1st International Conference on Machine Control & Guidance 2008 1

GPS-based 3D-Monitoring in Surface Mining

Heinz-Erich RADER
RMR Softwareentwicklungsgesellschaft (RMR)

Abstract
RMR has developed a software called GeoCAD-OP for GPS-based machine guidance for wheel-
excavators, spreaders and compactors. The 3D-real-time animated software is always divided in a
machine and an office application, latter can be used as a control station for any kind of machine.

Keywords
GPS, machine guidance, wheel excavator, spreader, scanner, compactor, 3D, DTM, digger, open cast
mining, mining

1 THE COMPANY
RMR exists since 1987 and has theirmain headquarters in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler. Originally she
created AutoCAD-applications. They were developed for surveying, street planning and construction
as well as for digital terrain models. Since 1995 RMR has used an own AutoCAD-Clone on which the
software GeoCAD-OP was developed as a basis, next to AutoCAD. This object-oriented software is
the basis for all software which is developed by the RMR and it is today available both on the basis of
an own internal CAD and on the AutoCAD basis.

2 GEOCAD-OP AS BASIS OF THE GPS MACHINE CONTROL

SOFTWARE
While most manufacturers of machine guidance software are coming from the GPS instrument
manufacturers, the reverse way was taken at the RMR. The company currently thinks of GPS devices
taking a similar sale way as before the PC e.g. In this way the question which hardware manufacturer
builds a GPS device will move more and more into the background in future and the software which
binds the devices and makes the devices better usable for the customer will come to the fore. From this
thought it is good to develop machine controller programmes on the basis of one software which
covers the above listed fields. Therefore the essential components of the software are supposed to be
presented shortly in the following chapter.

2.1 Components of GeoCAD-OP

GeoCAD-OP is a multi-functional 3D information program which can be used for the administration
of arbitrary geo-data. It consists basically of the different components which one can take from the
chart standing to the right (No. 1).

Figure 1
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2.1.1 Database
It forms the central unit of GeoCAD-OP, here all data are stored. All objects in the database reference
each other so that the usual relation-tables which would become necessary with extensive use of links
are dropped. A net of references arises. The construction is so that the search of referencing to
referenced objects is just as fast as the reverse search of referenced to the referencing objects.

Figure 2

2.1.2 Internal CAD

The software with the machine control currently applied is based on an AutoCAD-Clone core. It can
read and write DWG formats directly and with this basis the software allows convenient CAD
functionality. Simultaneously this offers the possibility to exchange the data with other systems in the
office on file basis e.g. of microstation DGN files, ESRI-SHP files, EDBS and NAS and so on.

Figure 3
In this way the customer can prepare the data for the machines in the office and transmit the data to the
machines afterwards. Backwards the data can be sent by the machine into the headquarters and the
works are continued in the CAD. (The example drawing is supposed to be used only for representing
the possibilities of the CAD to produce any plans).

2.1.3 3D-Viewer
This very fast Open GL component on the basis of an Open-GL kernel of silicon Graphics facilitates
free movements and 3D turns of the camera or the objects in the room in real-time. Due to the high
speed it forms the basis of the digital terrain models and visualization, also for the machine control.
Because of the fact that along animated 3D graphics all calculations and all sort of geometry are
available all necessary information can be provided for the customer in real time. The opposite figures
(2) show e.g. an always same ground with different representation possibilities and texture editions
which can be used for the representation of the machines and the terrain also for the machine control.
Along with this views the system can generate of course cuts also in even real time through surfaces
and can show the corresponding information graphically, so that these often necessary information are
available also for the control.
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2.1.4 Calculation-Program
This software section allows all geodesic and other calculations including the reports. It can be used
both for the geodesy and for the land registry measurements. All kinds of calculations, many
equalizations and all transformations, also between the different coordinate and ellipsoid systems and
so on, are contained in this program section.

Figure 4
This part of the software is also important for the control to the different measurement sensors with
different interfaces (V24, Ethernet and so on). This software section has interfaces to GPS receivers,
tachymeters, sonic depth finders, levelling instruments, voltage and inclination sensors. The software
does not depend on the vendor-specific calculation modules but it can carry out even the necessary
calculations and formattings itself, if those of the hardware vendors are not sufficient for the targeted
purpose.

2.1.5 Pixelmanagement
Since beside to vector graphic for the orientation sometimes only geo-referenced raster data is
available, the possibility of displaying and administration of pixel pictures is necessary in such
software. GeoCAD allows simple works at the raster data and provides the possibility to read in
approx. 150 different raster formats and it is possible to use them as background pictures within the
drawings. The zoom and pan-functions work also in quasi real time. On the figure 4 as a background
picture a raster-drawing is to be seen together with vector data and an inserted three dimensional
terrain model. Such pictures could be deposited therefore as an information to the driver on every
machine in addition to the actual “normal” machine control elements.

