SE1530129A1

SE1530129A1 - A system for optimal utilization of substance transport units and substance moving units within a geographically definedarea

Info

Publication number: SE1530129A1
Application number: SE1530129A
Authority: SE
Inventors: nordlund Mats
Original assignee: Ytterbia Innovation Ab
Priority date: 2015-09-01
Filing date: 2015-09-01
Publication date: 2017-03-02
Also published as: WO2017039514A1; SE544239C2

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for optimal utilization of transport units and substance moving units within a geographical area, the system comprising at least one substance moving unit and two or more substance transport units, and a central server, the central server comprising a processing unit for processing of the data received from the substance moving unit and transport unit, for calculating an optimal substance moving rate for the substance moving unit and an optimal route and speed for the transport unit, the optimal substance moving rate and the optimal route and speed for the transport unit is stored in a database and sent to the substance moving unit and the transport unit, so that it can be displayed via a visual or an audio interface to an operator of the substance moving unit or of the transport unit.

Description

A system for optimal utilization of substance transport units andsubstance moving units within a geographically defined area.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automated, real-time system and method formanaging construction vehicles such as excavators, wheel loaders, and dump trucks,within a geographical area by use of specific parameters. In particular it relates to asystem and method for optimal utilization of substance transport units (e.g., dumptrucks) and substance moving units (e.g., excavators or wheel loaders).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Construction vehicles such as excavators, trucks and wheel loaders are very expensiveequipment for construction and transportation companies. Often, excavators and wheelloaders are pacing equipment at a a substance moving site such as building sites, roadconstruction sites, snow moving sites, mines, and so forth, meaning that their workingpace sets the pace for the entire substance moving project.

Since construction vehicles are a large investment for companies and they are pace-settingat a construction site, there exist a need of optimal utilization of these in real time.

A master thesis from Chalmers, "Arbetstidsanvändning för grävmaskiner" Johansson A.,Olsson M, indicate that the level of utilization of an excavator at a construction site istypically around 50%.

Furthermore, in recent years construction vehicles have been equipped with sensors,computers and communication equipment so they can measure a variety of parametersand communicate status of a particular vehicle with a central. An example of such aninvention is disclosed in EP 127372351 disclosing a way of detection of actual operatingtime of construction vehicles deployed at construction sites. This is helpful for schedulingpredictive maintenance and for making statistical analysis of productivity. Another type ofsensing solution is described by Lord Microstrain who offers a vehicle health monitoringproduct including wireless network systems (www.microstrain.com) However, currently disclosed practice do not treat the construction site as a system ofcollaborating production units (substance moving units interacting with substance transportunits), where optimization in real-time can be done by determining how best utilize theavailable construction vehicles at any point in time based on the actions of otherconstruction vehicles in the system. The present invention is a real-time optimizationsystem to maximize the performance of the system by addressing the interactions of itsconstruction vehicles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is an objective of the present invention to provide a system oriented solution for optimalutilization of construction vehicles such as excavators, wheel loaders, dump trucks, and soforth.

It is an advantage achieved by the present invention to maximize the productivity of thetotal collection of construction vehicles on a site.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to reduce fuel consumption ofconstruction vehicles.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to improve work environmentfor operators and drivers of the construction vehicles.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to predict time for a projectinvolving construction vehicles.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to assess what constructionvehicles are needed at various locations at a site over time.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to provide optimal drivingroutes to vehicles within a defined geographical area.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to keep track of constructionvehicles' location, status, and what their plans are.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to maximize utilization ofconstruction vehicles.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to reduce waiting time for theconstruction vehicles.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to schedule maintenance onconstruction vehicles to have minimum impact on productivity and time plans at a worksite.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to shorten construction time.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to reduce operating costs at aconstruction site.

It is further an advantage achieved by the present invention to enable managers tomonitor on-going activities in real-time and intervene if desired.

The objective and advantages are achieved by a system and method as set out in theappended claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention the above objectives and advantages areachieved by providing a system for optimal utilization of transport units and substancemoving units within a geographical area, the system comprising at least one substancemoving unit and two or more substance transport units, and a central server, thesubstance moving unit comprising: a bucket attached to an boom for moving substance,one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket, one or more sensors fordetermining a movements of the bucket a processor for determining a substance movingrate, based on the load and the movement of the bucket received from the sensors, ageographic position sensor or navigation system for determining a location of thesubstance moving unit, and a communication unit communicating in real time at least thelocation of the substance moving unit and the substance moving rate with the centralserver, a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator. The transport unit comprising; a navigation system comprising dataabout location, speed and route of the transport unit, a substance volume or weight sensorindicating current volume or weight of substance in the dump bed, a computer readablememory for storing data, a processor for calculating substance mass or volume data,based on the volume or weight of substance received from the sensors, a human machineinterface for presenting and receiving information to/from a human operator, acommunication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and the substancemass or volume data with the central server. The central server comprising a processingunit for calculating an optimal substance moving rate for the substance moving unit and anoptimal route and speed for the transport unit, the optimal substance moving rate and theoptimal route and speed for the transport unit is stored in a database and sent to thesubstance moving unit and the transport unit, via a communication network so that it canbe displayed via the human machine interface to an operator of the substance moving unitor of the transport unit. Thereby the above objectives and advantages can be achieved.

The computer readable memory of the transport unit may preferably store data such asload capacity parameter so that the system can determine whether the transport unit cantake more substance or not. However this parameter can also be stored at the centralserver. Other data that may be stored are substance volume data or weight data and datarelating to the navigation system such as speed, location route and so forth.

