Pile Manipulation for Autonomous Pile Driver Vehicle

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/615,258, filed Mar. 25, 2024, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This disclosure relates to driving piles into the ground, and, more specifically, to an autonomous pile driving system for manipulating piles.

Heavy equipment vehicles such as backhoes, loaders, and excavators may be used to perform a variety of earthwork operations (e.g., pile driving, drilling, excavating, digging, jackhammering, demolishing, and the like). Currently, operation of these vehicles is very expensive as each vehicle requires a manual operator on the vehicle during the entire earthwork operation. Another complication stems from an insufficient labor force skilled enough to meet the demand for operating these vehicles. Because these vehicles must be operated manually, the operations can only be performed during the day, extending the duration of projects, and further increasing overall costs. Also, dependence of current vehicles on manual operators increases the risk of human error during operations and reduces the quality of work done at the site.

In one embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps performed by an autonomous off-road vehicle (AOV). The steps include a step of accessing a pile plan map indicating a plurality of locations within a geographic area at which piles are to be installed. The steps further include a step of generating an obstacle map indicating locations of obstacles within the geographic area. The steps further include a step of autonomously navigating by the AOV to a first location of the plurality of locations using the pile plan map. And the steps further include, in response to driving a pile into the ground at the first location, a step of modifying the obstacle map to include a representation of the pile at the first location.

In another embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps performed by an autonomous off-road vehicle. The steps include a step of accessing a pile plan map indicating a plurality of locations in a geographic area at which piles are to be installed. The steps further include a step of selecting a first location and a second location from the plurality of locations using the pile plan map. The steps further include a step of autonomously navigating the AOV to the first location. The steps further include a step of autonomously loading a first pile onto a driving tool of the AOV. The steps further include a step of autonomously driving the first pile into the ground at the first location using the driving tool. The steps further include a step of autonomously navigating the AOV to the second location. The steps further include a step of autonomously loading a second pile onto the driving tool. And the steps further include a step of autonomously driving the second pile into the ground at the second location using the driving tool.

In another embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps. The steps include a step of accessing a pile plan map indicating a plurality of locations in a geographic area at which piles are to be installed. The steps further include a step of identifying a first set of locations from the plurality of locations and a first set of piles to be driven into the ground at the first set of locations using the pile plan map. The steps further include a step of identifying an order for driving the first set of piles into the ground and a pile type for each of the first set of piles. And the steps further include a step of generating basket assembly instructions for assembling the first set of piles into a basket based on the identified order and the identified pile types.

In yet another embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps performed by an autonomous off-road vehicle (AOV). The steps include a step of autonomously performing a pile driving operation by driving a pile into the ground at a location identified by a pile plan map. The steps further include a step of detecting one or more attributes of the pile using one or more sensors during or after the pile driving operation. The steps further include a step of determining whether the one or more attributes of the pile exceed respective tolerance thresholds. And the steps further include a step of performing a quality control action in response to determining that the one or more attributes of the pile exceed the respective tolerance thresholds.

In yet another embodiment, an AOV is provided which comprises: a vehicle body; a first platform and second platform configured to carry one or more piles for transport by the AOV, the first platform and second platform coupled to opposite sides of the vehicle body, wherein a base of each of the first platform and the second platform is angled upwards and away from the vehicle body; and a vehicle tool coupled to the vehicle body and configured to pick up a pile carried by the first platform or the second platform and drive the pile into ground.

In yet another embodiment, an AOV is provided which comprises: a vehicle body; a vehicle arm coupled to the vehicle body and comprising a set of prongs and a clamp extending outward from an end of the vehicle arm; and a controller configured to cause the vehicle arm to pick up a pile by: aligning the set of prongs with an end of the pile such that a first prong aligns with an opening on a first side of a web of the pile and such that a second prong aligns with a space on a second side of the web of the pile; inserting the set of prongs into the opening on the first side of the web and the space on the second side of the web; and compressing the clamp into an exterior surface of a flange of the pile such that the set of prongs are reciprocally compressed into an interior surface of the flange of the pile on either side of the web.

In yet another embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps. The steps include a step of identifying, by the autonomous pile driving system using a pile plan map, a target location to install a pile. The steps further include a step of autonomously navigating, by the autonomous pile driving system, towards the target location, and a step of autonomously detecting, by the autonomous pile driving system using an object sensor system, an orientation and location of the pile located within a threshold distance of the autonomous pile driving system. The steps further include a step of autonomously positioning, by the autonomous pile driving system, a tool of the autonomous pile driving system based on the detected orientation and location of the pile. The steps further include a step of autonomously picking up, by the autonomous pile driving system, the pile using the positioned tool of the autonomous pile driving system. The steps further include a step of autonomously positioning, by the autonomous pile driving system, the pile based on the target location, and a step of autonomously driving, by the autonomous pile driving system, the pile into ground at the target location.

