Dynamic model for excavators (and backhoes)

Abstract Automation of excavation operations calls for an automatic control system that is able to perform autonomously a planned digging work and is responsive to interacting forces experienced during excavation. The development of such an automated control system is usually based on a dynamic model of the system that describes the system motion with time. The inputs to the excavator system are the forces generated by the hydraulic rams causing the motion of the mechanism. A dynamic model for an excavator needed for the controller design can be derived by applying Newton-Euler equations to each link in succession. The model obtained describes the motion of each link in the excavator as well as in a backhoe. It can be used to automate the excavator and backhoe operations, for example, for terrestial and planetary excavations, as well as for mining applications.