The substance in the system may preferably comprise at least one of the followingsubstances, earth and/or snow and/or dirt and/or sand and/or stone and/or mineral.

The system may further comprises a surveillance/monitoring terminal connectable to thecentral server for reading or changing the data about optimal substance moving rate andoptimal routes of the substance moving unit and transport unit stored at the centralserver. Thereby it is possible to monitor and manage substance moving units andtransports units manually in real time. Furthermore it is possible to identify problems with 4 any unit or any other problem that may occur and decide on necessary measurements inorder to solve the problem, such as allocating additional substance moving units ortransport units. Also it is possible to relocate units which are idle and currently not beingused at one site, to another site. Further, it is possible to override the automaticallygenerated work plans and create manually generated work plans for the constructionvehicles in the system.

The system is preferably used within a defined geographical area, such as a building site,road construction site, snow removal site, mining site or infrastructure construction siteand so forth, or in a combination of these.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the above and other objectives are fulfilledby a method for optimally utilize transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area, the method comprising the steps of: determining and transmitting aposition and substance moving rate of the substance moving unit to a central server andprocessing unit, determining and transmitting a location, speed and route of the transportunit to the central server and processing unit, calculating optimal substance moving rateand optimal route and speed at the central server and processing unit, sending the optimalsubstance moving rate to the substance moving unit from the central server andprocessing unit, sending the optimal route and speed to the transport unit from the centralserver and processing unit, and receiving, storing, and displaying the optimal substancemoving rate and the optimal route and speed via a visual or an audio interface to anoperator of the substance moving unit or the transport unit. Thereby the above objectivesand advantages can be achieved.

The method may further comprising the step of exchanging the data in the central serverrelated to the units with a project planning and managing function terminal. Thereby it ispossible to manage substance moving units and transports units manually in real timefrom a central or remote location. Furthermore it is possible to identify problems with anyunit or any other problem that may occur and decide on necessary measurements in orderto solve the problem, such as allocating additional substance moving units or transportunits. Also it is possible to relocate units which are idle and currently not being used at onesite, to another site, or within a site.

The method may further comprising the step of calculating a need for additional or lesssubstance moving units or transport units and providing this new need to the centralserver. For example if there is a need to add or remove one or more substance movingunit at the site, or to add or remove one or more transport unit due to a changingsituation. Thereby it is possible to relocate units between different sites and locations.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the above and other objectives are fulfilled bya system for optimal utilization of transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area comprising at least one substance moving unit and two or moresubstance transport units. The substance moving unit comprising; a bucket attached to a boom for moving substance, one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket,one or more sensors for determining a movements of the bucket, a processor fordetermining a substance moving rate based on the load and the movement of the bucketreceived from the sensors, and for participating in an optimization calculation, a computerreadable memory at least storing the substance moving rate and for storing anoptimization result, a geographic position sensor or navigation system for determining alocation of the substance moving unit, a communication unit communicating the substancemoving rate, and the optimization result and a transport needs message with othersubstance moving and transport units, and a human machine interface for presenting andreceiving information to/from a human operator.

The transport unit comprising; a navigation system comprising data about location, speedand route of the transport unit, a substance volume or weight sensor indicating currentvolume or weight of substance in the dump bed, a processor for calculating substancemass or volume data, based on the volume or weight of substance received from thesensors, and for participating in the optimization calculation, a computer readable memoryat least storing the substance mass or volume data and for storing an optimization result,a communication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and the substancemass or volume of the transport unit to the substance moving unit and second transportunit, and for receiving the transport need message from the substance moving unit and forreceiving location, speed, current volume of substance and load capacity parameters datafrom the second transport unit, and a human machine interface for presenting andreceiving information to/from a human operator. Thereby the above objective andadvantages can be achieved The substance may preferably comprises at least one of the following substances, earthand/or snow and/or dirt and/or sand and/or stone and/or mineral.

The system may further comprises a surveillance/monitoring terminal connectable to thecommunications network and able to communicate with all substance transport andsubstance moving units to influence the optimization algorithm to follow the instructions ofan authorized person. Thereby it is possible to monitor and manage substance movingunits and transports units manually in real time. Furthermore it is possible to identifyproblems with any unit or any other problem that may occur and decide on necessarymeasurements in order to solve the problem, such as allocating additional substancemoving units or transport units. Also it is possible to relocate units which are idle andcurrently not being used at one site, to another site. Further, it is possible to override theautomatically generated work plans and create manually generated work plans for theconstruction vehicles in the system.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the above and other objectives are fulfilledby a method for optimally utilize transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area, the method comprising the steps of: determining and transmitting aposition and substance moving rate of a first substance moving unit to a second substancemoving unit and a first and second substance transport unit, determining and transmitting a location, speed and route of the first transport unit to the second transport unit and thefirst and second substance moving unit, the substance moving and transporting unitsreceive and store transmitted information, using a multi agent negotiation optimizationalgorithm prescribing a protoco| for negotiations between participating units to determineoptimal substance moving rates for the substance moving units and optimal route andspeed for the transport units, transmitting the established optimal substance moving ratesand optimal routes and speeds to the substance moving and transport units, receiving,storing, and displaying the optimal substance moving rate and the optimal route and speedvia a visual or an audio interface to an operator of the first and second substance movingunit or the first and second transport unit. Thereby the above objective and advantagescan be achieved The method may further comprising the step of exchanging the data transmitted in thesystem to a project planning and managing function terminal.

