compacting
vehicle 115b
retrofitted or configured with a compacting tool, for example sheepsfoot
rollers, vibratory
plate compactors, or pneumatic rollers. The target tool path communicated to
the requested
compacting vehicle 115c includes instructions for the compacting vehicle to
trail a hauling
vehicle in the fill location such that as loose earth is filled by the hauling
vehicle 115c, that
loose earth is further compacted by a compacting vehicle 115b.
[00137] Alternatively, the filling engine 830 may measure the distribution
of loose earth
in the fill location and update the target tool path to adjust the
distribution of loose earth, for
example make more uniform, or request support from a second earth shaping
vehicle 115 to
further refine the fill location and the contents of the fill location. In one
embodiment, the
filling engine 830 may communicate a request for a supplementary earth shaping
vehicle, for
example a dozer, to grade earth at the fill location to be more level. The
filling engine 830 is
further described with reference to FIGs. 11A-C.
[00138] In some embodiments, determinations made by each of the loading
engine 810,
the hauling engine 820, and the filling engine 830 update an existing target
tool path that is
received by both an excavation vehicle and a second earth shaping vehicle, but
each engine
810, 820, and 830 may alternatively update the target tool path of the
excavation vehicle to
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account for the second vehicle and generate a new target tool path that is
received by the
second vehicle.
[00139] In some implementations, the loading engine 810, hauling engine
820, filling
engine 830, or more generally the fleet operations engine 450, is stored on an
on-unit
computer 120a that functions as a central computer 120. In such
implementations, the
request and a target tool path for the requested hauling vehicle and/or
compacting vehicle are
generated by the on-unit computer 120 of the first vehicle (e.g., excavation
vehicle 115d) and
received by an on-unit computer 120 of the hauling and/or compacting vehicle.
The on-unit
computer 120 of a hauling vehicle 115c receiving the target tool path,
executes instructions to
follow the target tool path to navigate the hauling vehicle to be loaded by
the first excavation
vehicle 115 and then to follow the target tool path to the fill location.
Similarly, the on-unit
computer 120 of a compacting vehicle 115b receiving the target tool path,
executes
instructions to follow the target tool path to the fill location and then to
compact earth within
the fill location.
[00140] Alternatively, the request and the target tool path for a hauling
and/or
compacting vehicle may be generated by an off-unit computer 120b that
functions as a central
computer 120b during the generation of the target tool path for the excavation
vehicle 115d
and simultaneously communicated with the initial target tool path to each
respective vehicle.
In alternate embodiments, in response to receiving the initial target tool
path from the off-unit
computer 120b, the excavation vehicle 115d navigates to the dig location where
the fleet
operations engine 450 determines the need for additional earth shaping
vehicles 115d.
Accordingly, the off-unit computer 120b subsequently generates and
communicates requests
and target tool paths for the additional earth shaping vehicle 115d.
VI.B AUTONOMOUSLY LOADING EARTH INTO A VEHICLE
[00141] FIG. 9A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
earth shaping
vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a loading routine, according to an
embodiment.
FIG. 9A may be a visual representation of the coordinate space from a digital
file detailing a
loading routine. In the illustrated example, an excavation vehicle navigates
to a dig location
and coordinates with a hauling vehicle to load earth from the dig location
into the hauling
tool of the hauling vehicle. In the digital file, the site 902 is represented
as bounded by a site
boundary and includes data describing the location of a dig location 906, a
fill location 908, a
loading location 912, and positions of an excavation vehicle 904 and a fleet
of hauling
vehicles 912 within the dig site 902. The dig location 906 refers to a
location within the site
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where the excavation vehicle 115 will perform an excavation routine to form a
hole or
remove material. The fill location 908 refers to a location within the site
where a hauling
vehicle 912 will empty loose earth to a fill a hole beneath the ground surface
or add material
to raise grade of the existing ground surface.
[00142] For the purpose of discussing concepts related to a loading
routine, FIG. 9A
walks through an example loading routine. The excavation vehicle 904 enters
and exits the
dig site via a graded pathway, or a ramp. In some implementations, a ramp may
also be
implemented at the boundaries of the dig location 906 and the fill location
908 for vehicles to
enter. From a position within the site 902, the excavation vehicle 904
navigates 910 to the
dig location 906. At the dig location, measurement sensors coupled to the
excavation vehicle
904 measure a volume of earth to be excavated. Based on a set of operation
parameters
encoded in a target tool path for the excavation of the dig location, the
excavation vehicle
makes a determination regarding whether the carrying capacity (i.e., volume)
of the
excavation tool coupled to the excavation vehicle 904 is capable of carrying a
volume of
earth specified by the operation parameters in an amount of time specified by
the operation
parameters. If the central computer 120b, determines that the excavation
vehicle 904 is
incapable of meeting the operational parameters, the loading engine 810
identifies 914 a
hauling vehicle in the dig site 902. For example, if the excavation vehicle
904 will require
several passes between the dig location 906 and the fill location 908 to
transfer the specified
volume of earth and the time to perform the several passes will exceed the
time specified by
the operational parameters, the loading engine 810 will identify 914 a second
hauling vehicle.
[00143] When the excavation vehicle 904 enters the dig location 906, the
vehicle 904
may park on a mound of earth at an elevation above the surface the dig
location. From a
stationary position at the top of the mound, the excavation vehicle 904
actuates an excavation
tool to excavate earth from the surface of the dig location. In embodiments in
which the
excavation vehicle 904 transfers earth to a hauling vehicle, the hauling
vehicle may navigate
to a position that is adjacent to the mound of earth, but at a lower elevation
than the top of the
mound such that the excavation vehicle 904 can efficiently transfer earth into
the hauling tool
of the hauling vehicle.
[00144] The illustrated site 902 includes five hauling vehicles - 912a,
912b, 912c, 912d,
912e ¨ positioned at varying distances away from the dig location and the fill
location. To
accommodate for implementations in which a larger number of hauling vehicles
912 have
been deployed in a site, the request for a second vehicle may include a
defined radius from
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current position of excavation vehicle 904. Accordingly, given the specified
radius, the
loading engine 810 identifies 914 a first hauling vehicle 912a, a second
hauling vehicle 912b,
and a third hauling vehicle 912c. If the loading engine 810 were to expand the
search radius,
hauling vehicles 912d and 912e may also be identified. Based on the identified
hauling
vehicles and the volume of earth measured by the excavation vehicle, the
loading engine 810
determines a number of hauling vehicles 912 needed to move the earth within
the operational
parameters. In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 9A, the loading engine 810
determines
only a single vehicle is necessary, however in other implementations,
additional vehicles may
be necessary.
[00145] Of the three vehicles 912a, 912b, and 912c, the loading engine 810
selects a
single vehicle based on a combination of one or more considerations including,
but not
limited to: a volume of a hauling tool coupled to each vehicle, a distance
away from the
excavation vehicle 904 of each hauling vehicle, and an average speed of each
hauling vehicle.
The loading engine 810 may implement a machine learned model to optimize the
selection of
the hauling vehicle 912, for example by favoring vehicles that are closer to
the excavation
vehicle 904, are coupled to hauling tools of larger volumes, and are capable
of faster
velocities. In the illustrated embodiment, the loading engine 810 selects the
first hauling
vehicle 912a.
[00146] Based on the position of the excavation vehicle 904 at the dig
location 906, the
position of the selected hauling vehicle 912a, and the fill location 908, the
loading engine 810
identifies a loading location 916 within the dig site 902. The loading
location 916 refers to a
location within the site at which the excavation vehicle 904 will load earth
from the dig
location 906 into a hauling vehicle 912. In some implementations, the loading
location may
be located in the same location as the dig location, such that the identified
hauling vehicles
navigate directly to the excavation vehicle 904 at the dig location. In other
implementations,
the loading location may be positioned elsewhere in the dig site 902 to
optimize the travel
time required by the hauling vehicle 912a and the excavation vehicle 904
between each of the
dig location 906, the loading location 916, and the fill location 908. Upon
determination of
the loading location, the loading engine 810 updates the target tool path
received by the
excavation vehicle 904, causing the vehicle to navigate 918 to the loading
location, in
implementations in which navigation by an excavation vehicle is needed. The
loading engine
810 additionally generates a new target tool path that, when received by the
hauling vehicle
912a, causes the hauling vehicle 912a to navigate 918 to the loading location.
At the loading

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location 916, the excavation vehicle 904 transfer 920 excavated earth from the
excavation
tool into the hauling tool of the vehicle 912a. In some implementations in
which the
excavation vehicle 904 takes multiple passes between the dig location 906 and
the loading
location 916 to excavate the specified amount of earth, the hauling vehicle
912a remains at
the loading location 916 until the full amount of earth has been transferred.
The number of
passes required to excavate the specified amount of earth may be determined
based on the
earth carrying capacity of the excavation tool.
[00147] FIG. 9B is a diagram of the system architecture of a loading engine
810,
according to an embodiment. The loading engine 810 executes a set of
instructions for
guiding an excavation vehicle to load earth from a dig location into a hauling
vehicle. The
instructions cause the excavation vehicle and an identified hauling vehicle to
navigate to a
loading location where a controller 150 controls the excavation tool to empty
excavated earth
into the hauling tool of the hauling vehicle. The system architecture of the
loading engine
810 comprises an excavation tool position engine 930, a loading tool position
engine 940, an
operation adjustment engine 950, a supplementary vehicle communicator 960, and
a loading
location generator 970. In other embodiments, the earth moving engine 430 may
include
more or fewer components. Functionality indicated as being performed by a
particular
engine may be performed by other engines instead. Some of the engines of the
loading
engine 810 may be stored in the control logic 400.
[00148] The excavation tool position engine 930 may receive data from
position sensors
coupled to a tool, for example a bucket of an excavation vehicle 904. Signals
or data
describing position and orientation information regarding the tool are
recorded by such
sensors and communicated to a central computer 120 for processing. By tracking
the position
of the excavation tool in the dig site, the excavation tool position engine
930 determines the
position of the excavation tool relative to other components of the dig site.
In alternate
embodiments, the excavation tool position engine 930 may track and model the
position of
the drivetrain of the excavation vehicle 115d instead of, or in addition to,
the excavation tool.
However, in most embodiments, the excavation tool position engine 930 monitors
the
position of the tool and, in particular, the earth moving component of the
tool (e.g., the
bucket).
[00149] The excavation tool position engine 930 continuously compares the
current
position of the tool with relevant locations within the dig site, for example
a dig location 906,
a loading location 916, or a fill location 908. As described above, the
navigation engine 410
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adjusts the distribution of hydraulic pressure to cause the drivetrain of the
earth shaping
vehicle to navigate towards the dig location. As the vehicle 904 navigates
towards the dig
location 906, the position engine 930 continuously compares the position of
the tool with the
boundaries of the dig location. In some embodiments, the boundaries of the dig
location 906
may be communicated the excavation tool position engine 930 via a signal
generated by a
fiducial on the boundary the dig location. Once the position of the excavation
tool passed the
boundary of the dig location 906, the excavation tool position engine 930
instructs the
navigation engine 410 to stop navigation of the vehicle.
