阅读说明：本技术 用于确定物***置信息的方法 (Method for determining object position information ) 是由 埃里克·乌林 约翰·舍贝里 于 2017-03-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种用于确定物体位置信息的方法,该物体位置信息指示了旨在使用物体移除机械(34)移除的物体(28；30；32)的位置,该位置至少包括水平位置。该方法使用了与所述物体移除机械(34)不同且包括器具(14)的工程机械(10)。该方法包括：-将器具(14)布置成使得所述器具的至少一部分的位置与所述物体(28；30；32)的位置具有可确定关系；-确定所述器具(14)的位置；以及-使用所述器具(14)的位置来确定所述物体位置信息。(the invention relates to a method for determining object position information indicative of a position of an object (28; 30; 32) intended to be removed using an object removal machine (34), the position comprising at least a horizontal position. The method uses a work machine (10) that is different from the object removal machine (34) and that includes an implement (14). The method comprises the following steps: -arranging an implement (14) such that the position of at least a part of the implement has a determinable relationship to the position of the object (28; 30; 32); -determining a position of the implement (14); and-using the position of the implement (14) to determine the object position information.)

1. A method for determining object position information indicative of a position of an object (28; 30; 32) intended to be removed using an object removal machine (34), the position comprising at least a horizontal position, the method using a work machine (10) different from the object removal machine (34) and comprising an implement (14), the method comprising:

-arranging the implement (14) such that the position of at least a part of the implement has a determinable relationship to the position of the object (28; 30; 32);

-determining a position of the implement (14); and

-using the position of the implement (14) to determine the object position information.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises positioning the work machine (10) relative to the object (28; 30; 32) such that the implement (14) can be positioned adjacent to the object (28; 30; 32), preferably such that the implement (14) can reach the object (28; 30; 32) and/or overlap with the object (28; 30; 32).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein arranging the implement (14) such that the position of at least a part of the implement has the characteristic of a determinable relationship to the position of the object (28; 30; 32) comprises: the implement (14) is arranged such that the position of at least a part of the implement (14) corresponds to the position of the object (28; 30; 32).

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein arranging the implement (14) such that the position of at least a part of the implement has the characteristic of a determinable relationship to the position of the object (28; 30; 32) comprises: arranging the appliance (14) such that at least a portion of the appliance (14) is in contact with the object (28; 30; 32).

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the method comprises determining a contact load (N) exerted by the object (28; 30; 32) on the appliance (14), the method comprising: when it is determined that the contact load (N) exceeds a predetermined threshold load, it is determined that at least a portion of the implement (14) has contacted the object (28; 30; 32).

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the work machine (10) includes a global positioning system (18), and wherein determining the characteristic of the location of the implement (14) includes employing the global positioning system (18).

7. the method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein using the position of the implement (14) to determine the characteristic of the object position information comprises: the position of the object (28; 30; 32) is set equal to the position of the implement (14).

8. the method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the object (28; 30; 32) is a boulder.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the boulder is above ground.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises determining a size and/or a weight of the object (28; 30; 32).

11. Method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the object (28; 30; 32) is intended to be broken and the object removal machine (34) is an object breaking machine.

12. A method for determining a set of object position information indicative of at least a horizontal position of each of a plurality of objects (28; 30; 32) intended to be removed using an object removal machine (34), the method comprising:

-for each of said objects (28; 30; 32), determining object position information of that object (28; 30; 32) using a method according to any one of the preceding claims, and

-adding the object position information to the set of object position information.

13. a method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises emitting an object position signal containing the object position information from the work machine (10).

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the method comprises sending the object position signal to the object removal machine (34).

15. a method of removing an object (28; 30; 32) using an object removal machine (34), the method comprising:

-receiving object position information that has been determined using any of the preceding claims,

-moving the object removal machine (34) to the object using the object position information, and

-removing the object (28; 30; 32) using the object removal machine (34).

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the characteristics of object position information comprises: receiving the set of object position information that has been determined according to claim 12.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the method comprises determining a path (50) of the object removal machines (34), the object removal machines (34) being movable along the path (50) so as to be able to remove at least a number of the objects (28; 30; 32).

