Method and apparatus for coordinating loading of haul vehicles

A system to coordinate loading of material in an operational area by machine actors including haul trucks and loading vehicles, the system comprising:

• the haul trucks;
• the loading vehicles for loading the haul trucks;
• each haul truck and each loading vehicle having a vehicle sensing assembly in communication with a respective vehicle communication system, the vehicle communication system arranged to transmit pose data of the haul trucks and of the loading vehicles;
• a vehicle coordination assembly in communication with said vehicle communication systems of the haul trucks and of the loading vehicles via a data network, the vehicle coordination assembly configured to:
• establish data communications with vehicle sensing systems of the haul trucks and of the loading vehicles;
• with reference to the data communications, determine load-ready haul trucks being haul trucks that are ready to be loaded;
• for each load-ready haul truck, assign a loading task to two or more of the loading vehicles for loading of the load-ready haul truck, each task specifying a respective safe operating space in which a loading vehicle is restricted to operating;
• and
• set the safe operating space in respect of one of the assigned loading vehicles to extend from a region of the material in the operational area over a side of the haul truck, whilst setting each safe operating space in respect of other of the assigned loading vehicles to fall short of a side of the haul truck,
• whereby only the assigned loading truck with a safe operating space extending over the side of the haul truck performs a dumping operation to the haul truck at any one time;
• and
• upon determining completion of the dumping operation, revising the safe operating spaces to allow a next loading vehicle to perform a dumping operation to the haul truck whilst preventing other loading vehicles from performing a dumping operation to the haul truck.