[00150] The excavation tool position engine 930 may compare the position of
an
excavation tool relative to a location in the dig site 902 with a tool-
specific tolerance, a
region-specific tolerance, or a combination thereof The tolerance defines a
tolerance
indicating a distance within which, the excavation tool will be in an
acceptable position for
executing an earth shaping routine. Such a tolerance may be defined based on
the geometric
dimensions of an excavation tool, for example a larger excavation tool may be
assigned a
larger tolerance. For example, a larger excavation tool or a tool with a
longer actuating arm
may be instructed to begin excavating earth at a distance farther away from
the dig site than a
smaller excavation tool or a tool with a shorter actuating arm. The excavation
tool position
engine 930 may additionally consider the location within the dig site to which
the vehicle 904
is navigating when determining the tolerance. For example, an earth shaping
vehicle 115
navigating to a fill location may be instructed to begin executing a filling
routine at a distance
farther away from the fill location than a vehicle navigating to a dig
location to execute an
excavation routine.
[00151] Similar to the description of the excavation tool position engine
930, the hauling
tool position engine 940 tracks a position of each hauling tool coupled to a
loading vehicle
912 in the dig site 902 by receiving data from position sensors coupled to the
tool. By
tracking the position of the loading tool in the dig site, the hauling tool
position engine 940
determines the position of the hauling tool relative to other components of
the dig site.
Alternatively, the loading tool position engine 940 may track and model the
position of a
drivetrain coupled to the loading vehicle 912. However, during the execution
of a loading
routine, the loading engine 810 is primarily concerned with the transfer, or
loading, of
excavated earth from an excavation tool into a hauling tool. Accordingly, in
most
implementations, the position of a drivetrain on either an excavation vehicle
or a hauling
vehicle is of secondary importance compared to the position of the hauling
tool relative to the
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excavation tool. For example, even if the drivetrains of either an excavation
vehicle and a
loading vehicle are not positioned within the loading location, but both the
hauling tool and
excavation tool are, the loading engine 810 can execute a loading routine.
[00152] As described above with reference to the excavation tool position
engine 930,
the hauling tool position engine 940 continuously compares the current
position of the tool
with relevant locations within the dig site, for example a loading location
916 or a fill
location 908. The hauling tool position engine 940 may also implement tool-
specific
tolerances, region-specific tolerances, or a combination thereof For example,
for a hauling
vehicle 912 with a tool of larger volume, the loading engine 810 may execute
instructions for
performing a loading routine before the hauling tool is entirely within the
boundaries of the
loading location.
[00153] Additionally, upon entering the loading location 916, the hauling
tool position
engine 940 continuously compares the position of the hauling tool with the
position of the
excavation tool. Upon detecting that the excavation tool of the vehicle 904 is
positioned
entirely above the hauling tool of the vehicle 916, the hauling tool position
engine 940
instructions the controller of the excavation vehicle 904 to halt the
navigation of the
excavation vehicle and the excavation tool position engine 930 to actuate the
excavation tool
to transfer earth into the hauling tool. In some implementations, the hauling
tool position
engine 940 may generate instructions for the excavation tool position engine
930 to actuate
the excavation tool in response to detecting that a threshold fraction of the
excavation tool is
positioned above the hauling tool. In response, the excavation tool position
engine 930
adjusts the orientation of the excavation tool while maintaining it above the
hauling tool of
the hauling vehicle such that excavated earth falls from the excavation tool
into the loading
tool.
[00154] As an excavation vehicle transfers earth into a hauling tool of a
hauling vehicle,
the transferred earth may fill into a single location in the fill location,
for example as a single
mound of earth. In such implementations, measurement sensors coupled to the
excavation
tool, the hauling tool, or both confirm that earth has been not been filled
uniformly
throughout the fill location and communicate the measurements to the filling
engine 830.
Based on the measurements, the excavation tool position engine 930 may actuate
the
excavation tool to change position or orientation relative to the hauling tool
to uniformly
distribute earth throughout the hauling tool. Alternatively, the hauling tool
position engine
940 may actuate the hauling tool to change position or orientation relative to
the excavation
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tool to uniformly distribute earth throughout the hauling tool. In additional
embodiments, the
hauling tool position engine 940 and excavation tool position engine 930 may
operate
cooperatively to adjust the position of both the hauling tool and the
excavation tool to achieve
a uniform distribution of earth in the hauling tool.
[00155] Additionally, the hauling tool position engine 940 may only
communicate such
instructions when the excavation tool has stopped moving or is in a stationary
position
satisfying the conditions described above. Alternatively, and in some
embodiments
simultaneously, the excavation tool position engine 930 performs a similar
analysis by
tracking the position of the hauling tool relative to the loading location 916
and the
excavation tool. In such embodiments, the excavation tool position engine 930
may
determine that a hauling tool is positioned below the excavation tool before
adjusting the
orientation of the excavation tool such that excavated earth falls from the
excavation tool into
the loading tool.
[00156] The operation adjustment engine 950 interprets signal and imaging
data
recorded by the combination of sensor assemblies coupled to both the
excavation vehicle 904
and the hauling vehicle 912 to generate updates to an existing target tool
path and, as
necessary, to generate new target tool paths for supplementary vehicles. As
described with
reference to FIG. 4, the navigation engine 410 and the earth moving engine 430
work in
tandem to adjust a distribution of hydraulic pressure from a drivetrain of the
excavation
vehicle 904 to lower the excavation tool to a depth below the ground surface
of a dig
location, for example the dig location 906. From the depth below the ground
surface, the
earth moving engine 430 executes instructions to perform an excavation routine
and excavate
earth form the dig location. However, upon reaching the dig location 906, the
operation
adjustment engine 950 instructs measurement sensors of the sensor assembly 170
to measure
a volume of earth at the dig location. The operation adjustment engine 950
compares the
measured volume of earth to the volume of earth that the excavation tool of
the excavation
vehicle is configured to carry and determines whether the excavation vehicle
can carry the
earth in a single pass from the dig location 906 to the loading location 908.
[00157] If the excavation tool does not have the carrying capacity (e.g.,
the volume) to
carry the earth in a single pass, the operation adjustment engine 950
determines the number
of passes required between the dig location and the fill location. Given the
distance between
the dig location and the fill location and a maximum speed at which the
excavation vehicle
can navigate between the two locations without losing earth from the tool, the
operational
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adjustment engine 950 determines an amount of time required for the excavation
vehicle to
singlehandedly execute the loading routine. If that determined amount of time
is greater than
an amount of time within which the routine is expected to be completed (e.g.,
greater than an
amount of time specified in the operational requirements), the operational
adjustment engine
950 determines that a request for at least one supplementary vehicle should be
generated and
communicated to other earth shaping vehicles in the dig site.
[00158] In some embodiments, a hauling vehicle, for example hauling
vehicles 912, may
be capable of independently excavating earth from a dig location and loading
the excavated
earth into a hauling tool coupled to the vehicle. In such implementations, the
hauling vehicle
is configured with an excavation tool and a hauling tool. Examples of such
self-loading
hauling vehicles include, but are not limited to, a wheel tractor-scraper or
an alternative
scraper vehicle. As the excavation tool excavates earth, the operation
adjustment module
engine 950 instructs the excavation tool to transfer earth into a hauling tool
coupled to the
hauling vehicle, for example a container or reservoir. In implementations
involving such
self-loading hauling vehicles, a hauling vehicle may navigate directly to the
dig location to
execute instructions for a digging routine and, subsequently, executing a
hauling routine to
haul earth to a fill location.
[00159] The time taken to transfer earth between two locations can be
improved in one
of two ways: by increasing the carrying capacity of vehicles transporting the
excavated earth
or by increasing the rate at which earth is excavated from a dig location.
Accordingly, in
some implementations, a supplementary vehicle may be a hauling vehicle, for
example the
hauling vehicles 912 illustrated in FIG. 9A. In such an implementation, a
hauling vehicle
may wait at a loading location as the excavation vehicle navigates through
multiple passes
between the loading location and the dig location to load a maximum volume of
earth into the
hauling vehicle. Alternatively, a supplementary vehicle may be another
excavation vehicle
904 configured with an excavation tool to increase the speed with which the
vehicles
excavate earth from the dig location 906. For example, the first excavation
vehicle may
excavate a maximum volume of earth from the dig site and navigate to the fill
location,
leaving behind a remaining volume of earth at the dig site. The one or more
supplementary
excavation vehicles may excavate the remaining volume of earth and navigate to
the fill
location.
[00160] The supplementary vehicle communicator 960 receives the request for
a
supplementary earth shaping vehicle from the operation adjustment engine 950
and identifies

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one or more earth shaping vehicles 115 in the dig site to whom the request
should be
communicated. In one implementation, the supplementary vehicle communicator
960
receives position data from a global positioning system mounted to the
excavation vehicle
characterizing the current position of the excavation vehicle, for example the
vehicle 904.
Additionally, the supplementary vehicle communicator 960 receives position
data from
global positioning systems coupled to each other candidate vehicle in the dig
site, for
example hauling vehicles 912a-e, characterizing the position of each vehicle
in the dig site
902. For each identified supplementary vehicle, the supplementary vehicle
communicator
960 determines a distance between each candidate vehicle and the excavation
vehicle at the
dig location and communicates the request to the candidate vehicle that is
closest to the
excavation vehicle, the dig location, or both, for example hauling vehicle
912a as illustrated
in FIG. 9A.
[00161] In embodiments in which the supplementary vehicle communicator 960
determines that a fleet of supplementary vehicles would optimize the execution
of the target
tool path, the supplementary vehicle communicator 960 may rank each candidate
vehicle
based on distance to the excavation vehicle, the dig location, or both and
select a subset of the
closest candidate vehicles to communicate the request to, for example hauling
vehicles 912a,
912b, and 912c as illustrated in FIG. 9A. Consistent with the description of
the excavation
tool position engine 930 and the hauling tool position engine 940, the
supplementary vehicle
communicator 960 may determine a distance between an excavation tool coupled
to an
excavation vehicle and a tool coupled to a candidate vehicle, rather than
comparing the
positions of the vehicles as a whole.
[00162] In some embodiments, the supplementary vehicle communication 960
may
concurrently communicate instructions for multiple supplementary hauling
vehicles. For
example, the supplementary vehicle may dispatch a first hauling vehicle
closest to the
excavation vehicle and, while that hauling vehicle is navigating,
simultaneously dispatch
additional hauling vehicles positioned farther away from the excavation
vehicle. In such
implementations, the additional hauling vehicles reach the loading location as
the excavation
vehicles concludes the loading of earth into the first hauling vehicle to
reduce the downtime
of the excavation vehicle.
[00163] The supplementary vehicle communicator 960 may additionally compare
the
volume of earth to be excavated from the dig location to an amount of volume
that each
candidate vehicle can carry. To do so, the supplementary vehicle communicator
960 receives
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measurements for each candidate vehicle indicating the available volume in the
tool coupled
to each vehicle, for example a bucket coupled to an excavation vehicle or a
hauling tool
coupled to a hauling vehicle. Based on the available volume in each candidate
vehicle, the
supplementary vehicle communicator 960 identifies a single candidate vehicle
or a fleet of
candidate vehicles whose tools have an available volume greater than the
volume of earth to
be excavated and communicates the request to each candidate vehicle.