18. the method according to claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the method comprises determining a number of objects (28; 30; 32) within the object position information set.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16-18 when dependent on claim 10, wherein the method comprises determining an overall size and/or an overall weight of the number of the objects (28; 30; 32) within the object position information set.

20. the method of any one of claims 15 to 19, wherein the object removal machine (34) is a crushing machine comprising a crushing tool (36), preferably a hydraulic hammer, wherein removing the feature of the object comprises: the object (28; 30; 32) is crushed by operating the crushing tool (36).

21. a control unit (20) for determining object position information indicative of a position of an object (28; 30; 32) intended to be removed using an object removal machine (34), the position comprising at least a horizontal position, the control unit (20) being adapted to:

-receiving a signal indicating that at least a part of an implement (14) of a work machine (10) different from the object removal machine (34) is in a position having a determinable relationship to the position of the object (28; 30; 32);

-receiving a signal indicative of a position of the at least a part of the implement (14), and

-using the position of the implement (14) to determine the object position information.

22. A control unit (20) according to claim 21, wherein the control unit is adapted to issue a signal for arranging the appliance (14) such that the position of at least a part of the appliance (14) has a determinable relationship with the position of the object (28; 30; 32).

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for determining position information of an object. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for determining a set of object position information. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of removing an object using an object removal machine. In addition, the invention relates to a control unit for determining object position information.

The present invention can be applied to various types of construction equipment. Although the invention will be described in relation to a wheel loader, the invention is not limited to this particular vehicle, but may also be used in other types of work machines, such as excavators.

Background

In various types of worksites, such as quarries, blasting may be performed to obtain a rock portion that can be removed using a work machine, such as a wheel loader or an excavator. However, blasting may result in rock parts that, due to their size and/or weight, cannot be removed directly by the working machine that normally performs the removal operation. Rather, other measures need to be taken.

for example, a work machine with enhanced loading capacity may be sent to a work site, e.g. periodically or upon request of an operator, in order to remove rock parts that cannot be removed using commonly used work machines.

as a further alternative, a crushing machine comprising a crushing tool (e.g. a hydraulic hammer) may be sent to the worksite, e.g. periodically or upon request of an operator, in order to crush large rock portions into fragments that can be processed by the working machine that normally performs the removal operation.

however, regardless of how large rock portions are removed, their removal typically involves the use of a special dedicated removal machine. The operation of such special machines is often accompanied by considerable costs. In this way, it would be beneficial to determine when it is worth employing a specific dedicated removal machine for the object removal task.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method that can be used to determine information relevant in making a decision whether and/or how to remove an object from a worksite using a particular dedicated machine.

This object is achieved by a device/method according to claim 1.

thus, the invention relates to a method for determining object position information indicative of the position (including at least the horizontal position) of an object intended to be removed using an object removal machine. The method uses a work machine that is different from the object removal machine and that includes an implement. The method comprises the following steps:

-arranging the implement such that the position of at least a part of the implement has a determinable relationship (determinable relationship) to the position of the object;

-determining the position of the implement, an

-using the position of the implement to determine the object position information.

The above-described method means that a working machine, which performs a working operation at a worksite, for example, may also be used for determining object position information of an object intended to be removed using the object removal machine. Thus, the work machine may have at least two tasks (assignments) at the worksite: for example, a first task of moving and/or removing material; and a second task of determining object position information of an object intended to be removed using another object removal machine.

As used herein, the expression "determinable relationship" is intended to encompass a relationship between a position at which at least a portion of the implement can be determined and a position of the object. For example only, the relationship may be determined by measurement, estimation, or the like.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the method uses the implement of the work machine for determining the position of the object, it is not usually necessary to provide the work machine with a dedicated position determining device or the like.

Optionally, the method comprises: the work machine is positioned relative to the object such that the implement can be positioned adjacent to the object, preferably such that the implement can reach and/or overlap the object.

the above positioning implies a direct possibility to determine the position of the object.

optionally, arranging the implement such that the position of at least a portion of the implement has a characteristic of determinable relationship to the position of the object comprises: arranging the implement such that a position of at least a portion of the implement corresponds to a position of the object.

