Autonomous control of powered earth-moving vehicles to implement controlled vehicle stoppage and shutdown
Systems and techniques are described for implementing autonomous control of powered earth-moving vehicles, including to automatically control movement of some or all of a powered earth-moving vehicle on a job site to conform with specified safety configuration data, such as to implement balancing of the vehicle(s) on non-level surfaces. For example, the safety configuration data may be used to move hydraulic arm(s) and/or attachment(s) of a vehicle while it is on a slope to prevent tipping or sliding, or to otherwise prevent moveable parts of a powered earth-moving vehicle (e.g., a rotatable chassis with a cabin; a tool attachment, such as a digging bucket, claw, hammer, blade, etc.; one or more hydraulic arms; etc.) from entering positions in three-dimensional (“3D”) space that are already occupied by other portions of the powered earth-moving vehicle (e.g., the chassis, tracks or wheels, etc.) and/or by other on-site obstacles.
1 . An autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system, comprising:
a bulldozer vehicle with a chassis, tracks, a blade tool attachment on a front of the chassis, a ripper tool attachment on a rear of the chassis, one or more first hydraulic arms between the chassis and the blade tool attachment, one or more second hydraulic arms between the chassis and the ripper tool attachment, first controls for manipulating movement of the tracks via at least a brake pedal and a decelerator pedal and a parking brake, second controls for manipulating the blade tool attachment via the one or more first hydraulic arms and the ripper tool attachment via the one or more second hydraulic arms, and piston displacement mechanisms capable of effecting movement of the first and second controls;
a microcontroller unit on the bulldozer vehicle that includes at least one hardware processor and is capable of effecting movement of the first and second controls via the piston displacement mechanisms; and
a control system on the bulldozer vehicle that includes software instructions executable by the microcontroller unit and is configured to perform automated operations including initiating, while the bulldozer vehicle is in motion and in response to a determination to perform controlled stopping of the bulldozer vehicle, autonomous operations of the bulldozer vehicle to perform a sequence of stopping actions, the stopping actions including at least:
concurrently activating the brake pedal and the decelerator pedal using one or more of the first controls via one or more of the piston displacement mechanisms until one or more criteria related to the motion of the bulldozer vehicle are satisfied, wherein the activating of the brake pedal includes applying one or more first amounts of force to the brake pedal for a first period of time, and wherein the activating of the decelerator pedal includes applying one or more second amounts of force to the decelerator pedal for a second period of time;
after the activating of the brake pedal and the decelerator pedal, lowering at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment using one or more of the second controls via at least one of the piston displacement mechanisms, wherein the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment includes applying one or more third amounts of force to the at least one piston displacement mechanism for a third period of time and ending with the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment being in contact with an underlying surface on which the bulldozer vehicle is positioned; and
after the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment, activating the parking brake using at least one of the first controls via one of the piston displacement mechanisms.
2 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the automated operations further include determining, while the bulldozer vehicle is in motion, an operating condition problem, wherein the determination to perform the controlled stopping is based at least in part on the determined operating condition problem, and wherein the determined operating condition problem includes at least one of the bulldozer vehicle overheating, or the bulldozer vehicle having a fuel level below a defined fuel threshold, or the bulldozer vehicle having a battery charge below a defined battery threshold, or the bulldozer vehicle experiencing a fault condition.
3 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the automated operations further include receiving, while the bulldozer vehicle is in motion, an instruction to halt the motion of the bulldozer vehicle, and wherein the determination to perform the controlled stopping is based at least in part on the received instruction.
4 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the activating of the brake pedal includes applying increasing first amounts of force to the brake pedal during the first period of time using a first exponential function until reaching a first maximum force threshold, and wherein the activating of the decelerator pedal includes applying increasing second amounts of force to the decelerator pedal during the second period of time using a second exponential function.
5 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the activating of the brake pedal includes determining an end of the first period of time based on at least one of a speed of the motion of the bulldozer vehicle being below a defined speed threshold or a first defined amount of time being reached, and wherein the activating of the decelerator pedal includes determining an end of the second period of time based on at least one of the speed of the motion of the bulldozer vehicle being below the defined speed threshold or a second defined amount of time being reached.
6 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment includes determining a pitch associated with the blade tool attachment, and using increasing third amounts of force according to an exponential function to lower the blade tool attachment during the third period of time until reaching at least one of a maximum force threshold or a maximum depth relative to the underlying surface.
7 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment includes determining a pitch associated with the ripper tool attachment, and using increasing third amounts of force according to an exponential function to lower the ripper tool attachment during the third period of time until reaching at least one of a maximum force threshold or a maximum depth relative to the underlying surface.
8 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment includes simultaneously lowering both the blade tool attachment and the ripper tool attachment and further includes determining an end of the third period of time based on at least one of a defined amount of time being reached or a defined third amount of force being reached or a defined first depth being reached of the blade tool attachment or a defined second depth being reached of the ripper tool attachment, and wherein the automated operations further include, after the lowering of the blade tool attachment and the ripper tool attachment, locking an entry door of a cabin on the chassis of the bulldozer vehicle.
