Re-optimization strategy for truck crane lift-path planning

When a truck crane lifts a load, the most important considerations are the safety and efficiency of the lift path; therefore, the objectives in planning a lift path should be the minimization of both the path length and number of operations. Most proposed methods for lift-path planning simply focused on the optimization of the path length. As a result, a planned path may include a large number of operations that makes the path complicated and degrades the safety and efficiency of the lift process. This paper presents a method to optimize the number of operations for a lift path with an optimized length for a truck crane by making the most efficient use of the crane characteristics. First, a conventional search algorithm is used to optimize the length of a lift path. Thereafter, a new operating-path optimization method is presented to reduce the number of points on the planned path based on construction of simple spaces and fundamental operating paths. Simulations produced satisfactory results, demonstrating that this method reduces the number of operations on a short lift path, thereby improving the safety and efficiency.