A Multi-agent based Cooperation System for an Intelligent Earthwork

A number of studies have been conducted recently regarding the development of automation systems for the construction sector. Much of this attention has focused on earthwork because it is highly dependent on construction machines and is regarded as being basic for the construction of buildings and civil works. For example, technologies are being developed in order to enable earthwork planning based on construction site models that are constructed by automatic systems and to enable construction equipment to perform the work based on the plan and the environment. There are many problems that need to be solved in order to enable the use of automatic earthwork systems in construction sites. For example, technologies are needed for enabling collaborations between similar and different kinds of construction equipment. This study aims to develop a construction system that imitates collaborative systems and decision-making methods that are used by humans. The proposed system relies on the multi-agent concept from the field of artificial intelligence. In order to develop a multi-agent-based system, configurations and functions are proposed for the agents and a framework for collaboration and arbitration between agents is presented. Furthermore, methods are introduced for preventing duplicate work and minimizing interference effects during the collaboration process. Methods are also presented for performing advance planning for the excavators and compactors that are involved in the construction. The current study suggests a theoretical framework and evaluates the results using virtual simulations. However, in the future, an empirical study will be conducted in order to apply these concepts to actual construction sites through the development of a physical system.