Automated Earthmoving Status Determination

Efforts are underway at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop automated non-intrusive production measurement systems and procedures for monitoring the status of general earthmoving operations at typical construction sites. The approach involves the use of auto- registered Lidar range sensing systems, wireless communications, high speed networking, temporal project databases, web-based data analysis and 3D user interfaces to provide useful derivative quantities to the earthmoving contractor while at the actual construction site. These same techniques may prove useful for planning and execution of remote, autonomous excavation on other planets. Present research is focused on developing methods for automated registration of independent 2-1/2D range data, automated volumetric calculations, including cut/fill requirements and amounts of raw material removed or placed, and web-based 3D site simulators which reflect the instant terrain geometry. This paper discusses the methods employed to achieve this capability and plans currently underway for daily construction monitoring at a $6M process plant in the spring of 2000.