2.1.6 Virtualizing
The concept of virtualisation is used in GeoCAD-OP to give the software the ability to process
arbitrary single objects with an arbitrary size from the 3D-viewer, the CAD or the raster data so that
one can regard these objects in 3D in almost real time. As an example think of orthophotos of a whole
region that can be presented in real-time. All these pictures are processed in a manner that a customer
can see these photos at his screen as if they were a single big pixel picture. For the machine control
that means that it can represent the machines e.g. with digital terrain models set aside in models any
big, consisting of as many as desired points in quasi real time. OP re-loads the necessary data very
quickly at given time and/or removes obsolete data from the system correspondingly.

2.2 Advantage of this approach

The before mentioned basic functionality is available to every of our machine control application.
Thus all these things that in the long run should not be missing in any machine control application do
not have to be programmed for every special application again so that the software development is,
seen in the long term, to achieve more favorably than to program at first a special application and to
develop later on this entire complex again for every of these applications.
All machines whose displays are based a DWG- or DGN-drawing or that use GeoCAD-OP keep on
being able to exchange intelligent data, that is objects, among each other or with a headquarters in a
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homogeneous, object-oriented and database-based system. In contrary highly specialized applications

require new, very specific interfaces here again and again.
Finally it is still to be said that the same software can be used for the indoor work (office) and the
available functionality can be controlled through user access control on the machine or in the field
work. This reduces the training costs since always the same software is used.

3 THE MACHINE CONTROL SYSTEMS ON BASIS OF GEOCAD-OP

On the up to now described software basis applications were developed for 3D-monitoring of the
subsequently presented machine types. There are always two modes available, once as software on the
machine and once as an office version. The GPS receivers of the companies are selectable
(alphabetically without ranking) Leica, Novatel, Topcon and Trimble. Also the tachymeter of the
companies Leica and Topcon for the positioning could be operated through the software-interfaces.

Figure 5
The first development occurred for the gathering and evaluation of compactor data and is called “area
wide compaction control” (in a word AWCC). The system which consists of a software on the
machine and also in the office records all compression values with their true positions and generates
from these data a DTM which gives back finally the layer thickness and the actual surface with a few
centimeters of accuracy.
A further application is the specialization of the software for major digger systems. For the company
RWE-Power AG the software was developed on so that the excavator driver at every time can
recognize how their machine moves relatively compared to a given DTM. The target-DTM is brought
to the industrial PC (IPC) on the machine from the planning department through the network and the
wheel excavator driver obtains all necessary information.

Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8

Since the waste material dug by an excavator must be moved to somewhere also a software was
developed for the spreader. By means of a scanner and GPS the field in which the material is dumped
is surveyed and a DTM is produced and indicated on the screen of the driver approx. every six
seconds. As on the digger also the masses and distances or necessary cuts are inserted so that the
driver knows at any time which masses he may still pour at a place.
Due to their size a further specialization of the software was made which originally had been created
for the blade wheel excavators car. The biggest hydraulics diggers of the company TEREX also have a
positioning and displaying IPC which is based on GeoCAD-OP (fig. 8).
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3.1 AWCC
The AWCC-module also consists of, as any machine software within GeoCAD OP, a machine- and an
office part. The sense of this is to be seen in many settings being supposed to be carried out by
employees in the indoor work which the drivers should after that not be able to change anymore
during their daily work.

3.1.1 Driver Display

The figure 9 shows the driver dialog on a roller. With two GPS antennae and with or without an
inclination sensor the system shows the driver all data relevant for the AWCC.

Figure 9: Driver display

In the left overview field of the display the driver immediately sees (here without operation schedule
set aside) the rolled faces in the dyeing that results from the compression values. The left of the three
cylindrical instruments currently indicates these values to the driver. At the middle cylindrical
instrument the speed can be read off and at the right one the compression frequency. All colour scales
are freely adjustable by the user either or painted out corresponding to their calibration measurements.
If the scale is calibrated new or redefined by the user all values, dependent on that, are dyed upon
request again.
The driver keeps on having a temperature display which is needed in the asphalt construction. By
means of the scale next to the left cylindrical instrument (s. fig. 9, 11) he can recognize whether the
material" is installed "still in the acceptable ranges (green).
In the right upper field of the screen (fig. 9) the driver sees the necessary GPS-information as well as
the organizational data. They inform him in which construction field, which layer of the current shift
the machine performs its work. He informs the machine of this before starting.