Optionally, arranging the implement such that the position of at least a portion of the implement has a characteristic of determinable relationship to the position of the object comprises: arranging the appliance such that at least a portion of the appliance is in contact with the object.

contact between at least a portion of the implement and the object may have the following advantages: the position of the object relative to the implement can be determined with a reasonably high degree of certainty. Furthermore, the above-mentioned contact may also be used to trigger the use of the position of the implement to determine the characteristics of the object position information. Thus, the operator of the work machine does not necessarily need to actuate another actuator (e.g. a button, a lever, etc.) to initiate the determination of the object position information.

Optionally, the method comprises determining a contact load exerted by the object on the implement, the method comprising: determining that at least a portion of the implement has contacted the object when it is determined that the contact load exceeds a predetermined threshold load.

using information that the contact load exceeds a predetermined threshold load to determine that the implement has contacted the object means: the actual contact can be established with a relatively high certainty.

Optionally, the work machine includes a global positioning system, and determining the characteristic of the location of the implement includes using the global positioning system.

Global positioning system means a suitable means for determining the position of the appliance.

Optionally, using the position of the implement to determine the characteristic of the object position information comprises setting the position of the object equal to the position of the implement.

Optionally, the object is a boulder. As used herein, the feature "boulder" relates to a rock fragment that is too large to be removed by the working machine. By way of example only, "boulders" may be defined as rock fragments weighing more than 200 kg, preferably more than 500 kg.

Optionally, at least a portion of the boulder is above ground.

Optionally, the method further comprises determining a size and/or weight of the object.

Information indicative of the size of the object may be useful in different contexts. For example, the size of the object may be useful to the object removal machine and/or an operator of the object removal machine.

Optionally, the object is intended to be crushed and the object removal machine is an object crushing machine.

a second aspect of the invention relates to a method for determining a set of object position information indicative of at least a horizontal position of each of a plurality of objects intended to be removed using an object removal machine. The method comprises the following steps:

-for each of said objects, determining object position information for the object using the method according to the first aspect of the invention, and

-adding the object position information to the set of object position information.

The above-mentioned set of object position information may be used, for example, to determine when an object removal machine should be activated in order to remove the set of objects. For example, the object removal mechanism may be activated when the set of object position information indicates that an appropriate number of objects and/or an appropriate overall size and/or weight of the set of objects has been determined.

optionally, the method further comprises emitting an object position signal from the work machine containing object position information.

Optionally, the method comprises sending said object position signal to an object removal machine.

A third aspect of the invention relates to a method of removing an object using an object removal machine.

The method comprises the following steps:

-receiving object position information that has been determined using the first and/or second aspect of the invention,

-moving an object removing machine to the object using the object position information, and

-removing the object using the object removal machine.

The third step of the present invention means that the object removal machine can be directed towards the object or objects to be removed in a convenient manner. In this way, the object removal machine and/or the operator of the object removal machine does not necessarily need to search for the object to be removed, but can be guided to a previously determined position of the object to be removed.

Optionally, the receiving the characteristics of the object position information includes: receiving the set of object position information that has been determined according to the second aspect of the invention.

receiving the above-mentioned object position information set means that the object can be removed in an efficient manner using an object removal machine.

Optionally, the method comprises determining a path of the object removal machine, the object removal machine being movable along the path so as to be able to remove at least a plurality of said objects.

The determination of the path described above means that the object removal machine can be moved between objects to be removed in a cost and/or time efficient manner.

Optionally, the method comprises determining the number of objects within the set of object position information. For example, the above information may be used to determine when an object removal machine should be activated to remove objects from a worksite.

Optionally, the method comprises determining a total size and/or a total weight of the number of objects within the set of object position information. The overall size and/or weight may be used, for example, as a trigger for determining when an object removal machine should be activated to remove an object from a worksite.

Optionally, the object removal machine is a crushing machine comprising a crushing tool (preferably a hydraulic hammer), wherein the feature of removing the object comprises: the object is crushed by operating the crushing tool.

