The State of the Art in Automation of Earthmoving

A recent trend towards greater automation of earthmoving machines, such as backhoes, loaders, and dozers, reflects a larger movement in the construction industry to improve productivity, efficiency and safety. This document reviews related work in various disciplines drawn upon by researchers--- soil mechanics, computer graphics, kinematic and dynamical modeling, optimization, control and decision theory. A taxonomy is suggested into which various automated systems reported in the literature, can be classified. Key Words: automation, earthmoving, excavation, soil-tool interaction, kinematic and dynamical modeling, tactical and strategic planning, tele-operation, trajectory control. In ASCE Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Vol 10, # 4, October 1997 ASCE 1 1 Introduction Industries such as mining and construction in which earthmoving plays a fundamental role are constantly under pressure to improve productivity (amount of work done), efficiency (cost of work done in terms of labor ..