The method may further comprising the step of calculating a need for additional or lesssubstance moving units or transport units and providing this new need to a projectplanning and managing function.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the above and other objectives are fulfilled bya server connected to the systems described above for storing all data collected andtransmitted between the substance moving units and transport units as they follow themethods described above, for future use by data-mining algorithms or machine learningalgorithms.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention the above and other objectives are fulfilled bya substance moving unit comprising; a bucket attached to an boom for moving substance,one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket, one or more sensors fordetermining a movements of the bucket a processor for determining a substance movingrate, based on the load and the movement of the bucket received from the sensors, ageographic position sensor or navigation system for determining a location of thesubstance moving unit, a human machine interface for presenting and receivinginformation to/from a human operator, and a communication unit communicating in realtime at least the location of the substance moving unit and the substance moving rate to acentral sen/er or a transport unit, so that the substance moving unit and the transport unitcan be synchronized.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention the above and other objectives are fulfilledby a transport unit comprising; a navigation system comprising data about location, speedand route of the transport unit, a substance volume or weight sensor indicating currentvolume or weight of substance in the dump bed, a computer readable memory for storingdata, a processor for calculating substance mass or volume data, based on the volume orweight of substance received from the sensors, a human machine interface for presentingand receiving information to/from a human operator, and a communication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and the substance mass or volume data witha central server or a substance moving unit or a second transport unit, so that thetransport unit, the substance moving unit and the second transport unit can besynchronized.

The computer readable memory of the transport unit may preferably store data such asload capacity parameter so that the system can determine whether the transport unit cantake more substance or not. However this parameter can also be stored at the centralserver. Other data that may be stored are substance volume data or weight data and datarelating to the navigation system such as speed, location route, optimization result and soforth.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated withreference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES Fig. 1 illustrates two examples of substance moving units: a sensor equipped excavatorand wheel loader, each including a bucket attached to a boom, which also has a wirelesstransceiver for communication of data.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a sensor equipped substance transport unit: a dump truck,including a dump bed and a wireless radio transceiver for communication of data.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example of a wireless system using a central processing unit tooptimize the operations of at least one substance moving and at least two substancetransport units.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a central processing architecture which in addition to thesystem illustrated in figure 3 has two or more substance moving units Fig. 5 illustrates an example of the main components in the cloud service or central unit(which could be cloud based or server based) that performs the optimization of thesystem.

Fig. 6 illustrates an example of a field unit architecture which are located on the substancemoving and substance transport units and enables data collection, communication withinthe system and interactions with the human operator. In distributed systems, this unit alsoparticipates in the optimization algorithm.

Fig. 7a, 7b and 7c illustrates a method for optimal use of earth moving and transportassets in construction site where substance moving and substance transport units collectsand transmits data to a central (e.g., cloud storage) unit. 8 Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a distributed processing architecture one or moresubstance moving unit and at least two substance transport units that are working in theconstruction site and wirelessly communicates with each other.

Fig. 9 illustrates a method for utilizing the distributed processing capacity located in thesubstance moving and transport units to optimize their operation in a system with nocentral/cloud server.

Figure 10 illustrates the steps of the method described in figure 9 that are executed withina substance moving unit.

Figure 11 illustrates the steps of the method described in figure 9 that are executed withina substance transport unit.

Fig. 12 illustrates an example of substance moving units and transport units equipped withcommunication units and the central cloud server.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example of a communication architecture wherein the presentinvention may be used.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention addresses a need to optimize the interaction between components(e.g., excavators and dump trucks) in a system that is moving substances.

The function of the present invention (at the highest level of abstraction) is to movesubstance from one location to another using the components of the system. In order tooptimize the system, the rate by which the substance can be picked up by the substancemoving units shown in figure 1 (e.g., excavators 1 and wheel loaders 2) and the rate bywhich the substance can be transported by the substance transport units 11 need to beharmonized/synchronized.

This harmonization can be done by a central unit 6 as is illustrated in figure 12, figure 3and figure 4, where the central unit, for example a cloud server receives relevantinformation from the substance moving units 1, 2 and substance transport units 11 andthen by using certain algorithms, as described in figure 7a, 7b and 7c, determine whatactions each unit should take in order to reach the optimization targets, which for examplecould be to maximize the substance moving rates in total across the site, or maximize thesubstance moving rate for a specific location on the site, or maximize the utilization of aspecific piece of equipment on the site.

According to a second embodiment of the invention the harmonization can also be donewithout a central unit through collaboration between field units. An architecture of such 9 distributed system is illustrated in figure 8 and a corresponding method in figure 9, figure10 and figure 11.

The architectures of components that enable data collection, transmission, and processingfor a centrally controlled system (figure 3, figure 4 and figure 12) are described in figures5 and 6.

Figure 5 shows an example of an architecture of a central processing unit according to thepresent invention. This can be a cloud based service, or a service implemented on a localWorkstation, or server. Its main components are a communications unit 14 for receivingand transmitting data and information to the substance moving unit 1, 2 and thesubstance transport units 11, a processor 15 which uses data received in real-time fromthe substance moving units 1, 2 and the substance transport units 11 and data stored inthe data storage 16 to determine the desired actions for each field unit. Then, relevantinformation is transmitted to the substance moving unit 1, 2 and the substance transportunits 11 through the communications unit 14, and updated data is stored on the datastorage 16.

