Improvement of the horizontal directional drilling method by using an autonomous land vehicle with a radio direction finding system

This article discusses the improvement in the horizontal directional drilling method (HDD) by using an autonomous land vehicle (ALV) with a radio directional finding (RDF) system. The ALV with an RDF system carrying a receiver can locate a moving or static underground drill head and track it. Not limited to a pre-determined track or path, the ALV system utilizes its on board RDF system instantaneously to seek and to track a moving or static drill head. Compared to conventional systems, the system reduces the number of operators, minimizes labor costs, prevents accidents, and enhances the degree of automation. The design of the RDF system and how to locate a target are considered in this article. To overcome the difficulty in obtaining the precise dynamic model of the ALV with the RDF system, a “fuzzy logic controller” is designed to control such a system and make the system capable of tracking a target. Experimental results verify that such an RDF ALV system can track a moving or static target.