Development of CPS Platform for Autonomous Construction

TL;DR

This paper presents the development of an open CPS platform called ROS2-TMS for Construction, integrating sensor data, virtual modeling, and machinery control to improve efficiency and safety in earthwork operations amid labor shortages.

Contribution

It introduces a novel CPS platform utilizing ROS2 and OPERA for autonomous construction machinery control, with new navigation packages and real-time virtual site modeling.

Findings

Verified functionality with crawler dump and backhoe experiments

Demonstrated real-time environmental data collection and virtual site creation

Showed potential for improved safety and efficiency in construction

Abstract

In recent years, labor shortages due to the declining birthrate and aging population have become significant challenges at construction sites in developed countries, including Japan. To address these challenges, we are developing an open platform called ROS2-TMS for Construction, a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) for construction sites, to achieve both efficiency and safety in earthwork operations. In ROS2-TMS for Construction, the system comprehensively collects and stores environmental information from sensors placed throughout the construction site. Based on these data, a real-time virtual construction site is created in cyberspace. Then, based on the state of construction machinery and environmental conditions in cyberspace, the optimal next actions for actual construction machinery are determined, and the construction machinery is operated accordingly. In this project, we decided to use the Open Platform for Earthwork with Robotics and Autonomy (OPERA), developed by the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) in Japan, to control construction machinery from ROS2-TMS for Construction with an originally extended behavior tree. In this study, we present an overview of OPERA, focusing on the newly developed navigation package for operating the crawler dump, as well as the overall structure of ROS2-TMS for Construction as a Cyber-Physical System (CPS). Additionally, we conducted experiments using a crawler dump and a backhoe to verify the aforementioned functionalities.