CORDIS provides links to public deliverables and publications of HORIZON projects.
Links to deliverables and publications from FP7 projects, as well as links to some specific result types such as dataset and software, are dynamically retrieved from OpenAIRE .
Exploitable results
The role of the positioning sub-system is to locate precisely and in real-time the paver and to get the exact geometrical description of the layer currently being spread. For that purpose, different technologies are addressed, in order to provide the best possible solution, with regards to the specific constraints of the paving site:
a novel 6D laser-based technology, capable of generating continuously and automatically sets of 6 spatial co-ordinates (" LaserGuide " system), with an excellent accuracy in terms of elevation,
the RTK-GPS technology, as for CIRCOM, combined with inclinometer measurements, for paving works less demanding in terms of elevation accuracy.
However, the accuracy in elevation that it is possible to achieve with a GPS receiver does not meet the requirements for most pavement layers. So the first technology integrated on CIRPAV is the Laserguide. The accuracy obtained thanks to this instrument, used together with a speed encoder, and a real-time processing software based on an extended Kalman filtering, is ± 5 mm in height.
The CIRCOM system comprises sensor, radio-transmitter and computer equipment on-board each machine, as well as ground equipment, common to the whole work-site.
The CIRCOM system, both in its mono-compactor and multi-compactors versions, has been successfully experimented on several work-sites and is ready for large scale production.
The ground subsystem for compactors is a piece of software developed for Windows NT, as this is likely to be the most common operating system for design software in the near future. All the information is stored in a commercial relational database, as these already have all management functionality needed, including authorising, user roles, backup and networking.
Two main objectives have been reached with the CIRCOM ground subsystem software. First, this software allows the user to complete the information from the existing road design system, and to define the expected parameter values (number of passes, speed,) for the mission preparation of the CIRCOM. Secondly, this software allows the user to compare the different parameters of the built road structure to the planned one. This means a real improvement on the efficiency and quality of work checking process.
This software has been tested several times and validated during on-site experimentation of CIRC project. The condition of use of the CIRCOM ground subsystem during this experimentation was very close of the real working condition the final product will have to face of.
The ground subsystem for pavers is a piece of software developed for Windows NT, as this is likely to be the most common operating system for design software in the near future. All the information is stored in a commercial relational database, as these already have all management functionality needed, including authorising, user roles, backup and networking. As the functions of CIRCOM and CIRPAV ground subsystems are very close, the have been combined in a single subsystem including all functions.
Two main objectives have been reached with the CIRPAV ground subsystem software. First, this software allows the user to complete the information from the existing road design system, and to define the expected parameter values (thickness of the layer) for the mission preparation of the CIRPAV. Secondly, this software allows the user to compare the different parameters of the built road structure to the planned one. This means a real improvement on the efficiency and quality of work checking process.
This software has been tested internally but needs further testing and validation during on-site experimentation. The final experimentation of the CIRC project will allow us to perform such tests.
These tasks are performed by robust, industrial PC equipped with high brightness colour LCD screen, PCMCIA removable media and reduced keyboard. The achieved work data are exchanged between compactors through a radio link.
To simplify the learning process, the MMI's principle is to refer to the driver's experience. For example the auto-scrolling vector map with its own machine in the middle corresponds to the environment seen through the cabin window, familiar round gauges are used to represent numerical values and only short textual messages are used. 16 keys are used; each of them has one, specific function, for example the driver can with one key switch between presentation of his own work, or work performed by the whole fleet.
This kind of user interface requires more effort designing and implementing, but proved to be easy to learn and use for the people with little or no experience using computers.
These tasks are performed by robust, industrial PC equipped with high brightness colour LCD screen, PCMCIA removable media and reduced keyboard. The achieved work data are exchanged between compactors through a radio link.
To simplify the learning process, the MMI's principle is to refer to the driver's experience. For example the auto-scrolling vector map with its own machine in the middle corresponds to the environment seen through the cabin window, familiar round gauges are used to represent numerical values and only short textual messages are used. 16 keys are used; each of them has one, specific function, for example the driver can with one key switch between presentation of his own work, or work performed by the whole fleet.
This kind of user interface requires more effort designing and implementing, but proved to be easy to learn and use for the people with little or no experience using computers.
The CIRC System for pavers aims at :
- improving the quality of the paving process by providing to the operators and to the control systems of the paver, in real-time, both reference data, coming directly from the CAD study, and actual position / altitude of the screed,
- increasing the productivity of the paver thanks to a simplification of the levelling process.
To achieve this goal, the CIRPAV System will provide the users with several main functions :
- to display continuously to the screed-man, on an ergonomic man-machine interface, both actual position of the working tool (screed) and target position that should be performed,
- to propose to the operator a manual mode where the control of the screed remains completely manual, and an automatic mode where the screed would be automatically levelled,
- to display continuously to the driver of the paver, on an ergonomic man/machine interface, indications to help him to maintain its vehicle on the correct trajectory,
- to record, during the work and before compaction, the appropriate data and to offer post-processing modules which will output control indicators of the quality of the achieved work, from the recorded data.
