An autonomous crawler excavator for hazardous environments Ein autonomer Raupenbagger fur menschenfeindliche Umgebungen

As part of ROBDEKON, a 24-ton crawler excavator was equipped with sensors and a digital actuation interface as a technology demonstrator which features autonomy capabilities. The system architecture includes algorithms for localization, perception, mapping, planning, and control. The system is capable of tasks like autonomous driving to a target location, excavation of a predefined area to a given depth, and autonomous loading of an autonomously approaching transport vehicle. To ensure safety, collision avoidance based on 360 degrees perception is always active during autonomous operation. This article presents the concept and implementation of the excavator's autonomy functionality.