Tunneling by Robot Shield Driving Automatic Control System

We have developed the shield driving automatic control system “SDACS” which has been introduced into a number of projects for realizing sophisticated constructions. In Japan, the mud pressure type shield (MP shield) method has become widespread as it is suitable for a variety of types of soil. But this type of shield method suffers from slow development of the execution control technology, which gives rise to such drawbacks as ground settlement. Now we have established the execution control technology and the automated control system for the shield machine by utilizing computers. This paper outlines the SDACS, describing the ‘face control system’ of the MP shield and introducing applications of this system for three different underground excavation methods.