KINEMATICS AND TRAJECTORY PLANNING FOR ROBOTIC EXCAVATION. IN: PREPARING FOR CONSTRUCTION IN THE 21ST CENTURY, PROCEEDINGS OF CONSTRUCTION CONGRESS '91, SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS AND THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, APRIL 13-16, 1991

Abstract

Automation of excavation work requires a robotic system that is able to perform the planned digging work and that is 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.