Figure 6 shows an architecture of local data units that preferably exist at the substancemoving units 1, 2 and the substance transport units 11 in order to send and receiveinformation to the central processing component 6 of the system. The local data unitdescribed in figure 6 comprises sensors 22 which are used to measure parameters andcollect data used to determine the current substance moving rate or substance transportrate.

In a substance moving unit 1, 2 , such sensors 9, 22 can for example measure weight ofbucket 3, position of bucket, motion of bucket, motion of boom 4, and motion of asubstance moving unit 1, 2. In a substance transport unit 11, such sensors 9, 22 can forexample measure load in dump bed 10, and orientation of dump bed relative to thevehicle.

The sensors 9, 22 provide their data to a processor 18 which also receives data from anavigation system 21, a human machine interface 13, 20, a data storage 19 and acommunications unit 17.

The navigation system 21 provides information about its current location, velocity (if any),and planned driving route (if any), it is typically using satellite based navigation such asGPS, Galileo or GLONASS, but can also be using other types of navigational techniquessuch as inertial navigation, leaky feeders, or RFID based systems to determine locationand velocity.

The human machine interface 13, 20 can be a visual or audio system with audio or tactileinputs or a combination of these, examples of such systems include but are not limited totablet computers, smart phones and audio headphones. The human machine interface 13, collects input from the machine operator that are needed to determine predictedworking rates. Such input could for example be planned breaks, duration of working shift,as well as information about unplanned events in real time that will impact the work rate,for example equipment failure, interference caused by 3rd parties, or personal issues. Itcould also receive input about certain parameters about the specific substance transport ormoving unit such as vibration, information about hydraulic leaks, bearing wear, time tonext maintenance, etc., or parameters about the environment or site around the machinesuch as temperature, ground conditions, lighting, weather, etc. The human machineinterface 13, 20 can also provide information to the operator about the status and locationof other units working in the site.

The human machine interface 13, 20 may also be used to provide information to theoperator about what operations he/she should conduct and in which order. For substancetransport units 11, this could for example be information about substance pick up points,driving routes, road conditions, waiting points, waiting times, driving speeds, additionalsubstance pick-up points along the route, and dumping points and so forth. For substancemoving units 1, 2 , this could for example be information about desired substance movingrate, it could also be route information in case the substance moving involves a substancemoving unit that is expected to operate over a larger area (e.g., a wheel loader 1 clearingsnow off streets). The human machine interface 13, 20 can also provide information to theoperator about the status and location of other units working in the site.

The data storage 19 stores a number of key characteristics of the substance moving 1, 2or substance transport unit 11. This data includes the unit ID, the capacity of the bucket ordump bed, the maximum working speed for example earth moving cycle, or driving speedloaded and unloaded on a site and on roads, it can also store historical data about workingrate (transport or substance moving), as well as working schedules, planned breaks, andmaintenance.

The processor 18 preferably uses data from sensors 9, 22, data storage 19, humanmachine interface 13, 20, and navigation system 21 to generate information according tothe method as described in figure 7a and figure 7b that will be transmitted wirelessly bythe communications unit 5, 17 to the central processing unit 6 described in figure 5. Thecommunications unit 5, 17 can be part of one or more communications infrastructures,such as a two-way, point-to-point communication, GSM, G3, G4, G5, Bluetooth, leakyfeeders, self-organizing mesh-network shown in figure 13, a wifi-system, or similar. It mayuse additional technology for enhanced communications security and robustness such asencryption, frequency hopping, etc. In very special cases Wired communications may bepreferred, but wireless communications solutions as described will be the normal case.

After the central processing unit 6, 15 has determined the desired actions for each fieldunit, this information is transmitted to and received by each field unit's communicationsunit 5, 17. The processor 18 then receives the information and sends some of this to thestorage 19, makes an update of the navigation system 21 as applicable, and sends some 11 of the information to the operator by using the human machine interface 13, 20. Aconfirmation message may be transmitted by the processor 18 through thecommunications unit 5, 17 to the central processing unit 6, 15 to indicate that theinformation is received and displayed to the operator.

The system optimization governing the interactions between substance moving units 1, 2and substance transport units 11 can also be realized without a central processing unit 6.

When a distributed decision making system architecture is preferred according to thesecond embodiment of the present invention, the communications need to take placebetween all functional units working as part of the system as illustrated in figure 8.

In a distributed decision making system, all substance moving units 1, 2 and the substancetransport units 11 will need local data units as described in figure 6.

Figure 6 shows functional blocks of local data units that preferably exist at the substancemoving unit 1, 2 and the substance transport 11 units in order to send and receiveinformation as well as make all necessary processing to optimize the system of substancemoving units 1, 2 and the substance transport units 11. The local data unit described infigure 6 comprises sensors 9, 22 which are used to measure parameters and collect dataused to determine the current substance moving rate or substance transport rate for thefield unit to which it is attached.

In a substance moving unit 1, 2 such sensors 9, 22 may for example measure weight ofbucket 3, position of bucket, motion of bucket, motion of boom 4, and motion of units 1, 2.In a substance transport unit 11, such sensors 9, 22 can for example measure load indump bed 10, and orientation of dump bed relative to the vehicle.

The sensors 9, 22 provide their data to a processor 18 which also receives data from anavigation system 21, a human machine interface 13, 20, a data storage 19 and acommunications unit 5, 17.

The navigation system 21 provides information about its current location, velocity (if any),and planned driving route (if any), it is typically using satellite based navigation such asGPS or GLONASS, but can also be using other types of navigational techniques such asinertial navigation, leaky feeders, or RFID based systems to determine location andvelocity.