[00164] Returning to the example illustrated in FIG 9A, if 110 cubic feet
of earth is to be
excavated from the dig location 906 and the excavation tool coupled to the
excavation vehicle
904 is capable of carrying 10 cubic feet, the supplementary vehicle
communicator 960
identifies supplementary vehicles with 100 cubic feet of available volume.
Hauling vehicles
912a, 912b, and 912c each may have 35 cubic feet of available volume, which in
combination
is sufficient to transport the remaining excavated earth. Therefore, the
supplementary vehicle
communicator 960 identifies the three hauling vehicles and requests each of
them travel to a
loading location. When identifying supplementary vehicles based on the volume
of earth to
be transported or excavated, the supplementary vehicle communicator 960
optimizes the
number of vehicles. For example, hauling vehicles 912d and 912e may in
combination carry
35 cubic feet of earth, however a combination of vehicles that includes them
would amount to
a greater number of vehicles than the combination includes 912a, 912b, and
912c.
[00165] Based on the supplementary vehicles that have been requested to
assist the
excavation vehicle, the loading location generator 970 determines a loading
location, for
example the loading location 916, where the excavation vehicle will load earth
excavated
from the dig location into a hauling vehicle. In some embodiments, the loading
location
generator 970 may identity a location midway between the position of the
excavation tool, or
more generally the excavation vehicle, and the position of the hauling tool,
or more generally
the hauling vehicle as the loading location. The loading location generator
970 may also
consider the location of the fill location and the dig location when
determining the placement
of the loading location. For example, the loading location generator 970 may
identify a
location in the dig site that optimizes the time taken and the distance for
the excavation
vehicle to travel between the dig site and the loading location with the time
taken and the
distance for the hauling vehicle to travel to the hauling location and, then,
to the fill location.
Alternatively, the loading location engine may receive a loading location from
a system
managed by a human operator.
[00166] In embodiments involving a fleet of supplementary hauling vehicles,
an
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excavation vehicle preparing to transfer earth into a hauling vehicle at a
loading location
measures, for example using sensors coupled to an excavation tool, a volume of
earth already
in a hauling tool of the hauling vehicles. If the measured volume of earth
does not exceed a
maximum volume that can be carried by the hauling vehicle, the excavation
vehicle begins
transferring earth into the hauling vehicle. The excavation vehicle
continuously monitors the
decreasingly available volume in the hauling tool. If, during the transfer of
earth from the
excavation tool, the hauling tool reaches its maximum carrying capacity, the
excavation
vehicle adjusts the orientation and position of the excavation tool to halt
the transfer of earth
until another hauling vehicle whose hauling tool is below its maximum capacity
reaches the
loading location. Upon receiving indication from the excavation tool position
engine 930
and/or the hauling tool position engine 940 that another hauling vehicle has
reached the
loading location, the excavation vehicle performs a similar analysis to
determine whether
there is volume available in the current hauling tool. The loading engine 810
may implement
a similar protocol for measuring volume available in a hauling tool before the
excavation
vehicle begins to initially transfer earth from the excavation tool into the
hauling tool.
[00167] The operation adjustment engine 950 updates the target tool path
received by the
excavation vehicle, for example excavation vehicle 904, to include
instructions for the
vehicle to navigate from the dig location to the fill location after
excavating a maximum
volume of earth. Additionally, the operational adjustment engine 950 generates
a target tool
path for each requested supplementary vehicle, for example hauling vehicle
912a, to navigate
from their starting position to the loading location, halt at the loading
location until its
hauling tool has been filled to maximum capacity, and then navigate from the
loading
location to the fill location.
[00168] The target tool paths and updated target tool paths generated by
the operation
adjustment engine 950 improve the operating efficiency of each earth shaping
vehicle
participating in the routine. Accordingly, vehicles idling in a single
position in the dig site
for an extended period of time burn fuel and result in unintended wear and
tear on the
vehicle. Accordingly, the operation adjustment engine 950 updates the target
tool path
executed by the excavation vehicle and designs the target tool path executed
by the hauling
vehicle to include instructions that adjust the excavation vehicle's velocity
and the hauling
vehicle's velocity, respectively.
[00169] In particular, to reduce the time spent by either vehicle idling at
the loading
location, the operation adjustment engine 950 instructs both vehicles to a
navigate at
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velocities that allow both vehicles to reach the loading location
simultaneously or nearly
simultaneously. Based on the volume of earth to be excavated from the dig
site, the volume
of the excavation tool coupled to the excavation vehicle, or a combination
thereof, the
operation adjustment engine 950 determines an amount of time- an excavation
time- for the
excavation vehicle to excavate the volume of earth. Additionally, given the
distance between
the loading location and the dig location and the maximum velocity of the
excavation vehicle,
the operation adjustment engine 950 determines an amount of time- a navigation
time- for
the excavation vehicle to navigate from the dig location to the loading
location. The
maximum velocity of the excavation vehicle may also be defined as a speed
beyond which
the excavation vehicle cannot navigate without losing earth from the tool. The
operation
adjustment engine 950 adds the excavation time and the navigation time to
determine a total
time before the excavation vehicle reaches the loading location. Based on
total time expected
before the excavation vehicle reaches the loading location and the distance
between the
position of the supplementary hauling vehicle and the loading location, the
operation
adjustment engine 950 determines a velocity for the hauling vehicle to travel
at to reach the
loading location at approximately the same time as the excavation vehicle.
[00170] During the generation of target tool paths for navigating both the
excavation
vehicle and a supplementary vehicle, for example a hauling vehicle 912, to the
loading
location, the operation adjustment engine 950 may identify an obstacle along
the target tool
path. As described herein, an obstacle describes a structure or material
within the dig site
which would hinder the navigation of an earth shaping vehicle 115. In view of
the obstacle,
an earth shaping vehicle 115 may be forced to navigate around the obstacle,
or, given the
types of tools available to the vehicle, remove the obstacle from the
navigation path rather
than accept a time penalty, fuel penalty, damage to the vehicle, or any risk
averse areas that
may be encountered with driving around the obstacle. The operation adjustment
engine 950
may employ an image recognition analysis to analyze obstacles. Based on the
analysis, the
engine 950 generates an unobstructed route and at least one obstructed route.
[00171] An obstructed route travels from a start point through at least one
of the detected
obstacles while removing the obstacle by carrying out a set of removal tool
paths. Removal
tool paths include instructions for the actuation of a tool 175 coupled to a
vehicle 115 to
remove the obstacle. In comparison, an unobstructed route circumvents all
detected obstacles
such that an earth shaping vehicle 115 may navigate from a start point to an
end point without
having to incur additional resource costs to carry out a removal tool path.
Often, the
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obstructed route will be shorter in distance than the unobstructed route, but
the obstructed
route may only be advantageous if reduced resource costs create some tangible
benefit to the
system, such as a reduced total task time or more efficient use of fuel.
[00172] The operation adjustment engine 950 determines which of the two
routes is
preferable, either in terms of time efficiency or in terms of some other
benefit such as device
wear and tear, tool efficiency in executing a routine, etc. Having determined
which route to
take, the engine 950 determines instructions for the vehicle 115 to navigate
over the route to
reach the loading location, fill location, or another location in the dig
site. In
implementations in which multiple vehicles will encounter an obstacle, for
example a fleet of
earth shaping vehicles navigating from the dig location to the loading
location or a fleet of
supplementary hauling vehicles navigating to the loading location or the fill
location, the
operation adjustment engine 950 updates each target tool path with the
determined route.
Alternatively, the measurement sensors mounted to an excavation vehicle may
encounter an
obstacle during the navigation to a location in the dig site causing the
operation adjustment
engine 950 to update the target tool path to handle the obstacle in real-time.
[00173] More information regarding obstacle detection and obstacle removal
by
autonomous excavation vehicles in a dig site can be found in U.S. Patent
Application No.
15/996,408, filed June 1, 2018 which is incorporated by reference herein in
its entirety.
[00174] The target tool path generated by the operation adjustment engine
950 for an
excavation vehicle to navigate to a loading location also includes
instructions for the
excavation vehicle to transfer earth from the excavation tool into a hauling
tool. The
operation adjustment engine 950 updates the target tool path executed by the
excavation
vehicle to transfer earth uniformly throughout the hauling tool of a hauling
vehicle located at
a hauling location. In one implementation, as earth falls from the excavation
tool into the
hauling tool, the navigation engine 410 actuates the arm of the excavation
tool positioned
above the hauling tool to move continuously at a uniform rate along a long
dimension of the
hauling tool, for example the length. Upon reaching one end of the hauling
too, the
navigation engine 410 receives an indication from a sensor on the hauling tool
that causes the
navigation engine 410 to actuate the arm of the excavation tool in reverse. As
a result, the
earth falls into the hauling tool in a uniform distribution until there is no
earth remaining in
the excavation tool.
[00175] In another implementation, measurement sensors mounted to the
excavation tool
record depth measurements of the interior surface of the hauling excavation
tool. The depth

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measurements are communicated to the operation adjustment engine 950 to
generate an
updated target tool path including specific instructions for uniformly
transferring earth into
the hauling vehicle. When the hauling tool contains no earth, the sensors
record a uniform
depth across the interior surface and the navigation engine 410 actuates the
arm of the
excavation tool using the technique described above. In other implementations
in which the
hauling tool already contains a volume of earth is not uniformly distributed
throughout the
tool, the measurement sensors record varying depth measurements throughout the
tool (e.g.,
an uneven distribution. Accordingly, the operation adjustment engine 950
updates the target
tool path with instructions for the navigation engine 410 to actuate the arm
first deposit earth
into sections of the hauling tool with greater depths to raise the earth in
the hauling tool to a
uniform depth. Once the earth in the tool has been distributed to a uniform
depth, the target
tool path instructs the navigation engine 410 to release any remaining earth
in the excavation
tool using the technique described above.
[00176] Once emptied of excavated earth, the target tool path updated by
the operation
adjustment engine 950 may instruct the navigation engine 410 to adjust the
position of the
actuation tool relative to the hauling tool to various depth. In a particular
implementation, the
target tool path includes instructions for the excavation tool be adjusted to
a height that
makes contact with the surface of the earth located in the hauling tool and
adjusting the
position of excavation tool over a horizontal axis to smooth the surface of
the earth in the
hauling tool. Alternatively, in embodiments in which the loading engine 810
determines that
the hauling tool is filled to capacity with earth, the operation adjustment
engine 950
concludes the target tool path for filling earth into the vehicle.
\TLC AUTONOMOUS EARTH LOADING ROUTINE
[00177] FIG. 9C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping
vehicles to execute a loading routine, according to an embodiment. The
description of the
process illustrated in FIG. 9C is consistent with the functionality of the
various components
described with reference to the loading engine 810 in FIG. 9B. As described
above with
reference to FIG. 9B, the loading engine 810 executes a combination of target
tool paths that
instruct at least one excavation vehicle and at least on hauling vehicle to
navigate to a
location where the excavation vehicle will transfer earth into the hauling
vehicle.
