Automatic control of an earthmoving machine

Sensor systems 24 sense the terrain in order to gain data of its topology which is stored for example in a terrain map server 28. Based on this information, information on the machine itself and using simulated models and software algorithms to determine the optimum method, planners 32 and 34 plan the excavation of the site and the loading of the excavated material into dump trucks. To avoid collisions with the trucks and other obstacles and to determine the correct loading procedure, an object recognizer 36 identifies the location, size and orientation of the trucks from the stored sensor data. Motion planners 42 to 48 then provide command signals for positioning the sensors (which may need to be repositioned as work commences) and for operating the machine itself.