Development of CPS Platform for Autonomous Construction

TL;DR

This work tackles labor shortages in construction by enabling autonomous earthwork through an open CPS platform (ROS2-TMS for Construction) that leverages PWRI's OPERA common-control signals. It combines a BT-based Task Management Mechanism, a global blackboard for multi-machine synchronization, and OperaSimVR to visualize real-time cyberspace representations of the site and machinery. The approach is validated with real deployments on IC120 and ZX200, demonstrating coordinated navigation and manipulation, task execution reliability, and immersive VR feedback, with plans to broaden machinery support and abstract subtasks for engineers. The work advances practical autonomous construction by enabling cross-vendor control, realtime sensing integration, and immersive operator feedback, supporting scalable and safer earthwork operations.

Abstract

In recent years, labor shortages due to the declining birthrate and aging population have become significant challenges at construction sites in developed countries, including Japan. To address these challenges, we are developing an open platform called ROS2-TMS for Construction, a Cyber-Physical System (CPS) for construction sites, to achieve both efficiency and safety in earthwork operations. In ROS2-TMS for Construction, the system comprehensively collects and stores environmental information from sensors placed throughout the construction site. Based on these data, a real-time virtual construction site is created in cyberspace. Then, based on the state of construction machinery and environmental conditions in cyberspace, the optimal next actions for actual construction machinery are determined, and the construction machinery is operated accordingly. In this project, we decided to use the Open Platform for Earthwork with Robotics and Autonomy (OPERA), developed by the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) in Japan, to control construction machinery from ROS2-TMS for Construction with an originally extended behavior tree. In this study, we present an overview of OPERA, focusing on the newly developed navigation package for operating the crawler dump, as well as the overall structure of ROS2-TMS for Construction as a Cyber-Physical System (CPS). Additionally, we conducted experiments using a crawler dump and a backhoe to verify the aforementioned functionalities.

Figures (33)

• Figure 1: The ration of employees in Japan based on estat_1
• Figure 2: The transition of construction investment amount in Japan based on estat_2
• Figure 3: The concept of ROS2-TMS for Construction
• Figure 4: The target of OPERA
• Figure 5: OPERA