In yet another embodiment, a method includes a plurality of steps. The steps include a step of selecting, by an autonomous pile driving system, a pile to drive into ground at a target location. The steps further include a step of detecting, by the autonomous pile driving system, one or more characteristics of the pile, one or more characteristics of the autonomous pile driving system, or one or more characteristics of an environment at the target location using one or more sensors of the autonomous pile driving system. The steps further include a step of modifying, by the autonomous pile driving system, one or more planned movements of the autonomous pile driving system based on the detected characteristics of the pile, the autonomous pile driving system, or the environment. The steps further include a step of autonomously driving, by the autonomous pile driving system, the pile into the ground at least in part based on performing the one or more modified planned movements.

The Figures (FIGS.) and the following description relate to preferred embodiments by way of illustration only. It should be noted that from the following discussion, alternative embodiments of the structures and methods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viable alternatives that may be employed without departing from the principles of what is claimed.

Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted that wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the disclosed system (or method) for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein.

This disclosure pertains to autonomous off-road vehicles (AOVs) for performing various autonomous operations related to pile driving. As used herein, “AOV” refers to any vehicle, apparatus, multi-unit system, or robot, that moves and/or operates autonomously. The AOVs are configured to operate on paved surfaces as well as in off-road environments (e.g., on surfaces other than paved roadway). The AOVs may include any tracked vehicle, construction vehicle, robot, tractor, excavator, bulldozer, transport vehicle, delivery vehicle, distribution vehicle, and the like. Example off-road environments include solar farms, dirt roads, fields, agricultural sites, rocky or gravel terrain, construction sites, forest or wooded sites, hill or mountain trails or sites, underground sites, indoor sites, rooftops, and the like. As used herein, “autonomous” refers to the ability of the off-road vehicle to operate without constant human supervision, for instance enabling the off-road vehicle to move, navigate, perform a function, and/or make a decision without explicitly receiving instructions from a human operator.

Pile driving operations involve driving piles into the ground to build structures supported on top of the piles. Piles (e.g., stakes, rebars, piers, poles, posts, beams, etc.) may be of different types based on features like length, dimensions, shape or design, bolt hole pattern, material, weight, thickness or steel gauge, and the like. Non-limiting examples of different pile designs or shapes include ground screws, helical piles, c-channel piles, sheet piles, wide flange beam piles, H-beam piles, I-beam piles. Non-limiting examples of different pile materials include metal, wood, concrete, precast concrete, reinforced concrete, synthetic material, and the like. Each pile type (having a specific configuration or set of characteristics) may have a corresponding color code or other identification code. As used herein, “ground” may refer to any earth or non-earth substrate where piles are to be installed. For example, a large collection (e.g., hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, etc.) of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels may be installed in a geographic area to create a solar farm by driving a large number of piles into the ground, mounting individual solar panels on top of the driven piles, and electrically interconnecting the solar panels to generate large amounts of electricity from solar power. Techniques disclosed herein look to automate the pile driving process by operating an autonomous pile driving system or AOVs (e.g., an AOV or a fleet of multiple AOVs operating simultaneously and communicating with a central server) that are configured to perform a plurality of autonomous operations related to pile driving (e.g., path planning operation, navigation operation, pile basket assembly operation, pile basket loading operation, pile basket distribution operation, pile distribution operation, pile loading operation, pile positioning operation, pile driving operation, obstacle map creation operation, quality control operation, pile removal operation, and the like).

The systems and methods disclosed herein look to automate the process of driving a plurality of piles at respective locations into the ground using one or more AOVs (e.g., autonomous pile driving system) based on a pile plan map. As used herein, the “pile plan map” (e.g., see) may be a digital representation indicating a plurality of locations in a geographic area (e.g., a lot, plot, tract, parcel of land, indoor site, elevated site, etc.) in which piles are intended to be driven and located. The pile plan map may specify locations (e.g., geolocations, geographic (x,y) or GPS coordinates) in the geographic area where the respective piles are to be driven, and the type (e.g., thickness, length, weight, shape or design, material, bolt hole pattern, etc.) of the pile to be driven at the location. For each location, the pile plan map may also specify other pile parameters (e.g., length, reveal height, orientation, tilt, tolerance range or threshold, number of piles, type of each pile or any other type of object that is to be located at or driven into the ground in addition to the pile at the location, etc.) for driving of the pile at the location. The pile parameters in the pile plan map may thus define the intended state of the pile at the location after the installation of the pile at the location is complete. It should be noted that reference herein to the movement, manipulation, driving, adjustment, or any other manipulation of a pile can apply equally to ground screws, beams, stakes, or any other object that can be inserted into the ground.

