Loading of Tracked Vehicles under their Own Power on a Trailer under the Control of a Machine Vision System

The paper outlines problems associated with safe loading and transportation of construction and special tracked vehicles on the cargo platforms of heavy-duty trailers. In order to improve the positioning accuracy of this equipment on trailer platforms, it is proposed to use a machine vision system (MVS). The study presents a fully functional physical model of such a system. The specified model was tested under automated control over the spatial position of tracked vehicles in the process of their loading on a cargo platform. The spatial position parameters of equipment affecting the safety of loading under its own power were identified. The loading process was automated using a videogrammetric device mounted on the vehicle to be transported and three active-type sighting targets placed on the cargo platform. The MVS employs digital video processing methods to enable a high probability of detecting and identifying sighting targets according to their flashing frequency. For the purposes of loading automation, an operation algorithm is proposed for tracked vehicles under MVS control. The system was tested using the physical models of a heavy-duty trailer and a tracked vehicle platform. The actual technical and metrological characteristics of the MVS were experimentally determined. It is established that a base spacing of 2.5 m between the sighting targets ensures safe loading of equipment (up to 8 m in length) on a cargo platform (up to 16 m in length).