Path Planning for Excavator Arm: Fuzzy Logic Control Approach

Abstract

This paper proposes an algorithm to design the path for automated excavator arm. The path designing is divided into two phases. Firstly, the fuzzy logic technique is used to determine the change of the path to adapt with the variation of the material after each digging period. Secondly, the B-spline algorithm is used to build the optimal trajectory. By this, the excavator can maximize the dug weight although the shape of the material is variation. The effectiveness of the algorithm is verified through computer simulation and real-time experiment. The simulation and experimental results show that the generated optimal path keeps the dug weight around the expected value regardless of the change of the environment.