Tyrone Machado’s Public Defence on A Path Towards Business Cases for Automated and Autonomous Heavy-Duty Mobile Machines will take place 22 November

MORE early stage researcher, Tyrone Machado will publicly defend his doctoral dissertation, A Path Towards Business Cases for Automated and Autonomous Heavy-Duty Mobile Machines: An Interdisciplinary Approach, at the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, on Friday, 22 November 2024, at 12:00. It will take place in auditorium K1702, Konetalo building, Hervanta campus, Tampere, with Professor Aki Mikkola from LUT University and Doctor Harri Kulmala from DIMECC Oy serving as Opponents. Professor Reza Ghabcheloo will act as the Custos.

Tyrone’s research, grounded in Automation Science and Engineering, tackles the limited commercialisation of autonomous heavy-duty mobile machines (HDMMs) beyond mining applications. While autonomous dump trucks have been effectively employed in mines for years, wider adoption for other HDMMs, like excavators and wheel loaders, remains limited. Through an interdisciplinary lens combining engineering, business, and management, Tyroneexplores new business frameworks that could drive broader adoption of these technologies.

Tyrone points out that the HDMM sector faces pressing labour shortages due to ageing workforces and the need for highly skilled operators. “Would you work in an environment where your body is subjected to adverse conditions like dust, snow, rain, loud noises, and vibrations?” Tyrone asks, highlighting the difficult conditions faced by HDMM operators. He contends that autonomous HDMMs can mitigate these labour issues, enhancing operational efficiency and safety while reducing costs.

Tyrone’s research emphasises that fostering interdisciplinary collaboration will be crucial in overcoming barriers to automation in the HDMM sector and unlocking its full potential.

The public defence will take place at 12:00 22 November 2024. The public defence can be followed via remote connection. 

Daniel Eriksson successfully defends PhD on AI for automating wheel loader operations

MORE Early Stage Researcher, Daniel Eriksson, has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at Tampere University on Friday, 1 November 2024. His research focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the efficiency of wheel loaders in construction, addressing critical labour shortages in the industry.

In his dissertation, Automatic Bucket Filling: A Machine Learning Approach (available online), Daniel investigates how AI can automate the challenging task of loading materials. He developed AI models based on real-world data from expert operators, enabling wheel loaders to operate with human-level precision. His work also explores methods for adapting AI to handle various material types, offering innovative solutions to boost productivity on construction sites.

We extend our congratulations to Daniel on this impressive achievement.

Daniel Eriksson to defend his PhD on AI for automating wheel loader operations

MORE Early Stage Researcher, Daniel Eriksson will defend his doctoral dissertation on Friday, 1 November 2024, at Tampere University. His research focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the efficiency of wheel loaders in construction, addressing labour shortages in the industry.

In his dissertation, Automatic Bucket Filling: A Machine Learning Approach, Eriksson investigates how AI can automate the challenging task of loading materials. He developed AI models based on real-world data from expert operators, enabling wheel loaders to perform with human-level precision. His work also explores methods for adapting AI to handle different types of materials, offering solutions for increasing productivity on construction sites.

The public defence will take place at 12:00 in the Tietotalo building, Hervanta campus, Tampere University (Auditorium TB109). The public defence can be followed via remote connection. 

Empowering Tomorrow’s Engineers: The MORE project’s final event presents innovations in heavy-duty mobile machinery

The MORE project, an innovative initiative funded by the European Union, celebrated the culmination of its European Industrial Doctorate (EID) research and training program at a successful final event. The event showcased the achievements of 8 early-stage researchers (ESRs) who presented key outcomes from their individual projects addressing challenges in the construction, logistics, and forestry sectors.

MORE – Educating Europe`s Future Engineers in Next Generation Heavy Duty Mobile Machinery: Artificial Intelligence driven Robotisation, Energy Efficiency and Process Optimisation – is the first industry-academia partnership to jointly educate researchers on heavy-duty mobile machinery. It addresses the need for dramatic improvements in heavy-duty mobile machinery (HDMM) and fill the gap in related research and training. Over the past four years, the MORE ESRs have been equipped with a set of research skills including robotics, machine learning, energy systems, as well as transferable skills such as entrepreneurship and career management.

Held in Helsinki, Finland from 24 – 26 October, the MORE project’s final event marked a significant milestone in enhancing productivity and efficiency across key industries. Around 40 participants joined the event including HDMM company representatives, PhD students and members from the MORE network. The consortium, comprised of respected heavy-duty mobile equipment companies including J. Deere, Liebherr, Bosch Rexroth, HIAB, and Volvo CE, collaborated with four specialised academic groups to nurture a new generation of engineers equipped with cutting-edge knowledge and skills.