A fourth aspect of the invention relates to a control unit for determining object position information indicative of a position (including at least a horizontal position) of an object intended to be removed using an object removal machine. The control unit is adapted to:

-receiving a signal indicating that at least a part of an implement of a work machine other than the object removing machine is in a position having a determinable relationship to the position of the object;

-receiving a signal indicative of a position of the at least a part of the appliance, and

-using the position of the implement to determine object position information.

Optionally, the control unit is adapted to emit a signal for arranging the implement such that the position of at least a part of the implement has a determinable relationship with the position of the object.

Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.

Drawings

The following is a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawings by way of example.

in these figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates a work machine;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a worksite with work machines;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a work machine and an object illustrating one method embodiment of the present invention; and is

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a work machine and an object illustrating another method embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a work machine 10 including a body 12 and an implement 14. Further, work machine 10 includes an actuation device 16 for moving implement 14 relative to body 12. For example only, the actuation device 16 may include a hydraulic system and/or an electrical system.

The embodiment of the work machine 10 of fig. 1 is a wheel loader and the implement 14 is a bucket. However, other types of work machines are also conceivable. For example, the work machine may be implemented as an excavator (not shown in fig. 1).

Further, work machine 10 of FIG. 1 includes a global positioning system 18, where global positioning system 18 is adapted to determine a global position of at least a portion of implement 14. Alternatively or in addition to global positioning system 18, work machine 10 may include another type of system such as a TERCOM system (terrain mapping, not shown), a landmark navigation system (not shown), or an astronomical navigation system (not shown). Furthermore, the work machine 10 shown in fig. 1 comprises a control unit 20 for determining object position information.

FIG. 2 is a top view of work site 22, where work machine 10 (e.g., work machine 10 of FIG. 1) is operating to remove material from work site 22. For example, worksite 22 may be a quarry, and the material to be removed from the quarry may be rock portions (rock formations) produced by blasting in the quarry. However, it is also contemplated that worksite 22 may be another type of worksite other than a quarry.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the objects to be removed from worksite 22 may have different sizes. For example, some objects 24 may be relatively small and, therefore, capable of being removed by the work machine 10 itself. By way of non-limiting example, such an object 24 may be moved by the work machine to an unloading location 26. For example only, the unloading site 26 may include a hopper portion of another work machine, such as a transport vehicle.

However, worksite 22 may also include objects 28, 30, 32 that may not be moved by work machine 10 itself. For example, each of the objects 28, 30, 32 may be too large and/or too heavy to be lifted by the implement 14 of the work machine 10.

If the object that is not movable by the work machine 10 is rock material, the object may be referred to as a boulder. By way of example only, "boulders" may be defined as rock fragments weighing more than 200 kg, preferably more than 500 kg. As another non-limiting example, at least a portion of such a boulder may be above ground so that it may be seen by an operator of work machine 10.

To enable removal of objects 28, 30, 32 that cannot be removed by the work machine 10, a separate object removal machine 34 may be employed to assist in the removal of the objects.

By way of example only, and as shown in fig. 2, the separate object removal machine 34 may be a crushing machine that includes a crushing tool 36 (preferably a hydraulic hammer). Thus, in such an example, the object removal machine 34 may remove the objects 28, 30, 32 by operating the crushing tool 36 to crush the objects. This is illustrated in fig. 2, where one of the objects 28 that cannot be removed by the work machine 10 has been broken into smaller portions 28'. Such smaller portion 28' may then be removed by work machine 10.

as another example, the separate object removal machine 34 may be a high capacity work machine having a load capacity that exceeds the load capacity of the work machine 10. By way of example only, such high capacity work machines may be capable of removing objects that are at least twice the weight of the heaviest objects that the work machine 10 itself is capable of removing.

Regardless of the individual object removal machine 34, it may be desirable to inform the individual object removal machine 34 or its operator of the location of each of the objects 28, 30, 32 that cannot be removed by the work machine 10.