Based on the pile plan map, the systems and methods enable the performance of the different autonomous operations. For example, based on the pile plan map, the systems and methods may perform a path planning operation for a given AOV. In the path planning operation, the systems and methods may select a set of locations, where piles are to be installed by the AOV, from among a plurality of locations indicated in the pile plan map. The set of locations may be selected to optimize predetermined criteria. For example, the set of locations may be selected to minimize navigation or driving time and/or cost, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, maximize efficiency, reduce downtime (e.g., non-pile-driving time). The set of locations may also be selected based on pile availability, based on an obstacle map, or to ensure accessibility of each location specified by the pile plan map for subsequent pile driving by the same or other AOVs.

Based on the selected set of locations, the systems and methods may perform a basket assembly operation. For example, the systems and methods may generate instructions for assembling a set of piles in a specific order based on the order in which the piles are to be driven into the ground at the selected set of locations. In some embodiments, based on the specific order for the set of piles in the generated instructions, a pile basket assembly robot (e.g., AOV) may assemble and load the set of piles that may have different pile types in the specified order into a pile set holder (e.g., basket, cartridge, housing, etc.).

As a result, during the subsequent pile driving operation at each location specified by the path plan, a pile type of the pile that is accessible to a pile driving AOV from the basket of piles (e.g., the top pile in a stack of piles in the basket) will match the pile type of the pile that is to be driven into the ground at that location per the pile plan map. That is, the “correct” pile is always accessible to the AOV when it arrives at the target location. Thus, based on the generated instructions, piles of different types may be loaded in the designated order into the basket autonomously (e.g., by the pile basket assembly robot or AOV). In other embodiments, based on the generated basket assembly instructions, piles of different types may be loaded in the designated order into the basket manually (e.g., by a third-party vendor that receives the instructions and assembles the piles of the different types in the specified order into the respective baskets and delivers the assembled baskets ready for use during autonomous pile driving). As a result of the basket assembly operation, conventional manual steps of material distribution to access the correct pile at the target location or prior material distribution need not be performed, thereby eliminating significant amounts of manual labor, and reducing error during construction. As used herein, a “basket” of piles or “pile basket” refers to anything (e.g., cartridge, cassette, housing, container, bin, silo, etc.) in which a set of piles of different types can be carried or moved.

In some embodiments, instead of performing the basket assembly operation, the piles of the different types may be assembled in respective baskets and loaded onto a carriage so that a pile of each type remains always accessible to the loading and/or driving tool of the AOV. In such embodiments, based on the type of pile that is to be driving into the ground at each location, the pile loading tool may be actuated at each location to corresponding baskets having one or more piles of respective types for driving into the ground. For example, at a first location where a first type of pile is to be installed, the pile loading tool may be autonomously actuated to load a pile of the first type from a location (e.g., a first basket) storing the first type of piles. And at a second location where a second type of pile is to be installed, the pile loading tool may be autonomously actuated to load a pile of the second type from a location (e.g., a second basket the same or separate from the first basket) storing the second type of piles.

The systems and methods may further be configured to perform autonomous pile driving for each location of the pile plan map. Autonomous pile driving may include an autonomous navigation operation, an autonomous end effector positioning operation, an autonomous pile pick up operation, an autonomous pile loading operation, an autonomous pile positioning operation, and an autonomous pile driving operation (performed by a same/single AOV, or by a multi-vehicle system). In the autonomous navigation operation, an AOV (which may be the same as or different from the AOV that carries the basket of the ordered set of piles) may navigate autonomously (based on a path plan determined by the path planning operation) to a first location where a first one of the set of piles in the loaded basket is to be driven.

