Equipment World Digital Magazine
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excavator showed up to a 63-percent reduction in construction time. The machine is semi-automatically limited from dig- ging beyond the target surface, as defined by project files downloaded either through a thumb drive inserted into the bottom of the in-cab control box or remotely through project partner Topcon's Sitelink 3D Enterprise program. Previewed at ConExpo in March, the excavator became available in North America last month, the culmination of a project that's obviously got those involved buzzing. "This is no longer machine guidance, but machine control," says Peter Robson, Komatsu's director of intelligent machine controls. What does semi-automatic mean? Komatsu wants to make clear the machine control takes over only when an operator nears the target surface as defined by downloaded project files. "When the bucket reaches the target design surface, the automation limits it from going below grade, even allowing semi-automatic tracing of the target design surface," says Jason Anetsberger, Komatsu America project marketing manager, intelligent machine controls. In all other areas, operators are in com- plete control, and they can opt for manual controls at any time. "The fundamental design challenge was how to smartly add automation to increase the efficiency of the machine without limiting the productivity of an experienced opera- tor," Anetsberger explains. "Productivity gains depend on the operator, who still controls the speed of the opera- tion. This will raise an operator's efficiencies, whatever his experience." The company also wants to differentiate this system from what it calls "conventional guid- ance systems" now available for excavators. "With conventional guidance, the grade quality depends on the skill of the op- erator," Robson says. "When you talk to customers, one of the biggest problems they had with these systems is speed. The operator is always constantly monitoring the indicate-only system to see if he's on grade. With Intelligent Machine Con- trol, the operator can focus on moving materials efficiently – and with plus/minus 42-millime- ter accuracy – without worrying about meeting the target." "This actually empowers the operator," Anetsberger adds. "He's not relying on people outside of the machine to tell him whether he's on grade, and he has less tunnel vision than if he was constantly looking at a machine guidance monitor." How it's done The excavator's Intelligent Machine Control system – mod- eled in part after Komatsu's intelligent dozer line intro- duced last year and developed concurrently with the dozer controls – offers real-time bucket edge positioning in rela- tion to the machine and job surface. The system has several components, all factory installed: • Stroke sensing hydraulic cylinders on the boom, arm and bucket. Each of these cylinders has a built-in stroke sensor, providing real-time bucket position data sent to the in-cab control box. Monitoring displacement of the cylinders, the sensors track where the cutting edge of the bucket is relative to the body of the machine. • An Inertial Measurement Unit, located inside the ma- chine, which detects machine orientation. • Working from project files, a 12.1-inch tablet-like touch screen display control box inside the cab shows side and aerial views of the machine, and uses a facing angle compass, a light bar and audio guidance. • Two GNSS antennas, positioned on easily-accessed handrails behind the cab. A GNSS receiver is located inside the machine. The only obvious clues an intelligent machine is different from the standard PC210LC-10 are the antennas and in-cab control box. All other components are internal. These components give the excavator these semi-auto- matic capabilities when near the target surface: • Auto grade assist, in which the boom adjusts the bucket January 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 23 innovations | continued