US-12618228-B2 - Method and device for controlling excavator

US12618228B2US 12618228 B2US12618228 B2US 12618228B2US-12618228-B2

Abstract

A method for controlling an excavator includes obtaining height information indicating a height according to a plane coordinate of a target object; obtaining, based on the height information, bend information of the target object according to a plurality of orientation angles which are angles between a reference direction and orientations direction of a bucket; determining, based on the bend information, volumes which can be dug corresponding to the plurality of orientation angles; determining, based on the volumes which can be dug, one or more orientation angles among the plurality of orientation angles; and digging according to the one or more orientation angles.

Inventors

Sungsu KIM
JiYun Kim

Assignees

Volvo Autonomous Solutions AB

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20201228

Claims (15)

1 . A method for controlling an excavator, comprising: obtaining height information indicating a height according to a plane coordinate of a target object; defining a plurality of distinct orientation angles; wherein each orientation angle is an angle between a reference direction and an orientation direction of a bucket; obtaining, based on the height information, bend information of the target object for each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles, wherein obtaining the bend information includes dividing a scan area corresponding to the orientation angle into a plurality of pile areas and determining values indicating an average height per pile area of the target object for each of the plurality of pile areas; determining, based on the bend information, a respective volume which can be dug corresponding to each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles; determining, based on the respective determined volumes, one or more orientation angles from among the defined plurality of orientation angles; and digging according to the one or more determined orientation angles.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more determined orientation angles include an orientation angle corresponding to a largest volume which can be dug among the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining a respective volume which can be dug corresponding to each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles comprises: determining scan areas corresponding to each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles; and determining as the respective volumes which can be dug volumes of the target object overlapped in the determined scan areas.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the bend information includes information of inclination angles of the target object overlapped in the determined scan areas, and the inclination angles corresponding to the one or more determined orientation angles fall within a predetermined range.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the one or more determined orientation angles include an orientation angle corresponding to a greatest inclination angle among the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles.
6 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of determining, based on the respective determined volumes, one or more orientation angles from among the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles comprises: determining, using the bend information, orientation angles within a range where inclination angles of the target object fall within a predetermined range among the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles; and determining the one or more orientation angles from among the orientation angles within the range based on the respective determined volumes that can be dug and the inclination angles.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the digging according to the one or more determined orientation angles comprises: determining scan areas corresponding to the one or more determined orientation angles; determining a low point in the determined scan areas based on bend information corresponding to the determined scan areas; and performing digging such that the digging starts at the low point.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the low point includes a point where the target object has a lowest height in the determined scan areas.
9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the low point is less than an average height of the target object in the determined scan areas by a predetermined value or more, and a rate of change of height of the target object in the determined scan areas corresponds to 0.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the height information includes values indicating an average height per unit area of the target object.
11 . A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the method of claim 1 .
12 . A device for controlling an excavator, comprising: a receiving part which obtains height information indicating a height according to a plane coordinate of a target object; and a processor which defines a plurality of distinct orientation angles, wherein each orientation angle is an angle between a reference direction and an orientation direction of a bucket, obtains, based on the height information, bend information of the target object for each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles, determines, based on the bend information, a respective volume which can be dug corresponding to each of the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles, determines, based on the respective determined volumes, one or more orientation angles from among the defined plurality of orientation angles, and requests to dig according to the one or more determined orientation angles, wherein the bend information is obtained by dividing a scan area corresponding to the orientation angle into a plurality of pile areas and determining values indicating an average height per pile area of the target object for each of the plurality of pile areas.
13 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the one or more determined orientation angles include an orientation angle corresponding to a largest volume which can be dug among the defined plurality of distinct orientation angles.
14 . The device of claim 12 , wherein the processor determines scan areas corresponding to each of the defined plurality of orientation angles, and determines as the respective volumes which can be dug volumes of the target object overlapped in the determined scan areas.
15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the bend information includes information of inclination angles of the target object overlapped in the determined scan areas, and the inclination angles corresponding to the one or more determined orientation angles fall within a predetermined range.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage application of PCT International Application No. PCT/KR2020/019175 filed on Dec. 28, 2020, the disclosure and content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a method and a device for controlling an excavator. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and a device capable of effectively digging according to one or more orientation angles based on bend information of a target object according to a plurality of orientation angles. BACKGROUND In general, the excavation work of excavators is controlled by operators' manual operation. The operation of excavators is complicated, and the operation techniques of each operator are different. Thus, the outcome of excavation depends on operators. Accordingly, there are demands for autonomous excavation techniques that can solve the aforementioned problems and accurately determine the site and trace for excavation. SUMMARY An embodiment of the present disclosure is to solve the aforementioned problems of prior art, and provides a method and a device capable of effectively digging according to one or more orientation angles based on bend information of a target object according to a plurality of orientation angles. The object of the present disclosure is not limited to the aforementioned object, and other objects that are not mentioned can be clearly understood from the following description. A method for controlling an excavator according to a first aspect of the present disclosure comprises obtaining height information indicating a height according to a plane coordinate of a target object; obtaining, based on the height information, bend information of the target object according to a plurality of orientation angles which are angles between a reference direction and orientation directions of a bucket; determining, based on the bend information, volumes which can be dug corresponding to the plurality of orientation angles; determining, based on the volumes which can be dug, one or more orientation angles among the plurality of orientation angles; and digging according to the one or more orientation angles. Also, the one or more orientation angles may include an orientation angle corresponding to a largest volume which can be dug among the plurality of orientation angles. Also, the determining volumes which can be dug may comprise determining scan areas corresponding to the plurality of orientation angles; and determining as the volumes which can be dug volumes of the target object overlapped in the scan areas. Also, the bend information may include information of inclination angles of the target object overlapped in the scan areas, and the inclination angles corresponding to the one or more orientation angles may fall within a predetermined range. Also, the one or more orientation angles may include an orientation angle corresponding to a greatest inclination angle among the plurality of orientation angles. Also, the determining the one or more orientation angles may comprise determining, using the bend information, orientation angles within a range where inclination angles of the target object fall within a predetermined range among the plurality of orientation angles; and determining the one or more orientation angles among the orientation angles within the range based on the volumes which can be dug and the inclination angles. Also, the digging according to the one or more orientation angles may comprise determining scan areas corresponding to the one or more orientation angles; determining a low point in the scan areas based on bend information corresponding to the scan areas; and performing digging such that the digging starts at the low point. Also, the low point may include a point where the target object has a lowest height in the scan areas. Also, the low point may be less than an average height of the target object in the scan areas by a predetermined value or more, and the rate of change of height of the target object in the scan areas may correspond to 0. Also, the height information may include values indicating an average height per unit area of the target object. A device for controlling an excavator according to a second aspect of the present disclosure comprises a receiving part which obtains height information indicating a height according to a plane coordinate of a target object; and a processor which obtains, based on the height information, bend information of the target object according to a plurality of orientation angles which are angles between a reference direction and orientation directions of a bucket, determines, based on the bend information, volumes which can be dug corresponding to the plurality of orientation angles, determines, based on the volumes which can be dug, one or more orientation angles among the plurality of orientation angles, and requests to