Interface Design of a Tele-operated Crane
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Chen, Yi-Chen
Abstract
Cranes play important roles on construction sites. During operation, the crane operator can be distracted by a multitude of factors, leading to hazardous operational environments which can result in accidents. Recent investigations into the potentials of tele-operation have revealed that risks to human safety at the jobsite can be reduced drastically with the removal of the need for many personnel to be physically onsite. This research focused on the interface design of a tele-operated crane. Four modules were developed to assist the operators in remotely manipulating a crane. The field information collector integrates the information obtained from video cameras situated at different locations on the jobsite. The virtual information collector retrieves the information from the Building Information Model (BIM). The operation guider processes the information from the various sources and calculates safe and efficient paths for the erections. The attention-based interface has been designed with consideration of how the users’ attention is divided into three view types. The operator pays most attention to "focused views", which is located at the center of the display, and shows a scene of the construction site and the erection path. The "ambient views", displayed at the top of the screen provide additional information such as height, collision distance, and crane capacity. When the operational environment becomes dangerous, the "alert views" will send a warning to the operator so that accidents can be avoided. To verify the usability of the interface, we conducted a user test in a simulated environment using a robot arm. The results indicate that the interface prevented 57% of collisions and reduced the task load of operators. We also found that the interface resulted in high levels of user satisfaction. The utility rate of the different view types was found to be correlated with specific erection activities. The research results provide an ideal reference for designing user interfaces of tele-operated cranes in the future.
Subjects
tele-operation
augmented reality
path planning
user interface
Type
thesis
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