Kinematics and Trajectory Planning for Robotic Excavation

Abstract

One of the high volume and repetitive construction operations at the construction site is the excavation of soil. Automation of the excavation work requires a robotic system that is able to perform the planned digging work and responsive to interaction forces experienced during excavation. This paper describes the kinematics approach and trajectory planning of an excavator. The kinematics is based on the use of trigonometry instead of homogeneous transformations. For determining the soil resistance, the effect of type of soil on digging is analyzed. The soil resistance determines the scooping depth, and the orientation of the bucket depends on the digging direction.