To this end, with reference to fig. 3, the invention proposes a method for determining object position information indicative of a position P of an object 28 intended to be removed using an object removal machine_O(including at least the horizontal position). In fig. 3, a global coordinate system X, Y, Z is shown, and where each of axis X and axis Y extends in a horizontal plane. Thus, the method according to the invention determines at least the X and Y coordinates of the object 28.

as may be seen in FIG. 3, the method employs a work machine 10, the work machine 10 being intended to remove material from a work site 22, the work machine 10 being different from an object removal machine (not shown in FIG. 3) intended for removing an object 28. For example only, the method may be implemented using the control unit 20 of the work machine 10.

Fig. 3 further shows that the method comprises:

S10: arranging implement 14 of work machine 10 such that a position of at least a portion of implement 14 has a determinable relationship to a position of object 28;

S12: determining the position of implement 14, an

S14: the position of implement 14 is used to determine the object position information.

Each of the steps S10, S12, and S14 will be described in detail below.

With respect to step S10, the arrangement of implement 14 relative to object 28 may be accomplished in a variety of ways.

For example, and as shown in the example of FIG. 3, a method according to the present disclosure may include positioning work machine 10 relative to object 28 such that implement 14 may be positioned adjacent to object 28. Preferably, work machine 10 is positioned relative to object 28 such that implement 14 is able to reach object 28 and/or overlap object 28.

further, and as illustrated in fig. 3, the step of arranging implement 14 such that the position of at least a portion of implement 14 has a determinable relationship to the position of object 28 may include: implement 14 is arranged such that the position of at least a portion of implement 14 corresponds to the position of object 28. For example, implement 14 may be positioned over object 28 without having to contact object 28. Optionally, implement 14 may be movable relative to object 28 to also determine the extension of the object along at least one axis. In this way, the position and extension of the object 28 can be determined.

As another example, and as shown in fig. 3, implement 14 may be arranged such that at least a portion of implement 14 is in contact with object 28. To determine that contact is established between at least a portion of implement 14 and object 28, a contact load N exerted by the object on implement 14 may be determined. For example only, the magnitude of the contact load N may be determined using a load sensor 38 disposed relative to the implement 14. As another option, actuation device 16 may be used to determine a contact load N exerted on implement 14.

Regardless of how the contact load is determined, the method may include: when it is determined that the contact load N exceeds the predetermined threshold load, it is determined that at least a portion of the implement 14 has contacted the object 28. For example only, the predetermined threshold load may be related to the weight of implement 14.

By way of example only, and as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3, using the position of implement 14 to determine characteristics of the object position information may include: the position of object 28 is set equal to the position of implement 14.

Further, although by way of example only, a method according to the present invention may also include determining a size of the object 28. To this end, and as shown in FIG. 3, work machine 10 may, for example, include an image sensor 40 (e.g., a camera) adapted to capture an image of object 28. From the image thus generated, the size of the object 28 can be determined. Further, once the size of the object 28 has been determined, the weight of the object 28 may be estimated. For example, the weight may be estimated by estimating the density of the material of the object 28. For example only, such density estimation may be performed by using information indicative of the type of rock present at worksite 22. As another option, the density estimate may be based on weight and size estimates of material that has been previously removed by work machine 10.

Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a method for determining the position of the object 28. In the embodiment of fig. 4, implement 14 need not necessarily contact object 28, or even be positioned such that object 14 is able to reach object 28 and/or overlap object 28. Rather, implement 14 is at a determinable (e.g., measurable) horizontal distance from the object 28. By way of example only, and as shown in fig. 4, such horizontal distances may be a longitudinal distance Δ X and a lateral distance Δ Y from the center of implement 14 to the center of object 28.

Regardless of how the horizontal distance between the implement 14 and the object 28 is defined, the horizontal distance may be determined, for example, using an image sensor 40 (e.g., a camera), which image sensor 40 may capture images of the implement 14 and the object 28 and determine the horizontal distance between the implement 14 and the object 28 from the images so generated. It is also contemplated that other distance determining means, such as a laser sensor (not shown), may be used to determine the horizontal distance.

Preferably, the object position information determination method set forth above may be performed for each object 28, 30, 32 at worksite 22 intended to be removed using object removal machine 34.

