Trajectory generation for an automated excavator

Abstract

For autonomous excavating, the trajectories should be generated for specific tasks for an excavator. We generate the trajectory using virtual motion camouflage (VMC). For trajectory generation, kinematics of the target excavator are derived and VMC method is formulated. Two simulations are conducted. One is trajectory generation for a manipulator of the excavator to avoid obstacles, and the other is to excavate. From the results of simulations, we can obtain sub-optimized trajectories and show that VMC can be used to generate the trajectory for an excavator.