Generating a Visual Map of the Crane Workspace Using Top-View Cameras for Assisting Operation

All terrain cranes often work in construction sites. Blind spots, limited information, and high mental workload are problems encountered by crane operators. A top-view camera mounted on the boom head offers a valuable perspective on the workspace that can help eliminate blind spots and provide the basis for assisting operation. In this study, a visual 2D map of a crane workspace is generated from images captured by a top-view camera. Various types of information can be overlaid on this visual 2D map to assist the operator, such as recording the operation and projecting the boom head’s expected path through the workspace. Herein, the process of generating a visual map by stitching and locating the boom head trajectory in that visual map is described. Preliminary proof-of-concept tests show that a precise map and projected trajectories can be generated via image-processing techniques that discriminate foreground objects from the scene below the crane. The location error is analyzed and verified to confirm its applicability. These results show a way to help the operator make more precise operation easily and reduce the operator’s mental workload.