Thus, referring again to FIG. 2, a second aspect of the present invention is directed to a method for determining a set of object position information indicative of at least a horizontal position of each of a plurality of objects 28, 30, 32 intended to be removed using an object removal machine 34. The method comprises the following steps:

For each of the objects 28, 30, 32, determining object position information for that object, e.g. using any of the method embodiments already presented above with reference to fig. 3 or 4, and

-adding the object position information to the set of object position information.

Thus, referring to FIG. 2, work machine 10 may be moved to each of the objects 28, 30, 32, and at least the horizontal position of each of the objects may be determined and added to the set of object position information.

Regardless of whether at least the horizontal position of only one object 28 has been determined or whether the above-described set of object position information has been determined, the method of the present disclosure may include transmitting an object position signal from work machine 10 containing the object position information or the set of object position information. To this end, and as shown in FIG. 2, work machine 10 may include a signal transmitter 42 adapted to transmit the object position signal described above.

By way of example only, and as shown in FIG. 2, the object position signal may be sent directly to the object removal machine 34. To this end, the object removal machine 34 may include a signal receiver 44 adapted to receive a signal from the signal transmitter 42.

However, instead of or in addition to sending the signal to the signal receiver 44 of the object removal machine 34, the signal transmitter 42 may be adapted to send the signal to another signal receiver, such as a communication device 46 associated with a separate signal processing device 48. By way of example only, the separate signal processing device 48 need not necessarily be located at worksite 22 or adjacent to worksite 22. Instead, the separate signal processing device 48 may be remote from worksite 22. By way of example only, the communication device 46 associated with the separate signal processing device 48 may be adapted to transmit a signal to the signal receiver 44 of the object removal machine 34.

In this way, the signal emitted by the signal transmitter 42 can be processed, for example, by the separate signal processing device 48 or by the object removal machine 34.

Regardless of how the object position information has been forwarded and processed from work machine 10 to object removal machine 34, the information may be used in a method of removing object 28 using object removal machine 34. Such a method comprises:

receiving a signal that has been determined using the first and/or second aspects of the invention (e.g.,

As illustrated above with reference to figure 3 or figure 4) object location information,

using the object position information to move the object removal machine 34 to the object 28, and

Removing the object 28 using the object removal machine 34.

By way of example only, the above-described receiving of object position information may comprise receiving a set of object position information that has been determined in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention. The above-described object position information set is useful in many ways.

By way of example only, and referring to FIG. 2, the set of object position information may be used to determine a path 50 of the object removal machine 34 along which the object removal machine 34 may be moved so that at least a plurality of objects 28, 30, 32 may be removed. As a non-limiting example, the path 50 may be determined as the following path: the object removal machine 34 is movable along the path such that the object removal machine 34 reaches each of the objects 28, 30, 32, but travels a distance below a threshold distance, preferably at as small a distance as possible. Thus, the above-described path 50 determination means, for example, saving fuel consumption of the object removal machine 34.

Furthermore, the method may further comprise determining the number of objects 28, 30, 32 within the set of object position information. Instead of or in addition to determining the number of objects 28, 30, 32 within the object position information set, the method may include determining the total size and/or total weight of the objects within the object position information set.

By way of example only, any one or more of the above entities: the number of objects 28, 30, 32, the overall size of objects 28, 30, 32, and the overall weight of objects 28, 30, 32 may be used to determine whether object removal machine 34 should be activated in order to remove objects 28, 30, 32 from worksite 22. For example only, the object removal machine 34 may be placed in a standby state until any of the above-described entities exceeds a predetermined threshold. In this way, it may be ensured that the object removal machine 34 is used only when necessary.

Further, when the object 28 has been removed using the object removal machine 34, the method may include an indication that the object 28 has been removed. For example, when object removal machine 34 has received the set of object location information, object 28 that has been physically removed may also be removed from within the set of object location information. Additionally, the object removal machine 34 may also be adapted to determine the size and/or weight of the object 28 that has been removed. By way of example only, information indicative of the fact that the object has been removed from within the object location information set and/or the size and/or weight of the object 28 that has been removed may then be used.

For example, the size and/or weight of the object 28 may be used to assess the quality of a worksite, such as the quality of a blast occurring in a quarry.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings; rather, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the claims set forth below.