A specific chariot, or trailer, has been designed and built, in order to install the LaserGuide head and other positioning sensors. This chariot has the following characteristics :
it is 4 m high, to allow the laser beams to be in direct line-of-sight with the beacons, even when the compactors working behind the paver are close to the chariot;
it allows to measure the plan which is tangent to the surface of the layer : it ensures that the plan attached to the laser theodolite is parallel, at a constant distance, to the plan which is tangent to the road;
it is able to skid or roll on hot asphalt without getting stick nor leaving marks on the surface;
it follows the trajectory of the paver : by applying a known translation and rotation, one can compute the plan position of the screed;
it doesn't transmit nor generate vibrations to the LaserGuide head;
it can be mounted and dismantled rapidly by the work site staff;
it supports other equipment necessary to the measuring system, in particular a wheel with an encoder, a PC box, battery.
The CIRC System for compactor aims at degrees :
- Improving the quality of compaction on a work-site by avoiding under-compacted or over compacted zones and helping to follow better the work of the compactors ;
- increasing the productivity of the compactor thanks to an optimization of its activity.
To achieve this goal, the CIRC System provides the users with two main functions :
- assistance to the driver of a compactor in his work by allowing him to visualize in real time and thanks to an on-board interface the global progress stage of the compaction task in the proximity of the compactor ;
- possibility to evaluate the quality of the compaction work achieved during a given period wherever on the site, and possibility to recover information about the functioning of the compactors (efficiency, number of stops...).
The CIRCOM system comprises sensor, radio-transmitter and computer equipment on-board each machine, as well as ground equipment, common to the whole work-site.
The CIRCOM system, both in its mono-compactor and multi-compactors versions, has been successfully experimented on several work-sites and is ready for large scale production.
The role of the positioning sub-system is to locate precisely and in real-time the compactor by using state-of-the-art Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, in real-time kinematic (RTK) mode. It was decided to couple dead-reckoning sensors to the GPS unit, dead-reckoning localization being mainly activated during "GPS shadowing" phases (under bridges, near high buildings...), and used as complementary information when the GPS works.
The dead-reckoning sensor set-up includes a fibre-optic gyrometer, dedicated to measure the rotational speed, in addition to two sensors dedicated to velocity (or displacement) measurements: an encoder, mounted in one of the drums of the machine, and a Doppler radar speedometer. To get the best from the instruments, an extended Kalman filter is used, running at the rate of 25 Hz.
The precision of the positioning is kept below 0.2 m even during "shadow zones" up to 100 m long.
The CIRC System for pavers aims at :
- improving the quality of the paving process by providing to the operators and to the control systems of the paver, in real-time, both reference data, coming directly from the CAD study, and actual position / altitude of the screed,
- increasing the productivity of the paver thanks to a simplification of the levelling process.
To achieve this goal, the CIRPAV System will provide the users with several main functions :
- to display continuously to the screed-man, on an ergonomic man-machine interface, both actual position of the working tool (screed) and target position that should be performed,
- to propose to the operator a manual mode where the control of the screed remains completely manual, and an automatic mode where the screed would be automatically levelled,
- to display continuously to the driver of the paver, on an ergonomic man/machine interface, indications to help him to maintain its vehicle on the correct trajectory,
- to record, during the work and before compaction, the appropriate data and to offer post-processing modules which will output control indicators of the quality of the achieved work, from the recorded data.
The role of the positioning sub-system is to locate precisely and in real-time the paver and to get the exact geometrical description of the layer currently being spread. For that purpose, different technologies are addressed, in order to provide the best possible solution, with regards to the specific constraints of the paving site:
a novel 6D laser-based technology, capable of generating continuously and automatically sets of 6 spatial co-ordinates (" LaserGuide " system), with an excellent accuracy in terms of elevation,
the RTK-GPS technology, as for CIRCOM, combined with inclinometer measurements, for paving works less demanding in terms of elevation accuracy.
However, the accuracy in elevation that it is possible to achieve with a GPS receiver does not meet the requirements for most pavement layers. So the first technology integrated on CIRPAV is the Laserguide. The accuracy obtained thanks to this instrument, used together with a speed encoder, and a real-time processing software based on an extended Kalman filtering, is ± 5 mm in height.
The main result is production of an automatic theodolite instrument based on semiconductor laser technology whose performance as a tool for spatial measurement matches, and in some respects exceeds, that of any existing commercial instrument. It can measure spatial direction vectors to any number of targets in its 360° field of view within one second of time, and from these determine the 3-D position of each target.
For a ground-based theodolite and vehicle-mounted target array, automatic machine guidance can be effected in applications such as tunnelling and road construction.
For the theodolite mounted on the machine, an active field beacon has been developed that automatically tracks the moving theodolite. The function of each of an array of such beacons when struck by a scanning laser beam is to transmit a short -pulse laser signal back to the theodolite. These return pulses provide spatial data to the theodolite from which it derives its own 6-D position and attitude co-ordinates as well as those of the machine on which it is mounted.
The working prototype (as yet not industrialised) can produce millimetric position accuracy in X, Y and Z, and an accuracy of 1 to 2 milliradians in roll, pitch and heading.
Searching for OpenAIRE data...
There was an error trying to search data from OpenAIRE
No results available