In the autonomous end effector positioning operation, the autonomous pile pick up operation, and the autonomous pile loading operation, the pile driving AOV may autonomously position an end effector to face a pile to be picked up, autonomously pick up the pile (e.g., the first or top pile in a stack of piles in a basket) and load the pile onto a driving tool of the AOV (which may be the same as or different from the tool that picked up the pile) to drive the pile into the ground. In the autonomous pile driving operation, the AOV may autonomously drive the pile loaded onto the driving tool of the AOV into the ground. In performing the autonomous pile driving operation at the location, the AOV may utilize the pile parameters for the location included in the pile plan map and, in some embodiments, control actuation parameters of the driving tool of the AOV based on the pile parameters to achieve the intended state (e.g., pile height, plumbness, orientation, location, etc.) of the pile at the location after the autonomous pile driving operation. The AOV may then similarly perform repeated autonomous pile driving operations for subsequent locations per the path plan. A fleet of AOVs may simultaneously and continuously perform the autonomous pile driving operations at respective sets of locations from among the plurality of locations of the same pile plan map to complete large-scale pile driving projects quickly and accurately, and with high efficiency and reduced costs.

During or after the pile driving operation, the pile driving AOV (or a separate quality control AOV) may perform a quality control operation to ensure that the driving of the pile at each location complies with the corresponding pile parameters dictated by the pile plan map. For example, the AOV may operate one or more sensors at a predetermined frequency during the pile driving operation to obtain sensor data and determine whether one or more attributes of the pile (being) installed at the location are within corresponding tolerance thresholds. The one or more attributes of the pile that may be monitored based on the sensor data may include the (actual) horizontal location of the pile driven into the ground, the vertical location of the top of the pile (e.g., to detect an over-driven pile, or an under-driven pile; also referred to as reveal height), pile refusal condition, plumbness or verticality of the pile relative to ground, orientation of the pile (e.g., 3D orientation of the bolt holes of the pile), rotation or yaw of the pile relative to the ground, deformation (e.g., bend, dents, etc.) of the pile, damage (e.g., crack or other manufacturing defect) to the pile, and the like.

The quality control operation may determine performance of one or more quality control actions based on quality control condition data (e.g., pile attribute data) generated based on the determination regarding one or more of the pile attributes being outside corresponding tolerance thresholds. For example, the quality control action may be to flag the location in association with the corresponding quality control condition data in a quality control map for subsequent manual inspection. Another example of the action may be to stop the pile driving operation prior to its completion. As yet another example, the action may be to modify actuation parameters of the pile driving tool to perform corrective action during the pile driving operation to attempt to bring an offending attribute back within the corresponding tolerance threshold (e.g., change the angle of impact of the driving tool on top of the pile being driven into the ground to bring the plumbness of the pile closer to a desired plumbness as dictated by the pile parameters in the pile plan map).

Based on the pile driving operation, the systems and methods according to the present disclosure may also generate an obstacle map indicating locations of obstacles within the geographic area. As used herein, the “obstacle map” may be a digital representation indicating obstacles or objects within the geographic area. For each obstacle tagged in the map, the obstacle map may include attributes of the obstacle such as identity, type or category of the object, physical characteristics of the object, 3D location of the object, depth of the object, and the like. The obstacle map may thus convey non-navigable regions for the AOV within the geographic area and may include as-built obstacles like piles that have been installed by the AOV at locations prescribed by the pile plan map. The as-built obstacles may be added to the obstacle map based on the pile driving operation performed by the AOV. That is, in response to the pile driving operation of driving the pile at a first location, the obstacle map may be modified to include a representation of the pile at the first location. Subsequent pile driving operations at subsequent locations may result in similar modifications to the obstacle map to include representations of the piles at the subsequent locations. The representations of the piles at the respective locations may include obstacle attributes such as horizontal location of the pile, vertical location of the top of the pile, 3D discretized pile volume data, and the like. The obstacle map may also include data regarding other types of static (e.g., inverters, torque tubes, trenches, dirt piles, electric poles, etc.) or dynamic (e.g., other AOVs or vehicles, pedestrians, etc.) obstacles (e.g., non-pile obstacles). The non-pile obstacles may be added to the obstacle map perceptually based on sensor data captured by the AOV.

Techniques disclosed herein may also look to synchronize the obstacle map based on operations being performed by multiple AOVs and use the synchronized and continuously updated, dynamic obstacle map to avoid obstacles while performing the different operations by the multiple AOVs like the path planning operation, the navigation operation, the pile loading operation, AOV tool actuation operation, the pile driving operation, and the like.

illustrates an autonomous off-road vehicle system environment, according to some embodiments. The environmentofincludes one or more autonomous off-road vehicles(“AOV” or simply “vehicle” hereinafter), a central server, and a client device, each communicatively coupled via a network. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the environmentmay include different, fewer, or additional components than those illustrated in. For instance, the client deviceand the central servermay be the same device. AOVmay also be referred to as an autonomous pile driving system herein.

Each AOVofmay be a vehicle (e.g., item of heavy equipment, vehicle, apparatus, system, robot, and the like) that is configured to move and/or operate autonomously and that is configured to communicate with the central server. Examples of AOVswithin the scope of this description include, but are not limited to pile loaders, pile drivers, pile driving rigs, pile distribution vehicles, pile basket assembly robots, loaders such as backhoe loaders, track loaders, wheel loaders, skid steer loaders, scrapers, graders, bulldozers, compactors, excavators, mini-excavators, trenchers, skip loaders, tracked vehicles, construction vehicles, tractors, transport vehicles, delivery vehicles, distribution vehicles, and the like. Collectively, AOVsmay correspond to an AOV fleet that includes one or more of each of different types of AOVsthat respectively have different functionality. Example embodiments and functional components of the AOVare described in greater detail below in at least.

The central serveris a computing system located remotely from the AOV. In some embodiments, the central server is a web server or other computer configured to receive data from and/or send data to one or more AOVswithin the environment. In some embodiments, the central serverreceives information from the AOV(e.g., obstacle data, quality control condition data, sensor data, etc.) indicating a location of the AOV, a result of a function or operation being performed by the AOV, a state of one or more vehicles, information describing the surroundings of the AOV, and the like. In some embodiments, the central servermay receive a real-time feed of data from the AOV, such as a real-time video feed of the environment surrounding the AOV. In some embodiments, the central servercan provide information to the AOV, such as an instruction to perform an operation or function (e.g., pile driving operation on a set of locations), a navigation instruction (such as a route), synced obstacle data, and the like. In some embodiments, the central servercan enable a remote operator to assume manual control of the AOVand provide manual navigation or operation instructions to the AOV. In some embodiments, some of the functionality of the AOVdescribed below in connection with, e.g.,may be subsumed by the central server. For example, sensor data from the AOVmay be transmitted to the central server, and the central servermay subsume the functionality corresponding to one or more of the obstacle map creation operation, the quality control operation, and the like.

The central servermay include an interface engineconfigured to generate one or more interfaces for viewing by a user (such as a user of the central serveror a user of the client device). The user can be a remote operator of the AOV, can be an individual associated with the environment(such as a supervisor, a consultant, etc.), can be an individual associated with the AOV(such as an operator, a repairman, an on-site coordinator, or the like), or can be any other suitable individual. The interface enginecan be used by a user to provide one or more instructions to an AOV, such as autonomous navigation instructions, operation or function instructions, remote piloting instructions, and the like. The interface enginecan generate a user interface displaying information associated with the AOV, other vehicles, or the environment. For instance, the user interface can include a map illustrating a location and/or movement of each of the AOVswithin the geographic area, a path plan generated for each AOV, a respective set of locations where piles will be driven by each AOV, a current status of the AOV, a remaining number and type of piles available to each AOV, any notifications or other data received from each AOV, and the like. The user interface can display notifications generated by and/or received from the AOV, for instance, within a notification feed, as pop-up windows, using icons within the map interface, and the like. By communicatively coupling to multiple AOVs, the central serverbeneficially enables one user to track, monitor, and/or control multiple AOVs simultaneously.

The client deviceis a computing device, such as a computer, a laptop, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or any other suitable device configured to receive information from or provide information to the central server. The client deviceincludes a display configured to receive information from the interface engine, that may include information representative of one or more of the AOVsor the environment. The client devicecan also generate notifications (e.g., based on notifications generated by an AOV) for display to a user. The client devicecan include input mechanisms (such as a keypad, a touch-screen monitor, and the like), enabling a user of the client device to provide instructions to a selected one of the AOVs(via the central server). It should be noted that although the client deviceis described herein as coupled to an AOVvia the central server, in practice, the client devicemay communicatively couple directly to the AOV (enabling a user to receive information from or provide instructions to the AOVwithout going through the central server).