[00178] For a first earth shaping vehicle configured with an excavation
tool, for example
an excavation vehicle 115d, a central computer (e.g., on-unit computer 120a or
an off-unit
computer 120b) navigates 980 to a dig location with earth to be excavated.
Based on the
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target tool path, the central computer 120 compares a carrying capacity of the
excavation tool
configured to the excavation vehicle (i.e., a maximum volume of earth which
can be carried
in the excavation tool) to the volume of earth to be excavated from the dig
site and makes a
determination regarding whether the first vehicle can independently haul all
the excavated
earth to a fill location within a set of operational requirements. If the
central computer 120
determines that the first vehicle cannot independently haul the complete
volume of earth, the
central computer 120 identifies at least one second earth shaping vehicle
configured with a
hauling tool capable of hauling a volume of earth to the fill location.
[00179] Based on a position of the identified second earth shaping vehicle
in the dig site
and the position of the first earth shaping vehicle at the dig location, the
central computer 120
identifies 982 a loading location at a position in the dig site that optimizes
the amount of
travel required of either vehicle between their current position, the loading
location, and the
fill location. The loading location is provided 984 to the first vehicle and
the second vehicle.
In response to either excavating the full volume of earth from the dig site or
excavating a
maximum volume of earth that can be carried by the excavation tool of the
first vehicle, the
central computer 120 navigates 986 the first vehicle to the loading location.
[00180] The central computer 120 continuously, or periodically, checks 988
whether
both the first earth shaping vehicle and the second earth shaping vehicle have
navigated to the
loading location. If either of the two vehicles or both vehicles have not
reached the loading
location, the central computer 120 halts the transfer of earth from the
excavation tool of the
first earth shaping vehicle into the hauling tool of the second earth shaping
vehicle and
reconfirms 992 the location of both vehicles in the dig site. The central
computer 120 repeats
the step 992 until both earth shaping vehicles are positioned within the
boundaries of the
loading location. If both vehicles are within the boundaries of the loading
location, the
central computer 120 instructs the first earth shaping vehicle to actuate the
excavation tool to
transfer 990 excavated earth into the hauling tool of the second earth shaping
vehicle.
VI.D AUTONOMOUSLY HAULING EARTH IN A DIG SITE
[00181] FIG. 10A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
a fleet of
earth shaping vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a hauling routine,
according to an
embodiment. FIG. 10A is a visual representation of the coordinate space
illustrated in FIG.
9A. In particular, FIG. 10A details the execution of a hauling routine by
several hauling
vehicles 912 taking place after the conclusion of the loading routine
illustrated in FIG. 9A.
For the purpose of discussing concepts related to a hauling routine, FIG. 10A
walks through
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an example hauling routine involving multiple hauling vehicles. In the
illustrated digital file,
the excavation vehicle 912 has transferred the maximum volume of earth into
the hauling
tools of hauling vehicles 912a and 912b. Filled to the maximum carrying
capacity of their
hauling tools, hauling vehicles 912a and 912b depart from the loading location
to navigate
towards the fill location 908.
[00182] Continuing from FIG. 9A, the loading engine 810 identified three
hauling
vehicles 912a, 912b, and 912c to navigate to the loading location 916 so the
excavation
vehicle could transfer earth into each hauling tool. In FIG. 10A, the hauling
tool of the first
hauling vehicle 912a has been filled to a maximum carrying capacity and the
vehicle 912a
departs from the loading location to navigate towards the fill location 908.
To navigate to the
fill location 908, the hauling engine 820 identifies a start location 1004 on
the boundary of
the loading location 916 and an end location 1006 on the boundary of the fill
location 908.
The hauling engine 820 generates a target tool path for a vehicle to navigate
from the start
location 1004 to the end location 1006 and instructs the navigation engine 410
to execute the
target tool path.
[00183] As the hauling vehicle 912a navigates over the target tool path to
the fill
location 908, the hauling engine 820 oversees the operation of the additional
hauling vehicles
912b and 912c. Like hauling vehicle 912a, a hauling tool of the hauling
vehicle 912b has
also been filled to its maximum carrying capacity. Accordingly, the hauling
engine 820
instructs the hauling vehicle 912b to navigate over the target tool path with
from the start
location 1004 to the end location 1006. As a result, both the hauling vehicle
912a and 912b
both haul 1002 earth from the loading location to the fill location and may
navigate over the
target tool path at the same time.
[00184] Additionally, with the departure of the hauling vehicle 912b, the
loading engine
810 executes instructions causing the hauling vehicle 912c to navigate 914 to
the loading
location. The navigation 914 of the hauling vehicle to the loading location is
consistent with
the techniques and processes described above with reference to FIGs. 9A-C.
Upon reaching
the loading location 916, the excavation vehicle 904 transfers the remaining
volume of earth
excavated from the dig location into a hauling tool of the vehicle 912c.
Alternatively, the
excavation vehicle 904 transfers earth into the hauling tool of the vehicle
912c until the tool
has reached its maximum carrying capacity. The transfer of earth from an
excavation tool
coupled to the vehicle 904 into a hauling tool coupled to the vehicle 912c is
consistent with
the techniques and processes described with reference to FIGs. 9A-C. Once the
excavation
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vehicle 904 completes the transfer of excavated earth to the hauling tool of
the vehicle 912c,
the vehicle 912c receives the target tool path with instructions to haul 1002
earth from the
loading location to the fill location.
[00185] Depending on a combination of the time required for the excavation
vehicle 904
to excavate earth from the dig location 906 and transfer the excavated earth
to each hauling
vehicle 912, the time required for each hauling vehicle 912 to navigate to the
loading location
916, and the maximum velocity at which each hauling vehicle 912 can safely
travel from the
loading location 916 to the fill location 908, one, two, three, or any number
of hauling
vehicles 912 may be navigating over the target tool path during a given time.
For example,
as the hauling vehicle 912a nears the end location 1006, the hauling vehicle
912b may be
halfway between the start location 1004 and the end location 1006 and the
hauling vehicle
912c may have just departed from the start location 1004. As a result, the
hauling engine 820
is responsible for monitoring the dynamic position of each hauling vehicle 912
both in the
coordinate space of the dig site and relative to other hauling vehicles (or
other earth shaping
vehicles) in the dig site and adjust the navigation and instructions of each
vehicle to prevent
collisions or traffic buildups between the start location and end location.
[00186] In other embodiments, the target tool path executed by a hauling
vehicle may be
a cycle from the loading location to the fill location and back to the loading
location. In
response to transferring the entire volume of earth carried in the hauling
tool into the fill
location, a hauling vehicle, for example the hauling vehicle 912a, may return
to the loading
location or the dig location to receive another load of earth from an
excavation vehicle. After
receiving the additional load, the hauling vehicle again navigates to the fill
location to
transfer the earth. Each hauling vehicle deployed may repeat such a cyclical
target tool path
until the fill location has been uniformly filled to reach a target volume.
[00187] FIG. 10B is a diagram of the system architecture of the hauling
engine 820,
according to an embodiment. The hauling engine 810 executes a set of
instructions for
guiding a hauling vehicle from a loading location to a fill location and
coordinating the
navigation of that hauling vehicle with other hauling vehicles within a dig
site. The system
architecture of the hauling engine 820 comprises a route update engine 1030, a
vehicle
location tracker 1040, a traffic management engine 1050, a navigation
adjustment engine
1060, and a supplementary vehicle communicator 1070. In other embodiments, the
hauling
engine 810 may include more or fewer components. Functionality indicated as
being
performed by a particular engine may be performed by other engines instead.
Some of the
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engines of the hauling engine 820 may be stored in the control logic 400.
[00188] As described above, the route update engine 1030 generates a target
tool path
for a hauling vehicle, or any other suitable earth shaping vehicle 115, to
navigate from the
loading location to a fill location. The route update engine 1030 identifies a
start location as a
set of coordinates on the boundary of the loading location and an ending
location on the
boundary of the fill location. The ending location is preferably a set of
coordinates located at
a position on the boundary at which a vehicle 115 may easily enter the fill
location and begin
executing a fill routine. In alternate embodiments, a start location and/or an
end location may
be a set of coordinates defined by a human operator that are received by the
route update
engine 1030. Upon receipt of the manually defined coordinates, a route update
engine 1030
generates a target tool path from the start location to the end location. Fill
routines are further
described with reference to FIGs. 11A-C. To generate the target tool path
between the start
location and the end location, the route update engine 1030 implements the
techniques
described above with reference to FIGs. 5A-5B and the obstacle detection
analyses described
above with reference to the operation adjustment engine 850. The route update
engine 1030
communicates the generated target tool path to any earth shaping vehicles
traveling between
the start location and the end location whether those vehicles are hauling
earth to the fill
location or performing another earth shaping routine. When executing
instructions included
in the updated target tool path generated by the route update engine 1030, the
navigation
adjust engine 1060 adjusts a distribution of hydraulic pressure of the earth
shaping vehicle
(e.g., the hauling vehicle 912) to actuate the drivetrain to drive over the
target tool path.
[00189] The vehicle location tracker 1030 tracks a position of each earth
shaping vehicle
115, for example the excavation vehicle 904 and the hauling vehicles 912, in a
dig site, for
example dig site 902, by receiving data from position sensors, for example a
global
positioning system, coupled to each vehicle. Unlike the data received by the
excavation tool
position engine 910 and the hauling tool position engine 920 which are
primarily concerned
with the position of a tool coupled to a vehicle, the vehicle location tracker
1030 tracks a
position of the entire vehicle (e.g., a combination of the drive train
navigating the vehicle, the
cab housing the controller which operates the vehicle, and the tool that
shapes earth) in the
dig site. The vehicle location tracker 1030 receives continuous signals or
nearly continuous
signals from each set of position sensors, which enables to the vehicle
location tracker 1030
to dynamically model and update the position and heading of a moving vehicle
in the dig site.
[00190] Using the location data and position representations of each
vehicle generated

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by the vehicle location tracker 1040, the traffic management engine 1050
generates
instructions to adjust the navigation instructions and hydraulic distribution
of vehicle to avoid
collisions or traffic buildup between vehicles in the dig site. To that end,
the vehicle location
tracker 1040 continuously compares a current position of a vehicle, for
example hauling
vehicle 912a, with other vehicles in the dig site, for example hauling
vehicles 912b and 912c.
For each vehicle 115 in the dig site, traffic management engine 1050 may
monitor a detection
radius originating at the center of the vehicle to determine whether any
potential obstructions
are in that radius. Examples of such potential obstructions include physical
or natural
obstacles in the dig site, human operators within the dig site, or other
vehicles navigating
through the dig site.
[00191] In addition to the detection radius, the vehicle location tracker
1040 may
identify a region in a dig site, or multiple regions across a dig site,
through which a vehicle
navigates to execute a hauling routine. When executing a hauling routine, or
any other target
tool path, the vehicle location tracker 1040 may generate a geo-fence around
the identified
region. While executing a hauling routine, a hauling vehicle may be restricted
to navigating
within the geo-fence, essentially locking the hauling vehicle within the
region of the hauling
routine. The geo-fence may also function as a boundary through which
neighboring earth
shaping vehicles are restricted from entering. Accordingly, as neighboring
vehicles
circumvent or avoid the geo-fence, the hauling engine 820 prevents collisions
between the
hauling vehicle executing the hauling routine and any neighboring vehicles.
