New skill of unlocking AI excavator: realizing self-building wall by unmanned operation

CTOnews.com, November 25 (Xinhua) A scientific team from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich recently successfully transformed the 12-ton Menzi Muck M545 hand excavator, which can stack boulders and build a dry stone wall without the intervention of workers.

The team named it HEAP (Hydraulic Excavator for an Autonomous Purpose). The cabin and digging arm were equipped with GNSS global positioning system, and the chassis was equipped with IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), control module and LiDAR sensor.

In the demonstration, HEAP first scanned a construction site, created a 3D map, and then recorded the location of boulders dumped on the site, each weighing several tons.

The robot then lifts each boulder off the ground and uses machine vision technology to estimate its weight and center of gravity and record its three-dimensional shape.

HEAP's control module motion algorithm determines the best location for each boulder to build a stable dry stone wall that is 6 meters (20 feet) high and 65 meters (213 feet) long. CTOnews.com Note: "dry stone" refers to a wall made only of stacked stones without any mortar between them.

Paper reference address: Ryan Luke Johns et al.,A framework for robotic excavation and dry stone construction using on-site materials.Sci. Robot.8,eabp9758 (2023). DOI:10.1126/scirobotics.abp9758