As noted above, the systems or components ofare configured to communicate via a network, which may include any combination of local area and/or wide area networks, using both wired and/or wireless communication systems. In one embodiment, the networkuses standard communications technologies and/or protocols. For example, the networkincludes communication links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, code division multiple access (CDMA), digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Examples of networking protocols used for communicating via the networkinclude multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and file transfer protocol (FTP). Data exchanged over the networkmay be represented using any suitable format, such as hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). In some embodiments, all or some of the communication links of the networkmay be encrypted using any suitable technique or techniques.

show perspective views of exemplary designs of the AOVof, in accordance with some embodiments. More specifically,illustrates an exemplary design of a pile driving AOVA, andillustrates another exemplary design of a pile driving AOVB. Both pile driving AOVsA-B shown inare capable of performing at least the autonomous end effector positioning operation, the autonomous pile pick up operation, the autonomous pile loading operation, the autonomous pile positioning operation, and the autonomous pile driving operation. The exemplary designs of the pile driving AOVsA-B shown inare for ease of illustration and explanation only and not intended to be limiting. Any suitable design for the AOVis encompassed within the scope of this disclosure so long as the design can perform one or more of the functions or operations described herein.

The pile driving AOVA ofillustrates an excavator-based design for an autonomous pile driving apparatus. As shown in, the pile driving AOVA may include a chassisA including a base frameA upon which all other components are physically mounted. A carriageA mounted to the base frameA may include supporting membersA on which one or more baskets(e.g., pile set holders, cartridges, pile platforms, and the like) may be removably loaded. The embodiment shown inshows the carriageA as being supported by wheels (not labeled in). In other embodiments, the carriageA may be mounted to the AOVA without any wheels. Each basketis adapted to hold a plurality of pilesthat are driven by the pile driving AOVA into the ground using a driving toolA. More specifically, during the autonomous pile pick up and pile positioning operation, the pile driving AOVA may autonomously actuate (e.g., using hydraulics, pneumatics, electric motors, etc.) articulated armA of the driving toolA to adjust position and orientation of the driving toolA to pick up a pilefrom a basketonto the driving toolA, and lift and autonomously position the pileat a predetermined location above the ground where the pile is to be driven. After driving the pileat the location, the pile driving AOVA may autonomously navigate to a next location dictated by a pile plan map and repeat the autonomous pile pick up operation, the autonomous pile positioning operation, and the autonomous pile driving operation for a next pilefrom the (same or different) basket.

The driving toolA is an end effector at the distal end of the articulated robotic armA, designed to interact with the environment. The driving toolA in the example AOVA ofis designed to pick up a pile from any location (e.g., from a basket of piles placed on the AOVA, from a heap of piles placed on the ground, from a stack of piles placed on a separate carriage or vehicle, a single pile laying on the ground or on a vehicle), position the pile at the target location, and impart a driving force to the pile to drive the pile into the ground at the target location. In other embodiments such as the one shown in, the autonomous pile driving system may include an end effector designed for autonomously picking up the pile, and another end effector for autonomously positioning the pile at the target location and autonomously driving the pile into the ground. The end effector may be implemented using any suitable mechanism depending on the application. For example, the end effector for picking up the pile may be an electromechanical gripper (e.g.,), a magnetic or electromagnetic gripper, a pneumatic gripper, a hydraulic gripper, and the like.

Depending on the mechanism, the end effector may be adapted to pick up and hold the pile in a different manner. For example, a magnetic gripper may pick up the pile horizontally from a central portion of the pile and then the end effector may articulate one or more actuators to position the pile vertically above the ground at the target location where the pile is to be driven into the ground. As another example, an electromechanical gripper (such as the one shown in) may pick up the pile from an end thereof by engaging the end of the pile with the end effector and picking up the pile to be in a vertical position. In this case, the end effector may maintain the same vertical position and autonomously position the pile on top of the ground at the target location and autonomously drive the pile into the ground by applying a driving force at the end of the pile engaged with the end effector. The manner of picking up and holding the pile may also depend on characteristics of the pile, the environment, or the AOV. For example, based on the position or orientation of the pile, the end effector may grasp the pile at a portion thereof that is reachable by the end effector's movable range.

The AOVmay autonomously select the position on the pile that the end effector picks up the pile at based on a length of the pile, based on a type of pile, based on a position or orientation of the pile, or based on a location of the pile or portions of the pile relative to other. For instance, the AOVmay autonomously select a location towards a middle of a pile for piles above a threshold length, and may autonomously select a location towards an end of the pile for piles below a threshold length. Likewise, the AOVmay autonomously pick up a pile at a first location along a length of the pile for a first type of pile, and may autonomously pick up the pile at a second location along the length of the pile for a second type of pile. The AOVmay autonomously position the end effector to align with a face of the pile identified in response to autonomously determining an orientation of the pile. The AOVmay autonomously grab a pile at a location along the length of the pile furthest from one or more other piles near the pile. In some embodiments, the AOVmay autonomously identify a location at the pile that corresponds to empty space below or around the pile, and can autonomously grab the pile at this location.

