Enabling precise heading and positioning for cranes when GNSS is unavailable.
Requirement
- A major UK port required a system that would provide the heading and precise positioning of a Rubber Tyre Gantry (RTG) crane
- Due to the environment the crane also suffered from frequent GPS outages and therefore the system was required to provide positioning when GPS was unavailable
- The system was to provide the operator with a method to detect obstacles in the path of the RTG.
Solution
- Forsberg developed the system to assist the RTG operator by providing a visual camera reference of the RTG in relation to a driveline
- Two cameras mounted on each side of the vehicle continually monitor the direction, angle and accuracy of the RTG to the driveline by image processing techniques
- The Northing and Easting position derived from these images are then compared with given system parameters
- Any RTG deviation from these parameters will be visually displayed to the operator via the traffic light display screen in the cabin
- By interfacing the system with the on-board RTG “Assisted Steering Module” it provided a seamless reliable fall-back in the event of poor GPS data
