Abstract: Manual operation remains the main cutterreplacement method. Because of poor operating environment, the shieldtunneling efficiency is greatly restricted. Accordingly, robots are used to replace the worn and damaged cutters to realize automatic and intelligent shield tunneling. Accurate positioning of the cutter to be replaced is the key in cutter replacement by robots. Thus, an accuratepositioning technology is studied based on the construction characteristics and actual working conditions of the shield, and an accuratepositioning method for cutter replacement by a robot based on visual navigation is proposed. A laboratory cutterreplacement platform is developed, and the testing results show that the cutter replacement by a robot using an accuratepositioning technology based on visualpositioning technology for the shield is found feasible. The visualpositioning accuracy reaches 0.5 mm, which indicates that the technology can provide key technical supports for automatic cutter replacement of shields.

Key words: shield, cutter replacement, robot, visual navigation and positioning, accurate positioning technology