The pile driving AOVA may also include a drive systemA to impart mobility to the AOVA through a worksite. Although not specifically labeled in, the pile driving AOVA may also include a power source that powers the drive systemA, as well as components mounted on the AOVA such as the articulated armA, and the driving toolA. The power source can be a rechargeable power source (e.g., a set of rechargeable batteries), an energy harvesting power source (e.g., a solar system), a fuel consuming power source (e.g., a set of fuel cells or an internal combustion system), or any other suitable power source. In many pile driving AOVs, the power source powers the drive systemA and the driving toolA commonly through a single hydraulic system, however other means of actuation may also be used. A common property of hydraulic systems used within pile driving AOVs is that the hydraulic capacity of the vehicle is shared between the drive systemA and the driving toolA. In some embodiments, the instructions and control logic for the pile driving AOVA to operate autonomously and semi-autonomously includes instructions relating to determinations about how and under what circumstances to allocate the hydraulic capacity of the hydraulic system.

The pile driving AOVA (autonomous pile driving system) may also include a sensor assemblyA. For example, the sensor assemblyA (e.g., object sensor system) can include cameras (e.g., camera array) that capture image data, a location sensor (e.g., GPS receiver, Bluetooth sensor), a LIDAR sensor, a RADAR sensor, kinematic sensors, weight sensors, depth sensors, proximity detectors, or any other component. The sensor assemblyA may thus be configured to detect one or more of image data, location data (e.g., geolocation data) indicating a location of the AOVA (or a location where a pile is being driven into the ground by the driving toolA) on a map corresponding to the geographic area, a presence of objects or things within a proximity of the AOVA, dimensions of any detected objects or things, and the like. Although not shown in, the sensors of the sensor assemblyA can be mounted on an external surface or appendage of the AOVA, can be located within the AOVA, can be coupled to an object or surface external to the AOVA, or can be mounted to a different vehicle (e.g., pile carriage) of the autonomous pile driving system.

In some embodiments, the object sensor systemA may be configured to autonomously detect an orientation and location of a pile in an environmentaround the autonomous pile driving systemA. For example, the object sensor systemA may utilize image data from a camera, LIDAR sensor data, radar sensor data, data from kinematic sensors on a trailer, and/or data from weight sensors on a pile basket to detect a pile relative to the environment. The object sensor systemA may be configured to identify the position and orientation of the detected pile based on the sensor data. For example, a depth map or point cloud model corresponding to the pile may be constructed to determine the dimensions of the pile including its position and orientation relative to the environmentand relative to components of the AOV.

A movement range of the articulated armA defines a movable range for the driving toolA provided at a distal end of the articulated armA of the autonomous pile driving systemA. When the object sensor systemA determines that the detected pile (e.g., pile placed on the ground, pile placed in a separate vehicle, pile in a basket carried by the AOVA) or predetermined portions of the detected pile (e.g., end portion, middle portion, etc.) is within the movable range of the driving toolA to perform one or more of the autonomous operations related to pile driving at a target location without operating the drive systemA and without exceeding structural load limits of the AOVA, and while maintaining predetermined stability and traction parameters, the object sensor systemA may determine that the detected pile is within a threshold distance of the AOVA.

In some configurations, the AOVA may additionally include a communication apparatus, which functions to communicate (e.g., send and/or receive) data between the AOVA and a set of remote devices (e.g., central serverof). The communication apparatus can be a Wi-Fi communication system, a cellular communication system, a short-range communication system (e.g., Bluetooth, NFC, etc.), or any other suitable communication system.

The pile driving AOVB ofillustrates a custom-built design for an autonomous pile driving apparatus. As shown in, the pile driving AOVB may include a chassisB including a base frame upon which all other components are physically mounted. Instead of including a carriage for loading baskets of piles, the system of the pile driving AOVB may utilize a separate pile distribution AOV (not shown) that carries the piles (or baskets of piles). The pile driving AOVB may autonomously pick up a pilefrom the separate pile distribution AOV by operating a pile pick up mechanismB-and drive the pileinto the ground by operating a pile driving mechanismB-. For example, during pile driving the separate pile distribution AOV may be parked adjacent the pile driving AOVB. The pile driving AOVB may perform the autonomous pile pick up operation by actuating (e.g., using hydraulics, pneumatics, electric motors, etc.) the pile pick up mechanismB-to adjust position and orientation of a pick up tool (not shown) to pick up a pilefrom the separate pile distribution AOV and position the picked up pile to load it into a pile holding sleeve of the pile driving mechanismB-. The pile driving AOVB may then perform the autonomous pile driving operation by actuating (e.g., using hydraulics, pneumatics, electric motors, etc.) the pile driving mechanismB-to adjust position and orientation of a driving toolB of the pile driving mechanismB-to drive the loaded pileinto the ground at a predetermined location where the pile is to be driven. After driving the pileat the location, the pile driving AOVB may autonomously navigate to a next location dictated by the pile plan map and repeat the autonomous pile pick up operation and the autonomous pile driving operation for a next pilefrom the separate pile distribution AOV. Similar to the pile driving AOVA, the pile driving AOVB may also include a drive system, a power source, a sensor assembly, a communication apparatus, and the like. These components are not shown in, and their detailed description is omitted here for simplicity.

