Path Following Control of Motor Graders
Project Overview
Motor graders play in a crucial role in the efficient operation of any mining operation, especially in underground applications. The moldboard (blade) passes over the ground to smooth uneven terrain so other vehicles can operate under nominal conditions. However, to position the blade in all orientations required on site, motor graders have highly redundant kinematics for moldboard control, as well as driving. As a result, graders are the last stalwart to full mine automation. Multiple times a day, autonomous mining zones must be shut down so a human operator can grade the path. But with 4 driving inputs (speed, articulation angle, steering angle, wheel pitch), and 5 moldboard inputs, manual grading is often inefficient.
This is the culmination of my NSERC USRA - see the full paper in the proceedings for the Canadian Conference on Robotics and Vision (CRV link) Big thanks to my supervisor Dr. Joshua Marshall @ Offroad Robotics, for his invaluable support and guidance.