The human machine interface 13, 20 can be a visual or audio system with audio or tactileinputs or a combination of these, examples of such systems include, but is not limited totablet computers, smart phones and audio headphones. It collects input from the machineoperator that are needed to determine predicted working rates. Such input can be plannedbreaks, duration of working shift, as well as information about unplanned events in realtime that will impact the work rate, for example equipment failure, interference caused by 12 3rd parties, or personal issues. It could also receive input about certain parameters aboutthe specific substance transport or moving unit such as vibration, information abouthydraulic leaks, bearing wear, time to next maintenance, etc., or parameters about theenvironment or site around the machine such as temperature, ground conditions, lighting,weather, etc. The human machine interface 13, 20 can also provide information to theoperator about the status and location of other units working in the site.

The human machine interface 13, 20 can also be used to provide information to theoperator about what operations he/she should conduct and in which order. For substancetransport units 11, this could be information about substance pick up points, drivingroutes, waiting points, waiting times, driving speeds, additional substance pick-up pointsalong the route, and dumping points. For substance moving units 1, 2, this could beinformation about desired substance moving rate, it could also be route information in casethe substance moving involves a substance moving unit that is expected to operate over alarger area (e.g., a wheel loader clearing snow off streets). The human machine interface13, 20 can also provide information to the operator about the status and location of otherunits working in the site or general messages distributed across the location or site.

The data storage 19 stores a number of key characteristics of the substance moving orsubstance transport unit. This data includes the unit ID, the capacity of the bucket ordump bed, the maximum working speed (earth moving cycle, or driving speed loaded andunloaded on a site and on roads), it can also store historical, current and planned workingrates (transport or substance moving), driving routes, as well as working schedules,planned breaks, and maintenance and so forth.

The processor 18 uses data from sensors 9, 22, data storage 19, human machine interface13, 20, navigation system 21, and data received from other substance moving units 1, 2and substance transport units 11 through the communications unit 5, 17 to generateinformation as described in figure 9, figure 10 and figure 11 that will be used locally andtransmitted wirelessly by the communications unit 5, 17 to the other field units asdescribed in figure 8. The communications unit 5, 17 can be part of one or morecommunications infrastructures, such as a two-way, point-to-point communication, GSM,G3, G4, G5, Bluetooth, leaky feeders, self-organizing mesh-network shown in figure 13, awifi-system, or similar. It may use additional technology for enhanced communicationssecurity and robustness such as encryption, frequency hopping, etc.

After optimal actions for each substance moving unit 1, 2 and substance transport unit 11have been established within the system, this information is sent to storage 19 andinformation relevant to a specific substance moving unit 1, 2 and substance transport unit11 is presented to its operator through its human machine interface 13, 20. A confirmationmessage may be transmitted by the processor 18 using the communications unit 5,17 tothe other substance moving units 1, 2 and substance transport units 11 to indicate thatthe information is received and displayed to the operator. 13 In the centralized model shown in figure 3 and figure 4, one method for optimizing thesystem is described in figure 7a, figure 7b and figure 7c. The specifics of this particularmethod is as follows: Figure 7a shows a high level abstraction of this method. During the steps S1a and S1b,each substance moving unit 1, 2 and substance transport unit 11 use their sensors tocollect data about their current operations and transmit this information to the central unit6. During step S2, the processor 15 receives this data and use it together with previouslystored data from the data storage 16 to determine optimal system operation. In step S3the result of step S2 is stored locally in the data storage 16 and wirelessly transmittedusing the communications unit 14 back to the substance moving units 1, 2 and thesubstance transport units 11, and in step S4, this information is received by thecommunication units 5, 17 in the substance moving units 1, 2 and the substance transportunits 11. The processor 18 which identifies which information applies to the specific unit,stores received data locally 19 and presents applicable information to its operator usingthe human machine interface, 13, 20. The operator adjusts the operation of his/hersubstance moving unit 1, 2 or the substance transport unit 11 accordingly. At this point,step S1a and S1b are repeated and the method continues in a cyclic manner.

Figure 7b shows the steps in the substance moving unit 1, 2, and the substance transportunit 11. For substance moving units 1, 2, step S1a comprises three steps performed locallyon the substance moving unit. During the first of them S1a1 the sensors 9, 22, are used togather data necessary to determine the current substance moving rate using the processor18. To calculate substance moving rate, volume or mass moved during each working cycleis collected by sensors 9, 22 weighing the bucket or determining the filling level of thebucket through e.g., optical measurements. In modern machines, such sensors may bebuilt in, in older machines these sensors will have to be retrofitted. Data about time takenfor each substance moving cycle is also collected by sensors 9, 22 measuring themovement of key parts on the substance moving unit 1, 2. From this information, it ispossible to take the next step S1a2: using the processor 18 to calculate substance movingrate by averaging the data about substance movement, then dividing by time per cycle.This yields information about volume or mass moved per time unit (second, minute orhour). Through multiplications, it is possible to determine volume moved in any other unitthan those given in the base case (e.g., convert metric tons/sec to imperial tons perminute, or cubic feet per minute to cubic meters per hour). In the final step S1a3, theinformation about substance moving rate is transmitted using the communications unit 5,17 to the central unit 6 together with the unit ID and geographical location for theparticular substance moving unit, this information is found in the data storage component19 or navigation system 21.

