RATIONALIZATION OF ASPHALT PAVING WORK USING ROBOT ASPHALT PAVER: IMAGE-PROCESSING, FUZZY-CONTROLLED PAVER

摘要

A robot paver equipped with image processing system and fuzzy computer controls was developed, resulting in labor savings, reduction of skilled labor and hard manual work, and rationalization of asphalt paving work. Because the paving conditions in Japan change frequently, considerable labor is necessary for paving operations, such as control of paving thickness and width, asphalt mix feeding, and steering operations. This demands a heavy work load and a high level of skill of operators and screedmen ; it also affects the work load of subsequent manual operations, such as shoveling and raking. To solve these problems, a robot asphalt paver was developed. By analyzing construction work factors, this total system paver automates, preprocesses material transport, and postprocesses manual operations (such as shoveling and raking). The features of new automatic functions applied to the robot paver are (a) automatic feeding of asphalt mix to the working equipment, (b) automatic control of the paving thickness, (c) automatic screed extension control, (d) automatic steering control, and (e) semi-automation of asphalt-mix receiving process.