Autonomous excavator has developed rapidly in recent years because of a shortage of labor and hazardous working environments for operating excavators. Presented herein are embodiments of a novel hierarchical planning system for autonomous machines, such as excavators. In one or more embodiments, the overall planning system comprises a high-level task planner for task division and base movement planning, and general sub-task planners with motion primitives, which include both arm and base movement in the case of an excavator. Using embodiments of the system architecture, experiments were performed for the trench and pile removal tasks in the real world and for the large-scale material loading tasks in a simulation environment. The results show that the system architecture embodiments and planner method embodiments generate effective task and motion plans that perform well in autonomous excavation.

Vehicle control systems and modules are disclosed herein. In an embodiment, a vehicle control module includes a first module connector configured to connect to a vehicle in place of a vehicle input device configured to control an operational part of the vehicle, a second module connector configured to connect to the vehicle input device, and an electronic controller configured to (i) receive an input command regarding the operational part of the vehicle from the vehicle input device connected via the second module connector, (ii) modify the input command, and (iii) transmit the modified input command to the vehicle via the first module connector to cause the vehicle to operate the operational part in accordance with the modified input command.

The present disclosure provides various aspects for mobile and automated processing utilizing additive manufacturing and the methods for their utilization. In some examples, discrete material formats for use in an Additive Manufacturing Array are disclosed. Methods of using the additive manufacturing robot, discrete materials, and the roadways produced with the additive manufacturing robot are provided. A combined function Addibot, with Additive Manufacturing capabilities, cleaning capabilities, line painting capabilities and seal coating capabilities which may be used in concert with a camera equipped aerial drone for design and characterization function is described.

A system and method are provided for assisting transport vehicle drivers in material discharge for optimized working at a worksite by work machines such as dozers. A first user interface associated with the work machine accesses a map comprising three-dimensional data corresponding to at least a portion of the worksite. User input is received via the first user interface corresponding to desired discharge location(s) in the worksite to be worked, and output signals are generated for modifying a display on a second user interface associated with the transport vehicle, said modifications corresponding to the received user input and for directing the transport vehicle to the desired discharge locations. The two vehicles may share a common mapping unit such that input from the work machine is applied substantially in real-time at the transport vehicle. Alternatively, the inputs may be translated across mapping units to generate appropriate positioning instructions.

A power machine can be configured to automatically travel along a planned path based on pursuit of a target point. A location of the target point along the planned path can be determined based one or more of local curvature of the planned path or travel speed of the power machine. In some cases, a circular buffer can be used to store mapping data.

A system and a method for remotely controlling a vehicle for safe loading and unloading of cargo, may include a vehicle, and a remote control device that performs data communication with the vehicle control device of the vehicle, and the vehicle sends a request to the remote control device for remote control when arriving at a destination, moves to a work location and performs work under control of the remote control device, requests the remote control device to deactivate the remote control when the work is completed, and performs exit of the destination through autonomous driving of the vehicle.

A self-propelled construction machine comprises a machine frame having a working means arranged thereon, and a drive means for driving left and right crawler tracks at respective predetermined chain speeds. A control unit is configured such that, based on a distance between a front reference point with respect to the machine frame in the working direction and a predetermined path, the chain speed(s) of the left and/or right crawler track is predetermined such that the front reference point moves on the predetermined path. The control unit is further configured such that, during cornering, the control is corrected based on a distance between a rear reference point with respect to the machine frame in the working direction and the predetermined path such that the distance between the rear reference point with respect to the machine frame in the working direction and the predetermined path is reduced.

A management system for a transport vehicle includes a storage unit that stores a traveling path outline indicating an outline of a traveling path at a work site and an intersection outline indicating an outline of an intersection at the work site, a designation unit that designates a start point of traveling of the transport vehicle at the work site and an end point of traveling of the transport vehicle, and a connection unit that generates a traveling area outline by connecting the traveling path outline and the intersection outline on the basis of the start point and the end point designated by the designation unit.

A marking apparatus includes a marking apparatus main body including a target, a traveling mechanism for automatically traveling on a traveling surface, and a printer, and a control unit configured to control the printer and the mechanism. The control unit controls the traveling so that the mechanism automatically travels along a set traveling route, the control unit compares position coordinates of the marking apparatus main body obtained from three-dimensional position coordinates of the target during traveling input at predetermined intervals with the traveling route, and corrects traveling to eliminate a deviation from the traveling route, the control unit controls the printer so as to print the marking information set at a position corresponding to the position coordinates of the marking apparatus main body, and traveling route data setting the traveling route and marking information data defining the marking information are created based on CAD design data.

Non-line of sight (NLOS) remote control for machines is accomplished by a remote-control station with cellular connectivity to run multiple machines remotely. However, NLOS is expensive and may not work in areas with low cell tower coverage. Accordingly, the present disclosure pertains to providing on-machine remote control to operators of machines at a worksite. The on-machine remote control allows one machine to actively control another machine through connectivity between those two machines. For example, a tractor operator may use on-machine remote control to take control of a compactor, such that the compactor may be run using the tractor controls.