For substance transport units 11, step S1b includes collecting data necessary to determinethe current substance transport rate, as well as whether there is spare capacity in thecurrent transport cycle which could be used to pick up additional substance along the routeto the dumping site. During the first step that is performed locally on the substance 14 transport unit S1b1, current transport volume or mass is determined by sensors 9, 22which can be weighing the dump bed or substance transport unit or by determining theload percentage using optical measurements. In modern machines, such sensors may bebuilt in, in older machines these sensors will have to be retrofitted. In the following stepS1b2, the information about current substance mass or volume is calculated in theprocessor 18 from sensor input, and then, during the final step S1b3, transmitted usingthe communications unit 5, 17 to the central unit 6 together with geographical location andspeed retrieved from the navigation system 21 as well as the unit ID of the particularsubstance transport unit, this information is found in the data storage component 19).

Step S2 comprises a number of sub-steps and takes place in the central unit 6, these areshown in figure 7c: In the first sub-step, S21, the processor 15 receives the data thoughits communications unit 14 from the substance moving units 1, 2, 7 and the substancetransport units, 8, 11 and retrieves stored data from the data storage 16. Stored data mayinclude geographic location of substance moving units 1, 2, 7, routes for substancetransport units 8, 11, road conditions, maximum substance moving rate for eachsubstance moving unit 1, 2, 7, maximum substance transport rate for each substancetransport unit 8, 11, available transport routes, remaining substance to be moved at eachlocation. During the second sub-step, S22 using this data input, the processor 15calculates the following to determine optimal system operation: o Current and forecasted substance transport need per substance moving unit o Substance transport capacity available per substance moving unit in its currentlyscheduled transport cycle o Excess capacity available in moving substance transport unit o Optimal driving route and speed per substance transport unit, including additionalloading points for units moving with excess capacity o Optimal substance moving rate per substance moving unit o Optimal driving route for each substance moving unit that is not stationary (e.g.,wheel loaders working on snow removal).

In step 23 the central unit 6 uses its communications unit 14 to transmit information to allsubstance moving and transport units 1, 2, 7, 8. Each transmitted piece of information hasan address label identifying which specific unit 1, 2, 7, 8 it applies to. To each substancemoving unit 1, 2, 7 it transmits optimal substance moving rate, in addition for each non-stationary substance moving unit (e.g., wheel loader 1), it also transmits optimal drivingroute using its communications unit 14. For each substance transport unit 8, 11 ittransmits optimal driving route, speed and any additional pick-up points along the route.The central unit also updates its data storage 16 with the latest information.

In the next main step S3, the details at the field units (i.e., substance moving andtransport units 1, 2, 7, 8, 11) are described in the following steps S31, S32, and S33 asshown in figure 7c. During S31, information transmitted from the central unit 6 is receivedby the communications unit 5, 17 in the field units. Then during S32, the information specific to a field unit is presented using its human machine interface 13, 20 to theoperator of the specific field unit as a work instruction. For a substance moving unit 1, 2, 7it will present optimal substance moving rate and in case it is a non-stationary unit it alsoupdates the navigation system 21 and presents the optimal driving route. For a substancetransport unit 8, 11 it will update the navigation system 21 and present optimal drivingroute, pick up points and speed using its human machine interface 13, 20. The local datastorage 19 is then updated.

Finally, S33 is an optional step where the field units may send a confirmation message tothe central unit 6 that the information has been received and presented to the operator.

In the second embodiment of the invention, a system without a central unit, as describedin figure 8, one example of a method for optimizing the system using a distributed decisionmaking algorithm is described at a high level of abstraction in figure 9. The main steps ofthis particular method comprises are D1a, D1b, D2, D3, and D4. During D1a and D1b,each substance moving unit 1, 2, 22 and substance transport unit, 11, 23 generates datato use for the system optimization algorithm. In step D2, the substance moving andsubstance transport units share data with each other wirelessly using their communicationunits 5, 17, and store the received data locally 19. During the following step D3, thedistributed system optimization algorithm is executed and data sharing done throughwireless interactions between all units using their communication units 5, 17. Step D4 isexecuted once an optimized result is achieved in step D3. During D4, the results of theoptimization in D3 is transmitted wirelessly using the communications units 5, 17 andstored locally in each unit 19. The specific information for the local unit is also presentedon the human machine interface 13, 20 to the local operator who adjusts the operation ofthe local substance moving or transport unit accordingly. At this point steps D1a and D1bare repeated and the method continues in a cyclic manner.

In figure 10, the steps taken by each substance moving unit 1, 2, 22 are shown. First, instep D1a1 it uses its sensors 9, 22 to collect data, it also retrieves information from thedata storage 19 and the navigation system 21. In step D1a2 it calculates its currentsubstance moving needs using its processor 18. This is followed by step D2a where theinformation is stored locally 19 and transmitted using its communications unit 5, 17 to theall other field units (i.e., substance moving units 1, 2, 22, and substance transport units11, 23) as shown in figure 8.

Step D1a1 includes collecting data necessary to determine the current substance movingrate. To calculate substance moving rate, volume or mass moved by each working cycle iscollected using locally installed sensors 9, 22, which for example may be weighing thebucket 3 or determining the filling level of the bucket through e.g., optical measurements.In modern machines, such sensors may be built in, in older machines these sensors willhave to be retrofitted. Data about time taken for each substance moving cycle is alsocollected by measuring the movement of key parts on the substance moving unit, forexample the bucket 3 position. From this information, it is possible in step D1a2 to using 16 the processor 18, calculate substance moving rate by averaging the data about substancemovement, then dividing by time per cycle. This yields information about volume or massmoved per time unit (second, minute or hour). Through multiplications, it is possible todetermine volume moved in any other unit than those given in the base case (e.g., convertmetric tons/sec to imperia| tons per minute, or cubic feet per minute to cubic meters perhour).

