Earthwork digital twin for teleoperation of an automated bulldozer in edge dumping

The unstructured construction site with a complex and changeable environment brings challenges to human-machine interaction. In this study, the earthwork digital twin (DT) is proposed to realize accurate and real-time perception, which can support the teleoperation of an automated bulldozer. The overall framework includes anterior-time DT, real-time DT, and posterior-time DT, which integrates three-dimensional modeling, edge detection, and blade trajectory algorithms. Multidimensional heterogeneous data in bulldozer teleoperation can be displayed in real-time to ensure construction safety. Big data during teleoperation of the construction process can be collected, stored, and analyzed. The DT proposed in this study was successfully applied in a major construction project in China, and testing results show its universality, robustness, and advanced performance. The key technologies proposed in this study can be applied to solve the common problems in the construction industry, which is promising for future intelligent construction.