The geo-fence
for a target tool path may also be determined based on vehicle-specific
parameters, for
example a swing radius of an excavation tool, a distance covered at a
vehicle's top speed, or a
vehicle's detection radius.
[00192] In response to detecting a physical obstacle, for example a large
rock, within the
detection radius, the traffic management engine 1050 may identity the obstacle
to the route
update engine 1030 so that the engine 1030 may update the target tool path to
include
instructions for navigating over either an unobstructed route circumventing
the obstacle or an
obstructed route through the obstacle. To increase the efficiency of other
vehicle's
navigation from the start location to the end location, for example hauling
vehicles 912b and
912c, the route update engine 1030 also communicates the detected obstacle and
the updated
target tool path to those vehicles in real-time. The traffic management engine
1050 may also
communicate the location of a detected obstacle to other earth shaping
vehicles neighboring
or planning tool paths through the obstacle regardless of whether those
neighboring vehicles
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are navigating to the end location.
[00193]
Alternatively, in response to detecting an obstacle within the detection
radius,
the traffic management engine 1050 may communicate instructions to the
supplementary
vehicle communicator 1070 to communicate a request for a supplementary earth
shaping
vehicle with an excavation tool or an alternative tool that can remove the
detected obstacle.
During the execution of a removal tool path by either the detecting vehicle
(e.g., a tool path
including an obstructed route) or a supplementary vehicle with a tool
configured to remove
the obstacle, the traffic management engine 1050 instructs the navigation
adjustment engine
1060 to halt navigation of other vehicles along the target tool path. After
the conclusion of
the removal tool path, the traffic management engine 1050 instructs the
navigation
adjustment engine 1060 to resume navigation. In an alternate embodiment, while
a
supplementary earth shaping vehicle executes a removal tool path to remove an
obstacle, the
traffic management engine may update the target tool path for the detecting
vehicle to
circumvent the obstacle and continue executing a hauling routine in parallel
with the
execution of the removal tool path.
[00194] In
some implementations, an earth shaping vehicle 115, for example a hauling
vehicle 912 navigates from a start location to an end location via a target
tool path that travels
through or adjacent to several static, unmoving neighboring vehicles 115. If
during the
navigation of a first vehicle 115 over the target tool path, the traffic
management engine 1050
detects a neighboring vehicle within first vehicle's detection radius, the
traffic management
engine 1050 may communicate instructions for the route update engine 1030 to
update the
target tool path to navigate the first vehicle a greater distance away from
the neighboring
vehicle.
[00195] In
other implementations, one or more neighboring vehicles may by dynamic,
that is each neighboring vehicle is navigating through the dig site over a
target tool path
overlapping or intersecting with the target tool path of the first vehicle. In
such
implementations, the traffic management engine 1050 may assign a priority
ranking to each
target tool path. The priority ranking may be based on a combination of
several
considerations including, but not limited to, an importance of each target
tool path to the
overall excavation or earth shaping of the dig site, a time investment for
performing each
target tool path, an amount of fuel available in each vehicle 115, or the
operation
requirements specified for the dig site. For example, a target tool path that
is of greater
overall importance, is associated with a greater time investment, or is being
executed by a
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vehicle with less available fuel may be prioritized over another target tool
path. Accordingly,
if two earth shaping vehicles 115 follow separate target tool paths that cause
either one to
enter the detection radius of the other, the traffic management engine 1050
instructs the
navigation engine 410 to continue navigating a first vehicle of the two whose
target tool path
was selected for prioritization. The traffic management engine 1050 instructs
the navigation
adjustment engine 1060 to halt navigation of the second vehicle 115 whose
target tool path
was not selected for prioritization until the first vehicle has moved out of
the detection radius
of the second vehicle. Alternatively, the target tool path of the second
vehicle that was not
prioritized may be updated or replaced with an alternate target tool path that
circumvents the
first vehicle whose target tool path was prioritized.
[00196] In alternate implementations involving more than two earth shaping
vehicles
with intersecting target tool paths, the traffic management engine 1050
instructs the
navigation engine 410 to continue navigating the vehicle whose target tool
path has the
highest priority while instructing the navigation adjustment engine 1060 to
halt navigation of
any other intersecting vehicles. Alternatively, the target tool paths of the
intersecting
vehicles may be updated or replaced with alternate target tool paths that do
not intersect the
prioritized target tool path.
[00197] The traffic management engine 1050 may also instruct the route
update engine
1030 to update certain target tool paths to navigate vehicles following those
tool paths outside
of the detection radius. By generating instructions to navigate such vehicles
outside of the
detection radii of other vehicles, the traffic management engine 1050 avoids
or reduces the
likelihood of collisions between an earth shaping vehicle and any neighboring
earth shaping
vehicles. In one implementation, the traffic management engine 1050 maintains
the
navigation of a first vehicle over a prioritized target tool path, while
instructing the
modification of all other target tool paths to avoid a collision with the
first vehicle.
[00198] In addition, or as an alternative to, updating the location
coordinates of a target
tool pathway to avoid collisions in the dig site, the traffic management
engine 1050 may
adjust the velocity of one or more earth shaping vehicles to prevent
collisions between
vehicles navigating over the same or different target tool paths. In
embodiments in which
multiple vehicles are navigating over the same target tool path, for example
the navigation of
hauling vehicles 912a and 912b as illustrated in FIG. 9A, if a first vehicle
115 is moving
slower than a second vehicle 115 behind it, the second vehicle, or
alternatively a neighboring
vehicle, may collide with the first vehicle before either vehicle reaches the
end of the target
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tool path (e.g., the end location). Accordingly, the traffic management engine
1050 detects
the second earth shaping vehicle closing within a threshold distance of the
first earth shaping
vehicle. For example, the traffic management engine 1050 detects the second
earth shaping
vehicle to be within the detection radius of the first vehicle. In response,
the traffic
management engine 1050 may generate instructions to increase the velocity of
the first
vehicle to increase distance from the second vehicle or to remove the second
vehicle from the
detection radius of the first vehicle. Once the first vehicle 115 has
reestablished the threshold
distance from the second vehicle 115õ and assuming no other conditions in the
dig site
require further velocity adjustments, the traffic management engine 1050
instructs the
hydraulic distribution engine 450 to maintain the increased velocity of the
first vehicle 115
until the first vehicle reaches the end location of the target tool path.
[00199] Alternatively, the traffic management engine 1050 detects the
second earth
shaping vehicle 115 closing with the threshold distance of the first vehicle
115 and generates
instructions to decrease the velocity of the second vehicle to increase
distance from the
second vehicle to remove the second vehicle from the detection radius of the
first vehicle.
Once the threshold distance between the two vehicles has been reestablished,
the traffic
management engine 1050 instructs the hydraulic distribution engine 1050 to
maintain the
decreased velocity of the first vehicle until the second vehicle reaches the
end location of the
target tool path.
[00200] The traffic management engine 1050 may implement an algorithm to
determine
an optimized velocity for both the first vehicle and the second vehicle to
maintain the
threshold distance between the two and communicate instructions to the
hydraulic
distribution engine 450 to adjust the velocity of the first vehicle, the
second vehicle, or both
to the optimized velocity. In implementations involving more than two earth
shaping
vehicles following a shared target tool path or an earth shaping vehicle
surrounded by more
than one neighboring vehicle, a decrease in the velocity of a second vehicle
or neighboring
vehicle may risk collisions with other vehicles behind or around the slowed
vehicle. To
prevent such collisions, the traffic management engine 1050 iteratively
adjusts the velocity of
each succeeding pair of vehicles such that the velocities of all vehicles in
proximity to each
other are ultimately defined to avoid collisions and maintain target distances
between
vehicles. Additionally, velocity adjustments in this manner reduce, if not
prevent, the
likelihood of a traffic bottleneck at an entrance to a fill location, because
not all vehicles on a
shared target tool path reach the end location of the tool path at the same
time.
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[00201] In addition to the navigation adjustments performed in response to
instructions
generated by the traffic management engine 1050, the navigation adjustment
engine 1060
may also detect conditions in the dig site that warrant a change in direction
or course of a
target tool path. During the execution of a target tool path or the navigation
of a vehicle 115
over a target tool path, the navigation adjustment engine 1060 may detect that
one or more
regions of earth along the target tool path are difficult for the vehicle to
navigate over. The
navigation adjustment engine 1060 may make such a determination based on soil
composition measurements recorded by measurement sensors on the vehicle,
drivetrain
traction measurements, or hydraulic distribution measurements of the drive
train. Soil
composition measurements indicating rough or rocky soil may increase the
navigation
difficulty classification for a region. Hydraulic distribution measurements
indicating an
uncharacteristic distribution of power to the drive train may also indicate an
increased
navigation difficulty classification for a region.
[00202] The navigation adjustment engine 1060 assigns a quantitative metric
to both the
soil composition measurement and the hydraulic distribution measurement and,
based on
those metrics, determines a classification or a score for the difficulty of
navigation through
the region. The navigation adjustment engine 1060 compares the difficulty
classification/score to a threshold. The threshold may be defined by a human
operator or be
generated by an algorithm specific to the conditions of a particular type or
model of earth
shaping vehicle. The navigation adjustment engine 1060 compares the difficulty
classification to the threshold and, if the classification is below the
threshold, instructs the
navigation engine 410 to continue navigation the vehicle 115 over the target
tool path.
However, if the difficulty classification is above the threshold, the
navigation adjustment
engine 1060 instructs the route update engine 1030 to dynamically update the
target tool path
that circumvents the region of the dig site and travels through another region
that is more
easily navigated.
[00203] Alternatively, in respect to classifying a region with an above the
threshold level
of difficulty, the navigation adjustment engine 1060 may instruct the earth
shaping vehicle
traveling over the region to halt its navigation, while requesting that the
supplementary
vehicle communicator 1070 communicate a request for a supplementary earth
shaping
vehicle reshape earth in the region to reduce the difficulty of navigating
through the region.
In such implementations, the supplementary vehicle communicator 1070
identifies one or
more earth shaping vehicles 115 configured with tools, for example excavation
tools or

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compaction tools, capable of reshaping the earth as needed before
communicating the request
to those vehicles.
[00204] In some implementations, a hauling vehicle, for example vehicles
912, become
incapable of executing or completing a target tool path. For example, hauling
vehicles
become inoperable due to physical wear and tear caused by navigation over
regions
associated with navigation difficulty or due to depletion of fuel. In such
embodiments, the
navigation adjustment engine 1060 instructs the navigation adjustment engine
1060 to halt
navigation of the inoperable hauling vehicle over the target tool path. The
navigation
adjustment engine 1060 may identify a loading location for an excavation
vehicle or another
suitable earth shaping vehicle to transfer earth from the inoperable hauling
vehicle to another
operable hauling vehicle. In embodiments in which a vehicle is not wholly
inoperable, the
loading location may be based on the current condition of the vehicle and the
positions of one
or more neighboring vehicle. If the vehicle is wholly inoperable, the loading
location is
defined as the current position of the inoperable hauling vehicle.
