A study on position measurement system using laser range finder for excavation machine head hung by wires

This paper describes the development of the high accuracy and low cost position measurement system using Laser Range Finder (LRF) and its application to the situation detection and the navigation system for the excavation machine head hung by wires in construction. First, to detect the machine position and rotation angle except for obstacles, the center of four cylindrical objects that were installed on hanging wires was measured by LRF and the location of machine head under excavating water was geometrically calculated from the relationships of distance between the objects. The centers of object were estimated by the maximum likelihood estimation method. Next, the monitor system enabled to indicate the situation of driving machine and navigation system introduced the machine to the excavating position was developed. As a result, the situation detection and the navigation of excavation machine head was able to perform practically, and the possibility to contribute on the quality control and the work efficiency in the excavating work were obtained. In this paper, the basic algorithm of position measurement method for situation detection with obstacles and its calculation process with cylindrical objects and LRF, and its application results in construction site were indicated.