In addition to the substance moving rate, the processor 18 also calculates the remainingamount of substance to be moved at the site by subtracting the amount of substanceremoved from the data stored in the storage unit 19 about the initial amount (mass orvolume) of substance to be moved.

Based on the information about substance moving rates and remaining substance to move,substance transportation need for the specific substance moving unit is calculated.

Step D2a: The substance moving need for the unit, geographic location and unit ID istransmitted to all other field units in the system using its communications unit 5, 17.Finally, the data storage 19 is updated with the new information.

In figure 11, the steps taken by the transport units 11, 23, are shown. First, in step D1bthey receive data from other field units using their communications unit 5, 17. Then in stepD2b, the transport units each use their sensors 9, 22, navigation system 21 and datastorage 19 to collect data necessary to determine its current substance transport rate, aswell as whether there is spare capacity in the current transport cycle which could be usedto pick up additional substance along the route to the dumping site. Current transportvolume or mass is determined by weighing the dump bed or substance transport unit or bydetermining the load percentage using optical measurements. In modern machines, suchsensors may be built in, in older machines these sensors will have to be retrofitted.

In step D3b: The current load plus information from the navigation system 21 on currentgeographic location, speed and currently selected route plus information from the datastorage 19 on maximum working speed, and data received from other field units includingsubstance transport need per substance moving location, transmitted in step D2a,alternative routes, road conditions (based on speed of transport units and/or driver inputvia the human machine interface 13, 20, or road sensor input) can now be used in anoptimization algorithm for optimizing driving routes for all substance transport units 11, 23and substance moving rates for all substance moving units 1, 2, 22. Optimal routes(including any additional pick up points) and driving speed per substance transport unit,and optimal substance moving rates per substance moving unit are now calculated usingthe processor 18 through the exchange of information between the communications units17 of the field units and applying an optimization algorithm. Examples of applicableoptimization algorithms include multi-agent negotiations such as the algorithm proposedby Wangerman and Stengel in Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics vol 22, no 1,1999. 17 In the next step D4b1: Each processor 18 presents the results of the optimizationalgorithm to on its human machine interface 13, 20 to its operator. Information is updatedin the local data storage units 19, and the navigation system 21.

Step D4b2: Information is transmitted using the communications unit 5, 17 to all otherfield units where it is received by their communications unit 5, 17. The information specificto a field unit is then presented using the human machine interface 13, 20 to the operatorof the specific field unit as a work instruction. For a substance moving unit 1, 2, 22, it willpresent optimal substance moving rate and in case it is a non-stationary unit 1 it alsoupdates the navigation system 21 and presents the optimal driving route. For a substancetransport unit 11, 23 it will update the navigation system 21 and present optimal drivingroute, pick up points and speed on the human machine interface 13, 20. All field units,store transmitted and received data locally 19.

As an optional additional step, not shown in figure 11, the field unit sends information to acentral location (if such exists) about the current field activities to keep a site managementfunction updated about on-going activities. The algorithm may also generate informationon additional capacity needs which could also be transmitted to the site managementfunction for decision to add more capacity to the site to better balance the system.

In both embodiments of the invention (with a central processing unit 6 as described infigure 3 and 4, or distributed system without a central unit as described in figure 8) itshould preferably be possible for human intervention into the system whereby anauthorized person can go in and manually change the routing for substance moving unitsor substance moving rates for substance moving units via a terminal 12 as shown in figure12. This person could be in a central location, in a construction vehicle which is part of thesystem, or in a remote location.

Further it should preferably be possible for a system to switch from operating in a modewith a central processing unit 6 described in figure 3 and figure 4 to become a systemoperating in a mode with a distributed optimization model as described in figure 8. Itshould also be possible for a system operating with a distributed optimization model asdescribed in figure 8 to switch into a mode with a central processing unit 6 described infigure 3 and figure 4. It could be desirable to make a switch from a centrally controlledmodel (figure 3, figure 4, figure 12) to a distributed model (figure 8) if a central unit 6 forgoes off line and become unable to communicate with the substance moving 1, 2, andtransport 11 units in the system. It could be desirable to make a switch from a distributedmodel (figure 8) to a centrally controlled model (figure 3, figure 4) if it is desirable toswitch optimization model.

Claims

1. A system for optimal utilization of transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area, the system comprising at least one substance moving unit and two ormore substance transport units, and a central server, the substance moving unit comprising a bucket attached to an boom for moving substance,one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket,one or more sensors for determining a movements of the bucketa processor for determining a substance moving rate, based on the load and themovement of the bucket received from the sensors,o a geographic position sensor or navigation system for determining a location of thesubstance moving unit, ando a communication unit communicating in real time at least the location of thesubstance moving unit and the substance moving rate with the central server,o a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator, the transport unit comprising o a navigation system comprising data about location, speed and route of thetransport unit, o a substance volume or weight sensor indicating current volume or weight ofsubstance in a dump bed, o a computer readable memory for storing data, o a processor for calculating substance mass or volume data, based on the volume orweight of substance received from the sensors, o a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator, o a communication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and thesubstance mass or volume data with the central server, the central server comprising a processing unit for calculating an optimal substancemoving rate for the substance moving unit and an optimal route and speed for thetransport unit, the optimal substance moving rate and the optimal route and speed for the transport unitis stored in a database and sent to the substance moving unit and the transport unit, via acommunication network so that it can be displayed via the human machine interface to anoperator of the substance moving unit or of the transport unit.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein the substance comprises at least one of thefollowing substances, earth and/or snow and/or dirt and/or sand and/or stone and/ormineral.