is a block diagram of the AOVof, in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in, the AOVincludes a sensor array, a component array, and a control system, each communicatively coupled via a network. It should be noted that in other embodiments, the AOVmay include different, fewer, or additional components than those illustrated in.

The sensor array(e.g., object sensor system) includes a combination of one or more of: measurement sensors, spatial sensors, imaging sensors, and position sensors. The sensor arrayis configured to collect data related to the AOVand environmental data surrounding the AOV. The control systemis configured to receive the data from the AOVand carry out instructions based on the received data to perform various autonomous operations (e.g., path planning operation, navigation operation, pile basket assembly operation, pile basket loading operation, pile basket distribution operation, pile distribution operation, end effector positioning operation, pile pick up operation, pile loading operation, pile positioning operation, pile driving operation, obstacle map creation operation, quality control operation, pile removal operation, etc.). Each sensor is either removably mounted to the AOVwithout impeding the operation of the AOVor is an integrated component that is a native part of the AOVas made available by its manufacturer. Each sensor transmits the data in real-time or as soon as a network connection is achieved, automatically without input from the AOVor a human operator. Data recorded by the sensor arrayis used by the control systemand/or the central serverofto perform the various autonomous operations.

Measurement sensorsgenerally measure properties of the ambient environment, or properties of the AOVitself. These properties may include tool position/orientation, relative articulation of the various joints of the arm supporting the tool, vehicle speed, ambient temperature, hydraulic pressure (either relative to capacity or absolute) including how much hydraulic capacity is being used by the drive system and the driving tool separately. A variety of possible measurement sensorsmay be used, including hydraulic pressure sensors, linear encoders, radial encoders, inertial measurement unit sensors, incline sensors, accelerometers, strain gauges, gyroscopes, and string encoders.

The spatial sensorsoutput a three-dimensional map in the form of a three-dimensional point cloud representing distances, for example between one meter and fifty meters between the spatial sensorsand the ground surface or any objects within the field of view of the spatial sensor, in some cases per rotation of the spatial sensor. In one embodiment, spatial sensorsinclude a set of light emitters (e.g., Infrared (IR)) configured to project structured light into a field near the AOV, a set of detectors (e.g., IR cameras), and a processor configured to transform data received by the infrared detectors into a point cloud representation of the three-dimensional volume captured by the detectors as measured by structured light reflected by the environment. In one embodiment, the spatial sensoris a LIDAR sensor having a scan cycle that sweeps through an angular range capturing some or all of the volume of space surrounding the AOV. Other types of spatial sensorsmay be used, including time-of-flight sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and radar sensors.

Imaging sensorscapture still or moving-video representations of the ground surface, objects, and environment surrounding the AOV. Example imaging sensorsinclude, but are not limited to, stereo RGB cameras, structure from motion cameras, and monocular RGB cameras. In one embodiment, each camera can output a video feed containing a sequence of digital photographic images at a rate of 20 Hz. In one embodiment, multiple imaging sensorsare mounted such that each imaging sensor captures some portion of the entire 360-degree angular range around the vehicle. For example, front, rear, left lateral, and right lateral imaging sensors may be mounted to capture the entire angular range around the AOV.

The position sensorsprovide a position of the AOV. This may be a localized position within a geographic area, or a global position with respect to latitude/longitude, or some other external reference system. In one embodiment, a position sensor is a global positioning system interfacing with a static local ground-based GPS node mounted to the AOVto output a position of the AOV.

There are a number of different ways for the sensor arraygenerally and the individual sensors specifically to be constructed and/or mounted to the AOV. This will also depend in part on the design or construction of the AOV. The number, location, type or mounting position of the sensors for the AOVis not intended to be limiting, so long as the sensors can operate to enable the autonomous operations described.