Figure 10: Plots

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In the opposite screen section (fig. 11), pulled out from the above figure 9, the temperature and their
debit as well as the compression values and their debit minimum and maximum as a plot are indicated
to the driver.
The horizontal beam shows him how far he moves itself away from the parallel median of one
rounded in integer form bandage-wide moved guideline in order to optimize the operating behavior
(parallel-driving). The vertical beam shows in the deviation of current layer strength relative to the
debit strength, since this is essential for the construction.
Aside the documentation of all compression values also from all these informations a DTM may be
generated that gives shows the rolled surface. On the machine one can look this DTM, evaluations in
the form of raster images about the compression, the temperature or the deviation of the layer strength
immediately in order to decide on the acceptability of the present compression achievement on site.
The software can select further contiguous fields in these raster displays and list further contiguous
fields so that about this auxiliary function an automatized process of certification on site will become
possible sometime.

3.2 Office module of the AWCC

In this software section the settings which are not supposed to be influenced by the driver are put in.
This part of the software is also available on the machine, safeguarded however, through password
protection. The employees of the indoor work administer the projects in this part of the software and
also prepare them for the machines.
Next to the administration of the calibrations also the definitions of the scales, the preparation and
storing of the operation schedules and the determination of the construction lots and fields as well as
the layers, the shifts and their nominal values are carried out.
When the data returns into the office from the construction site the employee can analyze possible
errors here. The following screen section shows that he can examine in a detailed way every value,
both in a tabular and a CAD form. This consideration of the relevant data is possible for all data, that
is compression, temperature or layer strength.
A further help is the possibility to have a look at these values as cuts at a certain point so that the user
can judge how the compression or the temperature developed at a certain place with time.

Figure 11
Finally he is able, by graphical representation of the compression within the construction fields, to
generate plans together with other necessary background plans automatically so that they can be
presented for quality control. Since the scale definitions and so forth the legends can be drawn also
automatically the manual expenditure is reduced to a minimum.

4 EXCAVATOR MONITORING
Also here the driver and office part is separated by each other. However the indoor work module of
the program became the “control station module” since also the spreader or also other GPS-supported
machines can be monitored here. Until now there was no need to program an only digging indoor
module.
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4.1 Machine Side

All data necessary for monitoring, is indicated to the driver as the following monitor figure 13 shows.
In the left section one recognizes again the situation plan and/or operation schedule section so that the
driver can recognize where he is just working. Analogous to navigation systems he can choose
between a north-direction or an machine orientated view (orthogonal to axis of the excavator wheel).
He can select different digger types, different grounds, both for debit and is terrain. The driver pursues
the digging of the is-terrain in the 3D-l viewer. In view of the actual ground the is-model is tracked in
real time and the excavator is shown an screen in real time. The blade wheel turns as long as the
excavator is working.

Figure 12: Excavator monitor

The driver can store with the M-key views onto the terrain, so that he recalls this view onto the DTM
again and again on button pressure. Since he is looking to an animated representations also the
possibility is given to him to define sources of light, so that the ground is always well illuminated.
The distances indicated in green (s. fig. 14) show which distances has the next point of the blade wheel
cylinder to the planned DTM. For better handling these distances are transformed into components
which correspond to the possibilities of the excavators steering control. In great writing the distance to
the next planned sole is indicated. An indication of an obstacle emerges automatically on the right in
orange colour. The values and distances are shown to the driver analogous to the distances to the
planned DTM.

Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15

Due to the provided DTM (s. fig. 15), the system decides which masses are just exploited. However
the driver can overwrite this when he assigns the just dug stream of masses to a material himself.
Next to the listed above distances the software calculates the distances to a belt conveyor or to another
selectable line-shaped drawing element (s. fig. 16). The CAD-functionality facilitates these simple
selection and the highlighting of such objects here.
It is always possible for the driver to feed a new debit-DTM for ramps. He only needs to point with the
blade wheel onto the left and right side of the future ramp and register these points by clicking. After
that the software automatically forms a complete ramp with set debit inclination and put typical cross-
section. It is calculated into the available DTM so that this ramp can be scraped as new reference-
DTM with the digger.
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The accuracy of the blade wheel positions which are achieved via the GPS-system is about approx.
5 cm, x,y and height. The investigations necessary to that were carried out on a stationary device. An
investigation of the positions as comparison between such which are determined by pursuit through a
tachymeter and such that are supplied GSP-supported is just being carried out.

4.2 Indoor Side

The office application is only indirect a GPS-supported application. It is possible to transfer
immediately the NMEA-GPS character strings as a stream from the machine into the office and to
follow also the machine-sided view of the driver there. But the software concept is, however that all
data that are already preprocessed on the machine are sent onto the control-station. In this way there
the supervision of all devices, with the possibility to connect to a single machine device, exists. The
control-station is described in the last chapter shortly.

