Components of a Technology Roadmap for Automated Excavation

Abstract

In the construction industry, especially in earthmoving equipment, automation has received a great deal of attention. Fully environmentally friendly automatic construction equipment, such as excavators, are perceived as vital for safe, productive, and resilient future construction sites. However, there is much uncertainty about the technologies which need to be adopted and developed in order to effectively achieve this end and provide the industry with strategic direction. This paper explores current academic thinking about technology roadmaps and technological innovations of excavation operations, in order to identify the components for automated excavation technology roadmaps. Literature in well-established databases are identified using robust search strategies. Text mining, a quantitative approach, was used to analyse and organise findings. Three main technology innovation categories were identified: 1) real time positioning systems; 2) technologies to detect over ground objects, 3) technologies to detect below underground objects. In addition, multi-sensory data fusion methods are identified as an essential and vital requirement for construction automation.