A controller lets beginners move an excavator with hand movements, helping them learn the machine without first learning joystick controls.
A controller developed by MIT engineers could help beginners learn to operate excavators without first mastering conventional joystick controls. The system uses a small mechanical arm and bucket that operators move with their own arm and hand. A virtual excavator mirrors those movements, creating a direct link between the operator’s actions and the machine’s motion.
In tests, people with no excavator experience performed at a similar level to experienced operators from the start when using the new interface. With conventional joystick controls, beginners initially performed worse but improved with training.
The system, called the World-Space Interface, addresses the mental translation required by traditional excavator controls. Operators must learn how joystick movements control the boom, arm, bucket, and cab while coordinating those inputs during tasks such as digging, grading, moving material, and clearing debris.
The researchers tested the interface using a virtual excavator simulator with 15 environments, including construction sites, highways, forest roads, riverbanks, mining areas, and urban and rural locations. Participants completed tasks such as scooping and dumping material, digging trenches, grading surfaces, clearing debris, removing branches near water, and breaking rocks.
Experienced and inexperienced participants trained with both the new interface and a conventional joystick simulator for one hour a day over seven days. The tasks became more difficult throughout the training.
The researchers are also exploring applications outside simulation. A similar controller could be installed inside an excavator cab, allowing operators to control the machine by moving a small mechanical arm.
The interface could also support remote operation, allowing an operator to control an excavator from away from the worksite. This could be useful when machines are working in hazardous environments.
The team is adding haptic feedback so the controller can apply force to the operator’s hand based on what the excavator is doing. For example, lifting a heavy load could create resistance through the mechanical arm.
