Development of a Programming Environment for Beginners to Enable Easy Trial and Error in Heavy Machinery Control

Abstract

In this study, we propose a control system that supports partial execution so that beginners can efficiently perform trial-and-error programming on a small hydraulic excavator using Scratch. In conventional systems, it is necessary to redo all instructions from the initial posture for each trial, and tests to correct parts of the program take a long time and are inefficient. This system introduces two execution modes: initial posture-based and current posture-based, and allows users to specify the execution range in a block sequence using a dedicated block. In the initial posture-based mode, the system can quickly and automatically restore the required machine posture by reverse execution or re-execution after initialization. We evaluated the effectiveness of the system through a case study comparing different execution modes, and confirmed that partial execution improves execution time while ensuring reproducibility. The current system does not support simultaneous operation of multiple actuators, so we will continue to develop it in the future.