Automating motor grader leveling operations: Kinematic analysis for blade pose control

Motor graders are heavy construction equipment that specialize in leveling ground surfaces. These machines adjust the blade beneath the vehicle body to perform various tasks. With the growing interest in the automation of motor grader operations, the complexity of the earthmoving mechanism and multitasking while driving degrade the efficiency and performance of these operations. Controlling the blade pose for the desired earthwork poses significant challenges for the 3RRPS-S module owing to the complex and coupled nature of the hydraulic actuators. This paper proposes a kinematic analysis of the earthwork mechanism to identify and control the blade pose. A method for the kinematic parameter calibration of the 3RRPS-S module is introduced to improve the control accuracy of the earthmoving mechanism. The blade pose was determined based on the vehicle coordinate system by considering the slope of the vehicle to achieve the desired blade position in the global coordinate system.