3. A system according to claim 1-2 wherein the system further comprises asurveillance/monitoring terminal connectable to the central server for reading or changingthe data about optimal substance moving rate and optimal routes of the substance movingunit and transport unit stored at the central server.

4. A method for optimally utilize transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area, the method comprising the steps of: determining and transmitting a position and substance moving rate of thesubstance moving unit to a central server and processing unit, determining and transmitting a location, speed and route of the transport unit tothe central server and processing unit, calculating optimal substance moving rate and optimal route and speed at thecentral server and processing unit sending the optimal substance moving rate to the substance moving unit from thecentral server and processing unit, sending the optimal route and speed to the transport unit from the central serverand processing unit, and receiving, storing, and displaying the optimal substance moving rate and theoptimal route and speed via a visual or an audio interface to an operator of thesubstance moving unit or the transport unit.

5. The method according to claim 6 further comprising the step of exchanging the data inthe central sen/er related to the units with a project planning and managing functionterminal.

6. The method according to claims 4-5 further comprising the step of calculating a needfor additional or less substance moving units or transport units and providing this newneed to the central server.

7. A system for optimal utilization of transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area comprising at least one substance moving unit and two or moresubstance transport units, the substance moving unit comprising a bucket attached to a boom for moving substance, one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket, one or more sensors for determining a movements of the bucket a processor for determining a substance moving rate based on the load and themovement of the bucket received from the sensors, and for participating in anoptimization calculation, a computer readable memory at least storing the substance moving rate and forstoring an optimization result, a geographic position sensor or navigation system for determining a location of thesubstance moving unit, a communication unit communicating the substance moving rate, and theoptimization result and a transport needs message with other substance movingand transport units, and a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator, the transport unit comprising a navigation system comprising data about location, speed and route of thetransport unit, a substance volume or weight sensor indicating current volume or weight ofsubstance in a dump bed, a processor for calculating substance mass or volume data, based on the volume orweight of substance received from the sensors, and for participating in theoptimization calculation, a computer readable memory at least storing the substance mass or volume dataand for storing an optimization result a communication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and thesubstance mass or volume of the transport unit to the substance moving unit andsecond transport unit, and for receiving the transport need message from thesubstance moving unit and for receiving location, speed, current volume ofsubstance and load capacity parameters data from the second transport unit, a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator,

8. A system according to claim 7 wherein the substance comprises at least one of thefollowing substances, earth and/or snow and/or dirt and/or sand and/or stone and/ormineral.

9. A system according to claim 7-8 wherein the system further comprises a surveillance/monitoring terminal connectable to the communications network and able to communicate with all substance transport and substance moving units to influence the optimization algorithm to follow the instructions of an authorized person.

10. A method for optimally utilize transport units and substance moving units within ageographical area, the method comprising the steps of: determining and transmitting a position and substance moving rate of a firstsubstance moving unit to a second substance moving unit and a first and secondsubstance transport unit, determining and transmitting a location, speed and route of the first transport unitto the second transport unit and the first and second substance moving unit, the substance moving and transporting units receive and store transmittedinformation, using a multi agent negotiation optimization algorithm prescribing a protocol fornegotiations between participating units to determine optimal substance movingrates for the substance moving units and optimal route and speed for the transportunits transmitting the established optimal substance moving rates and optimal routesand speeds to the substance moving and transport units, receiving, storing, and displaying the optimal substance moving rate and theoptimal route and speed via a visual or an audio interface to an operator of the firstand second substance moving unit or the first and second transport unit.

11. The method according to claim 10 further comprising the step of exchanging the datatransmitted in the system to a project planning and managing function terminal.

12. The method according to claim 10-11 further comprising the step of calculating a needfor additional or less substance moving units or transport units and providing this newneed to a project planning and managing function.

13. A server connected to the system in claims 1-3 or 7-9 for storing all data collected andtransmitted between the substance moving units and transport units as they follow themethods described in claims 4-6 or 10-12, for future use by data-mining algorithms ormachine learning algorithms.

14. A substance moving unit comprising a bucket attached to an boom for moving substance, one or more sensors for determining a load in the bucket, one or more sensors for determining a movements of the bucket a processor for determining a substance moving rate, based on the load and themovement of the bucket received from the sensors, a geographic position sensor or navigation system for determining a location of thesubstance moving unit, and a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator, a communication unit communicating in real time at least the location of thesubstance moving unit and the substance moving rate to a central server or atransport unit, so that the substance moving unit and the transport unit can be synchronized.

15. A transport unit comprising a navigation system comprising data about location, speed and route of thetransport unit, a substance volume or weight sensor indicating current volume or weight ofsubstance in a dump bed, a computer readable memory for storing data, a processor for calculating substance mass or volume data, based on the volume orweight of substance received from the sensors, a human machine interface for presenting and receiving information to/from ahuman operator, a communication unit for communicating at least location, speed, route and thesubstance mass or volume data with a central server or a substance moving unit ora second transport unit, so that the transport unit, the substance moving unit and the second transport unit can be synchronized.