Development and experimental investigation of an automatic control system for an excavator

Excavators are widely used at various construction sites, and they can significantly reduce difficulties during construction and improve construction efficiency. However, conventional excavators still exhibit many shortcomings. In certain construction environments that require precision, the construction accuracy cannot be guaranteed because excavators usually operate in harsh environments. Hence, they can cause potential life hazards to the drivers in certain situations. To address these issues, an excavator automatic control system is developed via retrofitting, modelling, and designing a control program for an excavator. This system can realise three working modes: manual operation, remote control operation, and automatic operation. A test prototype based on the aforementioned concept is developed and relevant experiments are performed. The results under automatic operation mode show that the automatic control system can move the excavator smoothly along the expected trajectory. The fluctuation in the operation velocity is low, and the positioning error to the target position is within 7 cm. Thus, the system can realise the desired control accuracy and satisfy other task design requirements.