Spline-Based Optimal Trajectory Generation for Autonomous Excavator

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

     Authors propose a novel trajectory generation method for autonomous excavation.  Proposed method optimizes trajectories in both time and jerk aspects. A comparison experiment between autonomous excavation and manual excavation is also available.

      The first two paragraphs (Introduction and Related work) presents sufficient information regarding the topic addressed in the paper and also about how the authors structured their research. The equations and mathematical models seem to be correct. The work presented is interesting and the obtained results are promising. In my opinion presented methodology is clear and understandable and the paper is well written and documented.

Comments:

   - Authors states that the autonomous excavator is instructed to track the reference trajectory once it is generated. Does this only refer to the trajectory of the excavator arm? Or can the method proposed by the authors be applied to trench excavations whose routes and dimensions are known? Somewhere in the paper, this should probably be explained in more detail.

    - Some minor text corrections are required on lines 342 and 431.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

 

The manuscript is basically outstanding. The structure and the demonstration of the results are good.

Abstract:

The abstract summarizes shortly the main points of the proposed method.

Introduction:

The description of the method is well-founded, the introduction could help the readers who are not expert in the field to understand the problem.

The novelty of the study is highlighted and clear. The contribution is realistic. The study is about an important practical topic

Related work:

In this section the latest works are summarized. The quantity of the cited works can be considered as enough. The quality of the papers is acceptable. With the cited works the authors clearly reveal on the research gap.

Manual excavation model:

The description of the analyzed system is clear, the kinematics and the excavation model are constructed without errors. The figures demonstrate the main information in an outstanding manner.

Spline-based trajectory optimization:

The mathematical modelling is correct. The applied formulas are clearly explained, the variables and parameters are named. The solution process is free of errors. The whole section is clear and easy-to-understand and follow.

Results:

This section is an outstanding case study which serves a good validation of the proposed method. Here, the explanations and the demonstration of the results are clear and there are no conceptual errors. The comparisons of the manual and the autonomous motions and cylinder pressure serve as the main quantified findings.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is basically good, however I recommend to add a few sentences in the form of bulletpoints about the concrete findings. Additionally, it would be useful to add some information about the future research possibilities or prospects to the end of the section.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf