Evaluation system for hydraulic excavator operation skill using remote controlled excavator and augmented reality

Operation training using an actual excavator may be difficult in securing a place and safety. It is important to construct an environment for operation training of excavators. We developed a system to evaluate the skill of operating a hydraulic excavator using a remotely controlled (RC) excavator and augmented reality (AR) technology. We remodeled the RC excavator such that it can be operated in the same manner as an actual excavator and proceeded to measure the excavator’s state. To evaluate the skill of operating this system, we calculated several indices from data recorded during excavation work, and compared the indices obtained for expert and non-expert operators. Furthermore, we calculated the same indices from data recorded during excavation performed by an actual excavator to compare the indices of the RC excavator and those of the actual excavator.