9 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 further comprising:
a LiDAR component that is mounted on the bulldozer vehicle and configured to obtain LiDAR data indicating a plurality of three-dimensional (“3D”) points on surfaces of at least some of a job site on which the bulldozer vehicle is located;
one or more GPS antennas mounted at one or more positions on the chassis and capable of receiving GPS signals for use in determining GPS coordinates of at least some of the chassis; and
one or more first position sensors mounted on at least one of the one or more first hydraulic arms between the chassis and the blade tool attachment and configured to detect one or more first angles between the chassis and the at least one first hydraulic arm, one or more second position sensors mounted on at least one of the one or more second hydraulic arms between the chassis and the ripper tool attachment and configured to detect one or more second angles between the chassis and the at least one second hydraulic arms one or more third position sensors mounted on the blade tool attachment and configured to detect one or more third angles between the blade tool attachment and the at least one first hydraulic arm, and one or more fourth position sensors mounted on the ripper tool attachment and configured to detect one or more fourth angles between the ripper tool attachment and the at least one second hydraulic arm.
10 . The autonomous vehicle controlled stopping system of claim 1 wherein the control system is configured to implement at least some automated operations of an earth-moving vehicle autonomous operations control system, and wherein the concurrently activating the brake pedal and the decelerator pedal, and the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment, and the activating of the parking brake are performed autonomously without receiving human input and without receiving external signals other than GPS signals and real-time kinematic (RTK) correction signals.
11 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
initiating, by one or more configured hardware processors and in response to a determination to halt motion of a powered earth-moving vehicle on a job site, activation of one or more first controls of the powered earth-moving vehicle that inhibit movement of at least one of wheels or tracks of the powered earth-moving vehicle via application of a varying first amount of force over a first period of time, wherein the powered earth-moving vehicle includes a chassis, and at least one of a front tool attachment or a rear tool attachment, and one or more second controls to manipulate the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment, and wherein the activation of the one or more first controls includes concurrently activating one or more decelerator or brake pedals of the powered earth-moving vehicle;
lowering, by the one or more configured hardware processors and after the initiating of the activation of the one or more first controls, the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment using one or more of the second controls via application of a varying second amount of force over a second period of time and ending with the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment being in contact with an underlying surface on which the powered earth-moving vehicle is positioned; and
initiating, by the one or more configured hardware processors and after the lowering of the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment, activating of a parking control on the powered earth-moving vehicle using at least one of the one or more first controls.
12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the powered earth-moving vehicle is a bulldozer having a ripper tool as the rear tool attachment and having a blade tool as the front tool attachment, wherein the parking control is a parking brake, and wherein the one or more first controls manipulate movement of a brake pedal of the bulldozer and a decelerator pedal of the bulldozer.
13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising, by the one or more configured hardware processors, performing the determination to halt the motion of the powered earth-moving vehicle, including determining to perform controlled stopping of the powered earth-moving vehicle, and initiating a sequence of stopping actions that include the activation of the one or more first controls and the lowering of the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment and the activation of the parking control.
14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 further comprising, by the one or more configured hardware processors and while the powered earth-moving vehicle is in motion, performing the determination to halt the motion of the powered earth-moving vehicle based at least in part on a determined operating condition problem, wherein the activation of the one or more first controls and the lowering of the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment and the activating of the parking control is are performed based at least in part on the determined operating condition problem, and wherein the determined operating condition problem includes at least one of the powered earth-moving vehicle overheating, or the powered earth-moving vehicle having a fuel level below a defined fuel threshold, or the powered earth-moving vehicle having a battery charge below a defined battery threshold, or the powered earth-moving vehicle experiencing a fault condition.
15 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the activation of the one or more first controls includes applying increasing amounts of force to a brake pedal during the first period of time using an exponential function until at least one of reaching a maximum force threshold, or a speed of the motion of the powered earth-moving vehicle being below a defined speed threshold, or a defined amount of time being reached.
16 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the lowering of the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment includes determining a difference in height between the underlying surface and the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment, and using increasing amounts of force to lower the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment during the second period of time using an exponential function until reaching at least one of a maximum force threshold or a maximum depth relative to the underlying surface or a defined amount of time being reached or a defined height being reached of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment, and wherein the automated operations further include, after the lowering of the at least one of the blade tool attachment or the ripper tool attachment, locking an entry door of a cabin on the chassis of the powered earth-moving vehicle.
17 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein at least one of the one or more hardware processors is a low-voltage microcontroller that is located on the powered earth-moving vehicle and is configured to implement at least some automated operations of an earth-moving vehicle autonomous operations control system by executing software instructions of the earth-moving vehicle autonomous operations control system, and wherein the activation of the one or more first controls and the lowering of the at least one of the front tool attachment or the rear tool attachment and the activation activating of the parking control are performed autonomously without receiving human input and without receiving external signals other than GPS signals and real-time kinematic (RTK) correction signals.
18 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein the powered earth-moving vehicle is one of a bulldozer vehicle or a wheel loader vehicle or a track loader vehicle or a skid steer loader vehicle or a motorized grader vehicle or a farm tractor vehicle or an excavator vehicle.