Development of a Construction Work Cell for Cooperative Lift Planning

Abstract

Cooperative crane lifts are considered as an alternative to specialized heavy crane lifts. However, in executing a cooperative crane lift, the precise coordination among the cranes is critical. This level of precision is better assured through automation of the lift operation. However, due to the drawbacks in current crane technology automated execution is not feasible. The development of a prototype work cell for cooperative lifts is addressed in this paper. The prototype manipulator developed has four degrees of freedom and possess the degrees of freedom of a typical hydraulic crane -swinging, luffing, telescoping and hoisting. For programmable control, the manipulator is interfaced to the computer. Uncoordinated motion among the individual manipulators often occurs when subject to cooperative manipulation. The cooperative manipulation is ensured by means of a typical logic that paves the way for proper control flow sequence between the individual controllers through RS-232 serial port. A series of trials were conducted to investigate the behaviour of the system under different cases.