Robotic Rock Handling During Backhoe Excavation

Excavation of solid and rock is a high volume and repetitive construction operation. Research in robotic excavation has been focusing mainly on path planning and path control. Very little is known about how to detect and handle underground obstacles such as rocks or utility lines robotically. This paper introduces a research facility to study robotic backhoe excavation using a heavy duty hydraulically powered computer controlled manipulator. Conventional excavation methods and an existing telerobotic excavator are introduced. The control system for this robotic back hoe is based on multiple sensors for force, acceleration and position measurements. The same set of sensors are also used for obstacle detection, recognition and mapping. An approach for the detection and the recognition of removable obstacle is discussed. Contour mapping procedures have been developed to provide a partial surface map of buried obstacle.