Systems and methods for controlling operation of a milling machine based on vibration

A method comprising:

• sensing, in real time, using a vibration sensor disposed relative to a rotor of a milling machine, vibration associated with a cutting operation of the rotor of the milling machine, said sensing using the vibration sensor including sensing vibration amplitude and/or vibration frequency associated with the cutting operation of the rotor;
• determining during the cutting operation, using a processor, in real time, whether the sensed vibration associated with the cutting operation of the rotor indicates a change in material hardness of material being cut by the rotor during the cutting operation based on vibration data from said sensing the vibration, the change in material hardness being above a predetermined hardness threshold amount, said determining including determining whether the vibration amplitude and/or the vibration frequency spikes above respective predetermined levels indicating the change in material hardness;
• and
• controlling, using the processor, cutting operations of the milling machine under a condition where said determining indicates the change in the material hardness,
• wherein said controlling the cutting operations includes controlling speed of the milling machine moving in a cutting direction, cutting level and/or depth of the rotor, and/or rotational speed of the rotor,
• wherein said determining includes identifying that the change in material hardness represents a change from a first material to a second material harder than the first material, and
• wherein a target cutting setting for the cutting operation in the second material is the same as a target cutting setting for the cutting operation in the first material and includes a same depth of cut for the rotor.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

• receiving vibration data from a vibration sensor disposed relative to a rotor of a milling machine, the vibration sensor sensing vibration associated with a cutting operation of the rotor of the milling machine;
• determining during the cutting operation that the cutting operation has transitioned from the rotor cutting a first material to the rotor cutting a second material that is harder than the first material by a predetermined hardness threshold amount;
• and
• controlling cutting operations of the milling machine responsive to said determining indicating that the cutting operation has transitioned from the rotor cutting the first material to the rotor cutting the second material,
• wherein said controlling the cutting operations of the milling machine includes controlling a speed of the milling machine moving in a cutting direction, a cutting level or a depth of the rotor, and/or a rotational speed of the rotor, and
• wherein said determining that the cutting operation has transitioned from the rotor cutting the first material to the rotor cutting the second material occurs under a condition that spikes of vibration amplitude and/or spikes of vibration frequency above a predetermined vibration value are identified to be greater in number than a predetermined number of spikes.