| Popis: |
This paper describes a current Bureau of Mines research project that is applying autonomous vehicle concepts to coal mining machinery. The system consists of a specially instrumented 50-ton mining machine with an onboard integrated computer control system and a Symbolics 3600 computer. Preliminary tests demonstrated that the Symbolics could communicate and control the mining machine through the use of a simple yet powerful communication protocol. The status of the system is displayed graphically on the Symbolics. A description of the mining machine, the system architecture, the integrated computer control system, the communication protocol, and initial experimental test results are discussed. Future experiments and system enhancements are also delineated. |