5 SPREADER MONITORING
The counterpart to the digger is the spreader. It refills all materials that do not roam to the exploitation.
The target of the spreadermonitoring is the automatized GPS-supported measuring of each current
state of the backfill, the calculation of the poured masses and the comparison of the is-DTM arising so
with the planned DTM in real time. From that the necessary views are generated for the spreader
driver so that the masses needed for the production of the target-DTM can be poured by him precisely.
In a further step the updated plan of the mine is supposed to be generated later automatized by the
software.

5.1 Machine Side

Unlike the excavator monitoring, an additional definition of points with a measurement device, here a
laser scanner, is necessary for the spreader monitoring next to the GPS positioning. It results during
this co-ordination in a terrestrial measurement from a system in motion.

5.2 Arrangement of the GPS-Antennae and Accuracy

Fundamental, in analog mode to the digger, there are two possibilities to install a 3D-geo-referenced
platform in motion on a device, either two GPS antennae and an inclination sensor or three GPS
antennae can be used.
If variant one is chosen it is necessary to use particular algorithms for the elimination of those
accelerations that are not caused by actual inclinations of the observed machine parts, because every
inclination sensor also is an acceleration sensor, which thus reacts on brake and speed up. If you take
the second variant it is important to mount the antennae with distance as great as possible and, if the
receivers dispose over a moving base option, to use this so that the antenna positions match as exactly
as possible. If one pays attention to these tips, accuracies are achieved in the subsequently shown
procedure for the scanned ground points of approx. 10 cm. The use of an interial-measurement system
is not taken into account up to now from financial reasons, because the achieved accuracies at the time
are sufficient.

Figure 16
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5.3 Surveying Concept

In order to be able to announce the state of filling to the driver time-near, a so called “fast scan” from a
part of the ground, referred to as fast scans area, is permanently taken by a 3D scanner attached to the
spreader boom (s. fig. 17 and 18). The „external orientation" of the scanner is calculated before, by
scanning of known objectives so that after those calculations points can be determined through this
linking between GPS platform and scanner. The fast scan area can be determined by the user and is
usually approx. 80-100 m in every axial direction.

Figure 17 Figure 18
After a complete scan of this field from the software the so taken DTM is recalculated under
elimination of the pouring-ray and the dust clouds (s. fig. 19) and represented to the driver. This entire
process is repeated every four to six seconds approximately. In order to achieve better readable height
information for the driver the software also can calculate and show a cut at any time through that just
generated DTM in real time. These cuts can be prepared in prolongation of the spreader boom or in a
normal way to that. All CAD-functionality is available to the driver of course for cuts, generation of
equidistant height contour lines and so on, but under real-time conditions these functions are not
reasonably applicable by hand.

Figure 19
After a some specified time, which normally the user determines in the office, or after a preset number
of scans, the system carries out a so-called “subsidence scan” (s. fig. 20). This scan covers a clearly
bigger region and is supposed to chart the area, for which the dumping is already finished, once again.
In this way the subsidence of the then mostly already graded ground can be documented and update of
the chart of the mine can be updated. According to size of the ground field such a scan including
evaluation and displaying on the screen of the driver needs approx. 10-12 seconds (100m x 400 m) for
completing. With the here described procedure the driver receives in quasi-real-time the screen below
(s. fig. 21).
This picture shows him the volumes poured by the machine and the remaining volume that it can still
bring in up to the attaining of the target-DTM, the time that he will still need for that with the present
volume flow as well as the relative height difference between the point of impact and the planned
DTM at that point. The ground is always dyed due to a given scale. A possible overplus, that is masses
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whose height reach over the height of the target-DTM at that point, are labelled in turn in a specific
colour and their mass is indicated.
By one specific program call the driver can calculate a mass balance in the surroundings of the
pouring-ray or a chosen point so that he can recognize whether mass is available sufficiently, to
produce the debit-DTM through grading.
The evaluated DTM-data can be sent in turn onto a control-station which allows the supervision of the
machines.

Figure 20

6 CONTROL STATION
This module allows to look at several registered machines or at all of them in the office
simultaneously. It is also possible to regard a selected machine more precisely by clicking on it on the
display or to switch oneself onto the monitor of the driver. Through assignment of the excavators to
their corresponding spreaders the material streams in the opencast mining can be pursued. Since the
control station is not a direct GPS-application, however, this short description should only be seen as a
glance on this part of the software.

Figure 21

7 CONCLUSIONS
Through the introduction of additional sensors sooner or later the way will increasingly lead into a
more and more man-free opencast mining. As this article shows the beginnings are done for that.