[00205] Alternatively, when an earth shaping vehicle is determined to be
wholly
inoperable, the navigation adjustment engine 1060 may generate and communicate
an alert to
a human operator. The communicated alert identified the position of the
inoperable hauling
vehicle in the dig site as well as a potential diagnosis for a cause of the
breakdown. The alert
may also include instructions for other earth shaping vehicles in the dig site
to avoid a region
that includes the current position of the inoperable vehicle. In other
embodiments, a human
operator manually updates the target tool paths of other vehicles in the dig
site based on the
received alert.
[00206] The navigation adjustment engine 1060 instructs the supplementary
vehicle
communicator 1070 to request a first neighboring vehicle navigate to the
loading location to
transfer earth from the hauling tool of the inoperable hauling vehicle and a
second
neighboring vehicle navigate to the loading location to receive the earth
transferred by the
first neighboring vehicle. In such implementations, the first neighboring
vehicle is coupled to
an excavation tool or an alternative earth moving tool and the second
neighboring vehicle is
coupled to a hauling tool or an alternative earth transporting tool. Once the
volume of earth
has been transferred from the hauling tool of the inoperable hauling vehicle
to the second
neighboring vehicle, the navigation adjustment engine 1060 communicates the
tool path to
the end location to the second neighboring vehicle.
[00207] The navigation adjustment engine 1060 may also instruct the route
update model
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1030 to update the target tool paths of other earth shaping vehicles 115 to
avoid the region of
the dig site that rendered the inoperable vehicle inoperable. The above
approach to handling
an inoperable vehicle may also be applied to any other inoperable earth
shaping vehicle 115.
[00208] The supplementary vehicle communicator 1070 implements similar
techniques
and processes described with reference to the supplementary vehicle
communicator 960 of
FIG. 9B to identify supplementary vehicles suited to assist in a particular
earth shaping
routine and to communicate requests for those supplementary vehicles to assist
in the earth
shaping routine.
VI.E AUTONOMOUS EARTH HAULING ROUTINE
[00209] FIG. 10C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping
vehicles to execute a hauling routine, according to an embodiment. The
description of the
process illustrated in FIG. 10C is consistent with the functionality of the
various components
described with reference to the hauling engine 820 in FIG. 10B. As described
above with
reference to FIG. 10B, the hauling engine 820 executes a combination of
instructions to
enable a fleet of vehicles to cooperatively navigate through a dig site while
avoiding
collisions.
[00210] For a first earth shaping vehicle, for example a hauling vehicle, a
central
computer (e.g., an on-unit computer 120a or an off-unit computer 120b)
generates 1080 a
target tool path to travel from a start location to an end location. The
central computer 120
navigates 1082 the first earth shaping vehicle along the target tool path. As
the vehicle
navigates along the tool path, the central computer 120 periodically, or
alternatively
continuously, compares the position of neighboring vehicles relative to the
first vehicle.
When appropriate, the central computer 120 updates 1084 the target tool path
of the first
earth shaping vehicle to avoid collisions between the first vehicle and any
neighboring
vehicles.
[00211] Additionally, the central computer continuously compares 1086 the
distance
between the first vehicle and a second earth shaping vehicle navigating over
the same time or
a neighboring earth shaping vehicle navigating over a different target tool
path to a threshold
distance, for example a detection radius of the first vehicle. If distance
between the first
vehicle and any other vehicle is above the threshold, the central computer 120
adjusts 1088
the velocity of the first vehicle, the second/neighboring vehicle, or both to
maintain the
threshold distance between two vehicles. If the distance between the two
vehicles is above
the threshold, the central computer 120 adjusts 1092 the velocity of the first
vehicle, for
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example increasing the velocity of the first vehicle, to maintain the
threshold distance
between the vehicles. The central computer 120 may alternatively or
additionally decrease
the velocity of the second/neighboring vehicle to maintain the threshold
distance. Through
the navigation of the first earth shaping vehicle's navigation from a start
location to an end
location, the central computer 120 periodically checks 1092 whether updates to
a vehicle's
target tool path are required to avoid a collision and if the distance between
two vehicles
satisfies a threshold distance.
VI.F AUTONOMOUSLY FILLING EARTH IN A DIG SITE
[00212] FIG. 11A is an illustration of an example coordinate space in which
a fleet of
earth shaping vehicles operate cooperatively to carry out a filling routine,
according to an
embodiment. FIG. 11A is a visual representation of the coordinate space
illustrated in FIGs.
9A and 10A. In particular, FIG. 11A details the execution of a filling routine
by at least one
hauling vehicle and at least one compacting vehicle taking place after the
conclusion of the
hauling routine by hauling vehicle 912a as illustrated in FIG. 10A. For the
purpose of
discussing concepts related to a filling routine, FIG. 11A walks through an
example hauling
routine involving at least one hauling vehicle and at least one compacting
vehicle.
[00213] In the illustrated digital file, the hauling vehicle 912a has
reached the end
location of a target tool path for a hauling routine and has entered a fill
location 908. The
hauling vehicle 912a will navigate through the fill location 908 while
releasing earth from its
hauling tool into the fill location. The compacting vehicle 1106 additionally
navigates
through the fill location 908 compacting loose earth filled into the location
908 by the hauling
vehicle 912a. Filled to the maximum capacity of their hauling tools, the
hauling vehicles
912b and 912c follow a target tool path to reach the fill location as the
hauling vehicle 912a
did.
[00214] Continuing from FIG. 10A, the hauling engine 820 instructed hauling
vehicle
912a to follow a target tool path from a start location on or near a boundary
of the loading
location 912 to an end location on or near a boundary of the fill location
908. At the end
location of the target tool path, the hauling vehicle 912a concludes the
hauling routine and
receives instructions generated by the filling engine 830 to follow a target
tool path 1102 for
filling earth at the fill location. As illustrated, the target tool path 1102
includes instructions
for the hauling vehicle to navigate through the area included in the fill
location while
releasing earth from the hauling tool into the fill location. As the hauling
vehicle 912
navigates over the tool path 1102 and releases earth, the volume of earth
filled into traversed
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areas increases relative to untraversed areas of the fill location. In FIG.
11A, areas of the fill
location 908 that have been filled by the hauling vehicle are illustrated as
cross-hatched
regions of the fill site, whereas areas of the fill location 908 that have not
been filled are
illustrated as unshaded regions.
[00215] While executing instructions for the tool path 1102 for filling
earth at the fill
location, the filling engine 830 receives a compaction measurement for earth
in the fill
location and, based on the compaction measurement, determines whether to
further compact
earth in the fill location. As described herein, the compactness of earth
characterizes the
firmness of earth in a region. For example, earth initially deposited into the
fill location 908
by the hauling vehicle may have relatively low compaction compared to earth
which has
traversed by several earth shaping vehicles 115. The filling engine 830
compares the
measured compactness of earth and determines whether the earth should be
further
compacted. In one embodiment, unless instructed otherwise, at the conclusion
of a fill
routine executed by a hauling vehicle 912b, the filling engine 830
communicates a request for
a compacting vehicle to navigate to the fill location 908 to compact the
recently filled earth.
As part of the process for generating the request, the filling engine 830
identifies a
compacting vehicle 1106 configured with a compaction tool, for example a dozer
or a vehicle
configured with a roller blade, and communicates the request to the vehicle
1106.
[00216] Upon receipt of the request, the compacting vehicle 1106 navigates
1108 to the
same location where the hauling vehicle 912a entered the fill location and
executes
instructions to follow a tool path 1110 for compacting earth. As illustrated
in FIG. 11A, the
tool path 1110 executed by the compacting vehicle follows the same tracks and
pattern of
travel as the tool path 1102 for filling earth. Accordingly, the compacting
vehicle 1106 is
able to compact any earth, whether loose or firm, that was released by the
most recent hauling
vehicle traveling through the fill location 908. In some implementations, the
compacting
vehicle 1106 may compact loose earth by navigating tracks of the drivetrain
over the earth,
by implementing a tool 175 designed for compaction, or a combination of the
two. In another
embodiment, the tool path 1102 includes instructions for the compacting
vehicle 1106 to
compact all earth in the fill location 908 regardless of the tool path 1102.
By compacting all
earth in the fill location 908, the vehicle 1106 will inevitably compact any
earth deposited in
the fill location by the hauling vehicle 912a. A compacting vehicle 1106 may
repeatedly
navigate over the toolpath 1110 until all earth filled into the fill location
has reached a target
compaction level.
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[00217] At the conclusion of the tool path 1102, if earth still remains in
the hauling tool
of the vehicle 912a, the filling engine 1130 may update the tool path 1102
with instructions
for the vehicle to repeat navigation over the tool path 1102 or follow a new
tool path for
evenly distributing the remaining volume of earth throughout the fill location
908. If the
hauling vehicle 912a repeats navigation over the tool path 1102, the
compacting vehicle 1106
also receives instructions to repeat navigation over the tool path 1110. If
the hauling vehicle
912a receives a new tool path and begins to navigate over the new tool path,
the compacting
vehicle 1106 may either execute a tool path for compacting all earth in the
fill location or
may also receive and execute a new tool path following the tracks and pattern
of the hauling
vehicle's new tool path.
[00218] FIG. 11B is a diagram of the system architecture of the filling
engine 830,
according to an embodiment. The filling engine 830 executes a set of
instructions guiding a
hauling vehicle, or another vehicle carry earth to a fill location, to release
earth from a
hauling tool into a fill location. The filling engine 830 may also execute
instructions for a
compacting vehicle to navigate to the fill location and compact loose earth in
the fill location.
The system architecture of the filling engine 830 comprises a volume
measurement engine
1120, an earth deposit engine 1130, an earth compaction engine 1140, and a
supplementary
vehicle communicator 1150. In other embodiments, the filling engine 830 may
include more
or fewer components. Functionality indicated as being performed by a
particular engine may
be performed by other engines instead. Some of the engines of the filling
engine 830 may be
stored in the control logic 400.
[00219] The volume measurement engine 1120 measures an initial volume of
earth in a
fill location and a distribution of earth in the fill location and, based on
those measurements,
generates a set of instructions for an earth shaping vehicle to uniformly
distribute earth
throughout the fill location. The volume measurement engine 1120 receives
spatial data from
spatial sensors 130 describing the elevation of various regions of the fill
location. For each
elevation, the volume measurement engine 1120 may extrapolate a volume
measurement
based on the area of the surface region and a comparison between the
measurement depth and
a ground surface of the fill location. Alternatively, the volume measurement
engine 1120
may measure an amount of earth in the fill location using a measurement sensor
coupled to
the first EV.
