Control improvement for advanced construction equipment

Advancements in the control of construction equipment can have significant benefits in the industry. Better control can lead to improvements in safety, cost, labor turnover, and productivity. It is helpful to characterize improvements in a control system using performance tests. Results of such tests provide a means of comparing control systems. Research at The University of Texas at Austin has resulted in the development of tests to characterize improvements in the control of a large-scale manipulator (LSM). Tests have shown that autonomous control of the LSM has better performance capability than manual control for well-defined movements or simple tasks. However, computer-enhanced manual control is still required for operation in a typical construction environment. Object-oriented programming was used to implement computer-assisted operation modes that enhance the LSM's performance. This paper discusses the development of performance tests for characterizing control systems for LSMs. The new computer-assisted operation modes also are explained. A description is included identifying lessons learned during this research that should be considered during future development of LSMs.