Preface
Operator training is essential for handling advanced machinery and vehicles. For many years training simulators have been used for pilots, and later for drivers of heavy vehicles like loaders, rock drilling machines, wood harvesting machines etc. Experience demonstrates considerable benefits from simulator training in decrease of damage, accidents and increased efficiency. Today development and manufacturing of training simulators for all kinds of advanced machinery has become an individual business field. However, up to now training simulators for shotcrete robot operators has not been available. Shotcrete is used for rock reinforcement in tunnels, mines and other applications. Shotcrete has demonstrated being more cost efficient compared to concrete lining in many cases especially in hard rock environment. Shotcrete application is a handicraft a demand skilled robot operators. Training in real environment implies large costs and unsecure circumstances. Consequently shotcrete operators would benefit from simulator training before operating in the real environment.
Training of shotcrete robot operators comprise both handling the equipment and to judge how this needs to be done based on intermediate parameters for the concrete to stick to the surface to largest possible extent. Just like simulator training programs shotcrete robot simulator training include exercises for evaluating operator level of skill and performance. This project has developed a simulator software program usable to educate shotcrete robot operators. The idea was initiated by Tommy Ellison at BESAB and the development was conducted by a project group at Chalmers Visualization Technology by Petter Börjesson and Mattias Thell supervised by Börje Westerdahl. Financial support was provided by BeFo/Formas and SBUF. The project will continue in a commercial phase under the name of Edvirt in cooperation with Encubator AB at Chalmers University of Technology.
Stockholm in December 2011, Mikael Hellsten
Simulator for training robot operators – Virtual education in shotcrete operation
Författare:
Petter Börjesson, Mattias Thell
Rapportkategori:
BeFo-rapport
Rapportnummer:
111
Utgivningsår:
2011