[00220] From the volume and elevation measurements, the volume measurement
generator 810 generates an elevation map of the fill location. The elevation
map may

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comprise an array of coordinate locations where each coordinate location is
associated with
an elevation at that location. For example, one coordinate location or set of
coordinate
locations may describe earth in the fill location that extends a height above
the ground
surface, while another set of coordinate locations may describe the whole
which extends a
depth below the ground surface. In one implementation, the elevation map is a
three-
dimensional representation of the site, such that the third dimension
describes the height of
features within the site relative to the ground surface, for example a three-
dimensional
contour map. In an alternate implementation, the elevation map is a two-
dimensional
representation of the site, such that the regions of the site are
distinguished graphically (as
illustrated in FIG. 7) based on their elevation relative to the ground
surface, for example a
two-dimensional topographical map. Alternatively, the volume measurement may
generate
an elevation map for the fill location using only depth measurements recorded
by the spatial
sensors 130. From the elevation map of the fill location, the volume
measurement engine
1120 may determine a volume of earth at a region of the fill location based on
the measured
elevation of the region and the surface area of the region.
[00221] The volume measurement engine 1120 accesses the digital terrain
model
generated by the preparation engine 420. As described above with reference to
FIG. 4, the
digital terrain model describes a set of target objectives or conditions for a
dig site that earth
shaping vehicles are deployed to achieve. Accordingly, in implementations in
which earth is
to be excavated from a first area (e.g., a dig location) and filled into a
second area (e.g., a fill
location), the digital terrain model includes target elevations for both areas
and target
volumes of earth for both regions. Accordingly, the volume measurement engine
1120
compares the digital terrain model with the measured volume of earth for each
region of the
fill location 908 to determine a difference between the measured volume of
earth and the
target volume of earth. The volume measurement engine 1120 updates a current
target tool
path for filling earth into the fill location (i.e., tool path 1102) to fill
an amount of earth up to
the determined difference. The volume measurement engine 1120 communicates the
updated
target tool path to the navigation engine 410, which adjusts the hydraulic
distribution of an
earth shaping vehicle 115 to adjust the position of a hauling tool to release
earth into the fill
location and to the drivetrain of the vehicle 115 to navigate over the target
tool path. The
adjustment of the hydraulic distribution for an earth shaping vehicle 115
carrying earth in the
fill location actuates a hauling tool to an orientation at which earth is
released from the
hauling tool. The hauling tool is maintained at such an orientation as the
vehicle 115
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navigates over a target tool path to fill earth into the fill location.
[00222] As will be described below with reference to FIG. 11B, compaction
of earth by
the compaction vehicle causes earth in the fill location to settle at a lower
elevation than
when the loose earth was initially filled at the fill location. Accordingly,
at the conclusion of
a compaction routine, the filling engine 830 receives an updated depth
measurement from
either the compacting vehicle 1106 or a hauling vehicle 912 and updates the
orientation of the
hauling tool based on the received depth measurement. Additionally, based on
the depth
measurement of the compacted earth, the filling engine 830 determines whether
to fill
additional earth into the fill location or to conclude the fill routine.
[00223] As described above, at the conclusion of a target tool path by a
single vehicle,
the volume of earth deposited into the fill location may be below the target
volume for the
location. If earth still remains in the hauling tool of an earth shaping
vehicle that has
concluded the target tool path, the earth deposit engine 1130 may update the
target tool path
with instructions for the earth shaping vehicle to repeat navigation over the
fill location to
achieve the target volume of earth in the fill location. If during a
repetition of a target tool
path, a hauling tool completely empties its content earth before the reaching
the target
volume for the fill location, the supplementary vehicle communicator 1150
instructs a second
vehicle hauling earth, for example hauling vehicle 912b, to navigate to the
current position of
the first vehicle to resume the target tool path for filling earth. At the
current position of the
first vehicle, the supplementary vehicle communicator 1150 communicates the
target tool
path for filling earth at the fill location to the second vehicle with
instructions to resume
filling earth over the target tool path until the target volume has been
achieved for the fill
location.
[00224] In other embodiments, if a hauling tool is completely emptied
before achieving
the target volume of earth in the fill location, the earth deposit engine 1130
generates a new
target tool path with a new set of instructions for filling in the remaining
volume of earth that
is tailored to the volume of earth carried by the second hauling vehicle.
[00225] In some implementations, the volume measurement engine 1120
segments a fill
location into several regions, for example by dividing a geographic region
into sections of
equivalent geometric areas, and determines a volume measurement for each
region using the
techniques described above. The volume measurement engine 1120 ranks each
region based
on the measured volume such that regions with the lowest volumes or regions
with volumes
the most below a target volume are prioritized. Alternatively, the volume
measurement
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engine 1120 prioritizes regions of the fill location that are not currently
being operated on by
a compacting vehicle or another earth shaping vehicle. Based on the
prioritization, the earth
deposit engine 1130 generates a single target tool path for a hauling vehicle
navigate to and to
fill earth into multiple regions in order of priority. Alternatively, the
earth deposit engine
1130 generates a target tool path for each region and communicates
instructions for a hauling
vehicle to navigate over each tool path in order of priority to first fill
earth into regions with
the highest priority first.
[00226] Some hauling vehicles 115c are configured to transport a volume of
earth from a
first location to a second location in a hauling tool, but are not configured
to release the earth
into a fill location, for example the hauling tool that is configured in a
fixed position that
prevents earth from falling out. In implementations involving such vehicles,
the
supplementary vehicle communicator 1150 communicates a request for a
supplementary
earth shaping vehicle configured with an excavation tool, for example an
excavation vehicle
or an alternative earth moving tool, to navigation to the fill location. As
the hauling vehicle
navigates over a target tool path for filling earth into the fill location,
the supplementary
vehicle may navigate alongside, behind or in front of the hauling vehicle to
excavate earth
from the hauling tool and release the excavated earth into the fill location.
Alternatively, at
an entrance to the fill location, the supplementary vehicle may excavate a
volume of earth,
for example the maximum volume of an excavation tool, and navigate over the
target tool
path for filling earth while releasing earth into the fill location. If the
supplementary vehicle
releases the full volume of excavated earth before completing the target tool
path, the
supplementary vehicle may return to the hauling vehicle, excavate a second
volume of earth,
return to its previous position on the target tool path, and resume navigation
over the target
tool path.
[00227] More information regarding generating target tool paths for filling
earth into a
fill location and the execution of those target tool paths by autonomous earth
shaping vehicles
in a dig site can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 16/447,970, filed
June 21, 2019
which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[00228] As the earth deposit engine 1130 instructs an earth shaping vehicle
to adjust fill
earth into a fill location to achieve a target volume of earth in the fill
location defined by the
digital terrain model, the earth compaction engine 1140 generates a target
tool path for a
compaction routine- a set of instructions for compacting earth filled into the
fill location. For
example, earth compaction engine 1140 may instruct a compacting vehicle 115c,
for example
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compacting vehicle 1106, to adjust a position of a tool 175 relative to the
ground surface, in
effect applying a force to the ground surface at the location using the tool.
The earth
compaction engine 1140 instructs the navigation engine 410 to manipulate the
distribution of
hydraulic pressure within the system adjust the position of the compacting
tool, for example a
steamroller attachment, a sheepsfoot attachment, or a vibratory plate
compactor, using the
same principles as those described in reference to the earth removal engine
430. In
embodiments in which an earth shaping vehicle is configured with a vibratory
drum or a
plate, the earth compaction engine 1140 instructs the navigation engine 410 to
also adjust the
vibration frequency according to a compaction threshold, set of compaction
requirements, or
soil conditions in the fill location.
[00229] As described above, an elevation map generated by the volume
measurement
engine 1120 represents both varying elevations in the fill location as well as
a volume of
earth distributed throughout the fill location. At the conclusion of a target
tool path, or
alternatively once a vehicle 115 has emptied the entire volume carried in its
hauling tool, the
earth deposit engine 1130 may update the elevation map to describe an updated
volume and
distribution of the volume throughout the fill location. Based on the updated
elevation map,
the earth deposit engine 1130 may generate an updated target tool path to be
executed by a
second hauling vehicle, for example hauling vehicle 912b, carrying earth to be
deposited in
the fill location. The updated target tool path is communicated to the second
vehicle 912b by
the supplementary vehicle communicator 1160.
[00230] The earth compaction engine 1140 generates instructions for the
compacting
vehicle adjust or oscillate the position of a compacting tool relative to a
ground surface, for
example the ground surface of a fill location, to achieve a target compaction
level for earth in
that location. A target compaction level describes a predetermined change in
the volume
associated with earth in a location. In some implementations, the target
compaction level
may be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the specific soil
properties within
the site, while in other implementations the target compaction level is a
predetermined value
determined manually be a remote user. The target compaction level or current
compaction
level may be determined based on one or more of the following properties: a
measurement of
the density of earth prior to the execution of a compaction routine, the
density of earth after
the execution of a compaction routine, a measurement of the soil cohesion, and
a
measurement of the particles size of earth within the tool used to fill a
sink. Compaction
levels, whether a target compaction level or a current compaction level, may
also be based on
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the types of earth at a location, for example soil, clay, and gravel.
[00231] In some embodiments, a compacting vehicle 1106 is given a default
set of
instructions to standby at a fill location to be implemented as needed, for
example to
determine a compaction measurement for earth in the fill location as needed,
to compact earth
in the fill location as needed, or a combination thereof In some
implementations, to initiate
the execution of a compaction routine, the earth compaction engine 1140
receives a
compaction measurement for earth currently filled into the fill location. The
compaction
measurement may be received from a compacting vehicle configured with a
compaction
probe and sensor or an alternate compaction measurement tool. Examples of a
compaction
probe and sensor include, but are not limited to, a nuclear densometer or soil
density gauge.
The vehicle 115 may be configured such that a detachable compaction probe and
compaction
sensor are mounted to the vehicle 115
[00232] In such embodiments, in response to the conclusion of a filling
routine by a
hauling vehicle 115b, a compaction vehicle 115c measures the compaction of the
filled earth
and compares the measurement to a threshold. If the compaction measurement is
above the
threshold, the earth compaction engine 1140 determines that no further
compaction is
required and terminates the filling routine. If the compaction is below the
threshold, the earth
compaction engine 1140 determines that further compaction is required and
generates a target
tool path for the standby compaction vehicle, or alternatively another
compaction routine, to
execute a compacting routine. Alternatively, the earth compaction engine 1140
receives a
compaction measurement measured manually by a human operator or a manually
operated
compaction vehicle.
[00233] The earth compaction engine 1140 generates a target tool path or an
optimized
combination of target tool paths to compact earth in a fill location, for
example instructions
for a compacting vehicle to navigate over a winding path, snaking over the
surface of the
location. To generate the target tool path, the compaction engine 1140
receives a target
compaction level for earth in the fill location and the current compaction
level for earth in the
fill location. The earth compaction engine 1140 instructs the compaction probe
to detach
from the vehicle 115 and position itself at a depth below the ground surface
of a location.
Once in position, the compaction probe transmits a stream of particles, for
example
radioactive particles, through the ground surface and towards the compaction
sensor mounted
to the vehicle 115. Because the compaction of earth at the location affects
the number of
transmitted particles received by the compaction sensor, the compaction sensor
is able to

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determine a current level of compaction for earth in a region of the fill
location. If the earth
compaction engine 1140 determines that the current compaction level of earth
in a region of a
fill location is below a target compaction level, the earth compaction engine
1140 generates a
new target tool path or updates an existing target tool path with instructions
for the vehicle
115 to navigate or repeat navigation through each region of the fill location
until each region
is determined to equal or exceed the target compaction level. Additionally, in
response to
determining the current compaction level of earth in a region of a fill
location is below the
target compaction level, the earth compaction engine 1140 communicates
instructions to the
supplementary vehicle communicator 1150 to request that a compaction vehicle
navigate to
the region and execute the target tool path for compacting earth in that
region.
[00234] In some embodiments, the current compaction level of particular
regions of the
fill location may satisfy the target compaction level for the fill location,
whereas the current
compaction level for other regions may be below the target compaction level.
Accordingly,
the earth compaction engine 1140 may optimize a resource cost of requesting a
compacting
vehicle 1106 by only instructing the vehicle 1106 to compact earth in regions
with
compaction levels below the target compaction level. Accordingly, in some
implementations,
the earth compaction engine 1140 may divide a fill location into regions and
determine a
current compaction level for each region. The earth compaction engine 1140
evaluates each
region on a per-region basis and, for those regions with current compaction
levels below the
target compaction level, generates a region-specific target tool path to
achieve the target
compaction level.
[00235] The target tool path for a compaction routine may organize an area
in a fill
location in several adjacent lanes. In such embodiments, the target tool path
may instruct a
compaction vehicle to navigate over and compact earth in each location to
achieve a target
compaction, before proceeding to compacting earth in an adjacent lane. Once
earth in each
lane of the fill region has been configured to measure at the target
compaction, the earth
compaction engine 1140 concludes the target tool path. Alternatively, a target
tool path may
instruct a compaction vehicle to compact earth in each lane before measuring
the compaction
of earth in each lane. In such embodiments, the earth compaction engine 1140
identifies
particular lanes that require further compaction and generates an updated
target tool path for
the compaction vehicle to navigate over those lanes. With the conclusion of
each fill routine,
the earth compaction engine 1140 generates an updated target tool path with
compaction
instructions for each lane in the fill location.
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[00236] More information regarding generating target tool paths for
compacting earth in
a fill location and the execution of those target tool paths by compacting
vehicles in a dig site
can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 16/447,970, filed June 21, 2019
which is
incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
[00237] The supplementary vehicle communicator 1150 implements similar
techniques
and processes described with reference to the supplementary vehicle
communicator 960 of
FIG. 9B and the supplementary vehicle communicator 1050 of FIG. 10B to
identify
supplementary vehicles suited to assist in a particular earth shaping routine
and to
communicate requests for those supplementary vehicles to assist in the earth
shaping routine.
[00238] After the execution of a fill routine, earth may be positioned non-
uniformly
throughout the fill location, for example as mounds spread over the area of
the fill location.
In such implementations, sensors mounted to the hauling vehicle, a compaction
vehicle,
alternate earth shaping vehicle, or a combination thereof may identify the
lack of uniformity
and communicate the identification to the supplementary vehicle communicator
1150. The
supplementary vehicle communicator 1150 requests an earth shaping vehicle
configured with
a grading tool, for example a dozer, navigate to the fill location to
redistribute earth in the fill
location. The supplementary vehicle communicator 1140 may instruct the
requested earth
shaping vehicle to execute a target tool path that grades over the ground of
the entire fill
location or to grade over specific region of the fill location. After the
conclusion of the target
tool path, or once earth has been uniformly distributed throughout the fill
location, the earth
compaction engine 1140 instructs a compaction vehicle to execute a compaction
routine. The
implementation described above regarding grading or dozing tool paths may be
implemented
before every execution of a compaction routine. In some embodiments, a grading
or dozing
tool path may be executed by the standby compaction routine, a hauling
vehicle, or an
alternate earth shaping vehicle in the dig site.
[00239] In some embodiments, in addition to the compaction measurement
described
above, a standby compaction may also measure moisture content of the filled
earth. As
described herein, earth with a higher moisture content is more easily
compacted than earth
with a lower moisture content. If the earth compaction engine 1140 receives a
below
threshold compaction measurement, the compaction engine 1140 may request a
moisture
content measurement as well. If the moisture content measurement is above a
threshold, the
earth compaction engine 1140 instructs the standby compaction vehicle, or an
alternate
compaction vehicle, to execute the compaction routine. If the moisture content
measurement
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is below a threshold, the earth compaction engine 1140 may request that the
supplementary
vehicle communicator 1150 request a water-carrying vehicle, for example a
water truck,
navigate to the fill location to dispense water and increase the moisture
content of the filled
earth. During the dispensing of water into filled earth, the compaction engine
1140 continues
to receive updated moisture content measurements. When the moisture content
reaches a
threshold measurement, the earth compaction engine 1140 instructs the water-
carrying
vehicle to halt the dispensing of water and instructs a compaction vehicle to
execute the
compaction routine. In some embodiments, the standby compaction vehicle that
measures
the moisture content is also configured to dispense water. In such
implementations, the earth
compaction engine may communicate the request directly to the standby vehicle,
rather than
the supplementary vehicle communicator 1150. The implementation described
above
regarding moisture content measurements may be implemented before every
execution of a
compaction routine.
[00240] In some embodiments, the compaction engine 1140 uses a measurement
sensor
coupled to an earth shaping vehicle to measure the smoothness of earth filled
into the fill
location, either before or after the execution of a compaction routine. If the
smoothness
measurement is determined be below a threshold level of smoothness, the
compaction engine
1140 communicates instructions for the supplementary vehicle communicator 1150
to
requires a supplementary vehicle configured with a tool, for example a dozer
to grade the
surface of earth filled into the fill location to be relatively smooth or
level. In some
embodiments in which earth is filled into the fill location in piles, the
supplementary vehicle
communicator 1150 may request a supplementary vehicle, for example a dozer or
another
vehicle with an earth moving tool, be dispatched to spread earth from those
piles throughout
the fill location.
VI.G AUTONOMOUS EARTH FILLING ROUTINE
[00241] FIG. 11C is a flowchart describing a process for one or more earth
shaping
vehicles to execute a filling routine, according to an embodiment. The
description of the
process illustrated in FIG. 11C is consistent with the functionality of the
various components
described with reference to the filling engine 830 in FIG. 10C. As described
above with
reference to FIG. 10C, the filling engine 830 executes a combination of
instructions to earth
shaping vehicles to cooperatively fill earth into a fill location and compact
the filled earth.
[00242] A central computer, for example an on-unit computer 120a or an off-
unit
computer 120b, for a first earth shaping vehicle navigates 1180 a first earth
shaping vehicle
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carrying a volume of earth, for example a hauling vehicle, to fill earth at
the fill location.
Based on a difference between a current volume of earth in a fill region and a
target volume
of earth in a fill region, the central computer 120 generates 1182 a target
tool path for filling
earth into the fill location. The central computer 120 may assess the volume
in particular
regions of earth and generate target tool paths for individual regions or a
single target tool
path for all regions that instructs the hauling vehicle to fill earth into
regions with the lowest
current volumes. Based on the generated target tool paths, the central
computer 120 executes
instructions to navigate 1184 the first earth shaping vehicle over the target
tool path to fill
earth into the fill location.
[00243] The central computer 120 also receives a target volume of earth for
each region
or, alternatively, for the entire fill location. At the conclusion of a target
tool path,
periodically during the execution of a target tool path, or both, the central
computer 120
measures a current volume of earth in the fill location. The central computer
120 compares
1186 the volume of filled earth to the target volume and if the volume of
filled earth
throughout the fill location is greater than the target fill level, the
central computer 120
concludes 1188 the target tool path. If the volume of filled earth is not
greater than the target
volume, the central computer 120 executes instructions for the first vehicle
115 to repeat
1190 the target tool path to fill earth while periodically checking the
updated volume of filled
earth against the target volume. If the central computer 120 generates
instructions to repeat
the target tool path for filling earth, the central computer 120 continues to
navigate 1184 the
first vehicle over the target tool path. Alternatively, if the volume of
filled earth is not greater
than or equal to a target volume, but the first vehicle is no longer carrying
earth to fill at the
fill location, the central computer 120 instructs a third vehicle 115 carrying
earth to navigate
to the same location as the first vehicle to fill earth and resume execution
of the filling
routine.
[00244] As the vehicle navigates over a target tool path for filling earth
into the fill
location, the central computer 120 receives compaction level measurements, for
example
measurements recorded by a compaction probe, describing the denseness of earth
in the fill
location. The central computer 120 may also receive a target compaction level
and compare
1192 the measured compaction level of filled earth to the target compaction
level. If the
measured compaction level is greater than the target compaction level, the
central computer
120 concludes 1194 the target tool path and instructs the first earth shaping
vehicle 115 to
exit the fill location. Alternatively, if the measured compaction level is
less than the target
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compaction level, the central computer 120 requests 1196 a second earth
shaping vehicle
configured with a compaction tool to compact earth in the fill location. In
some
implementations, the second earth shaping vehicle may be requested to compact
only certain
regions of the fill location. As the second earth shaping vehicle navigates
over a target tool
path to compact earth, the central computer 120 periodically checks or
measures the soil to
update its current compaction level and compare the current compaction level
to the target
compaction level.
VII. ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
[00245] It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the
present disclosure
have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear
understanding of the
present disclosure, while eliminating, for the purpose of clarity, many other
elements found in
a typical system. Those of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other
elements and/or
steps are desirable and/or required in implementing the present disclosure.
However, because
such elements and steps are well known in the art, and because they do not
facilitate a better
understanding of the present disclosure, a discussion of such elements and
steps is not
provided herein. The disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and
modifications to
such elements and methods known to those skilled in the art.
[00246] Some portions of above description describe the embodiments in
terms of
algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on information. These
algorithmic
descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled in the
data processing
arts to convey the substance of their work effectively to others skilled in
the art. These
operations, while described functionally, computationally, or logically, are
understood to be
implemented by computer programs or equivalent electrical circuits, microcode,
or the like.
Furthermore, it has also proven convenient at times, to refer to these
arrangements of
operations as engines, without loss of generality. The described operations
and their
associated engines may be embodied in software, firmware, hardware, or any
combinations
thereof.
[00247] As used herein any reference to "one embodiment" or "an
embodiment"
means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic
described in connection
with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of
the phrase
"in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily
all referring to
the same embodiment.
[00248] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes,"
"including,"

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"has," "having" or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-
exclusive
inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that
comprises a list of
elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include
other elements not
expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
Further, unless
expressly stated to the contrary, "or" refers to an inclusive or and not to an
exclusive or. For
example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is
true (or present)
and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or
present), and both
A and B are true (or present).
[00249] In addition, use of the "a" or "an" are employed to describe
elements and
components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and
to give a
general sense of the invention. This description should be read to include one
or at least one
and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is
meant otherwise.
[00250] While particular embodiments and applications have been
illustrated and
described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not
limited to the precise
construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes
and
variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in
the arrangement,
operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without
departing from
the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.
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