In addition to keynote lectures and a site visit to Aalto Robot Learning Lab, the event highlighted the accomplishments of the ESRs, unveiling innovative solutions resulting from digitalisation and artificial intelligence. The recordings from the MORE ESR presentations are available online.

Professor Reza Ghabcheloo, coordinator of the MORE project, Tampere University, shared his satisfaction with the ESRs’ journeys, stating, “This has been a very successful industrial doctorate program, we have achieved our goals, industry is happy of the results and would like to build a similar project, doctoral students are happy and wanted by industry after MORE.”

As Europe anticipates a future shaped by technology and human creativity, the MORE project exemplifies the synergy between academia and industry. This collaboration fosters a generation of engineers ready to leave a lasting impact on heavy-duty mobile machinery and the industries it serves. The ESRs have demonstrated that innovation has no boundaries when fueled by dedication and cooperation.

The MORE consortium at the final event in Espoo, Helsinki Finland

MORE final event – Empowering Tomorrow’s Engineers: Shaping Europe’s Next-Gen Heavy-Duty Mobile Machines with AI, Energy Efficiency, and Innovation – registration open

The MORE project, a pioneering initiative funded by the European Union, is gearing up to celebrate the culmination of its European Industrial Doctorate (EID) research and training program. The grand finale is scheduled for 24-25 October 2023, in Helsinki, Espoo, Finland, where the project’s early-stage researchers (ESRs) will unveil key results and outcomes from their individual research projects, bringing forth innovative solutions to challenges in construction, logistics, and agriculture sectors.

The MORE project, has proven to be a model example of collaborative excellence, combining academia and industry to nurture the next generation of engineers skilled in AI, energy efficiency, and innovation. Over the course of this project, nine ESRs have worked diligently on individual projects aimed at revolutionising the landscape of heavy-duty mobile machinery.

The event promises to be a platform where key ideas and innovations will be presented. Participants will have the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the accomplishments of the ESRs, as well as engage with expert keynote speakers. Two prominent figures in the field, Antti Kolu from Novatron oy and Prof. Ville Kyrki from Aalto University, will share their perspectives and expertise during the event.

The MORE project coordinator, Prof. Reza Ghabcheloo from Tampere University, will moderate discussions that bridge the gap between academia and industry. This collaboration has been instrumental in driving the project’s success.

One of the highlights of the event is the site visit to the Aalto Robot Learning Lab, where attendees can witness cutting-edge advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence firsthand. This visit is sure to provide a glimpse into the future of heavy-duty mobile machinery and how AI is shaping the industry.

The MORE project’s final event in Helsinki, Espoo, is not only a celebration of the achievements of its ESRs but also a testament to the benefits of collaboration, innovation, and education in shaping the future of European industries.

For more information about the MORE project and the upcoming event, please visit: www.more-itn.eu/final-event

Fourth and final innovations and MORE newsletter

September 2023

Perception and Navigation for Heavy-Duty Machines

Towards robust perception and navigation solutions for heavy-duty machines operating in all-weather conditions

Heavy-duty machines operate in highly complex, unstructured, and cluttered environments like forests, construction, and mines. Several challenges arise when working in these complex environments due to environmental conditions like low visibility during adverse weather for outdoor sites and low illumination areas like mines. These working conditions put a cognitive burden on the operators and make the operation prone to accidents for the operators and the humans working near the machines. This leads to the increasing demand for semi-autonomous or autonomous systems either to reduce the burden on operators or to have completely autonomous systems. These autonomous solutions could include object detection, mapping, and navigation in the environment in challenging conditions requiring perception sensors like cameras, lidars, and radars. In this newsletter, we take a closer look into the usage of perception for detection and navigation for heavy-duty mobile machines (HDMMs). The first article describes how lidar sensors can be used effectively in a forest environment, while the second article explains how radar sensors could be effective for navigation in any scenario.

Articles

David Fassbender becomes the first early stage researcher to successfully defend his PhD in the MORE project

In a groundbreaking achievement, David Fassbender has become the first early stage researcher to successfully defend his PhD in the MORE project. We held a short interview with David to find out more on his project, his time as an early stage researcher and plans for the future. We would like to congratulate David and wish him all the best.

What has your research project focused on and what are your key results and innovations coming from your research project?

The focus in my project was on finding ways for improving the energy efficiency of heavy-duty mobile machines, which is currently very low on average. However, my goal was to keep also aspects such as cost effectiveness and feasibility in mind in order to come up with concepts that can be compatible on the market today. 

What impact does your research project and your outcomes have?

On the one hand, I’m optimistic that my findings will change to a certain extend how researchers in academia approach the task of finding more efficient concepts – considering also costs and feasibility. On the other hand, I hope that my research points out to OEMs how they can electrify their machines in a more efficient manner, reducing emissions and costs.

What were your personal highlights over the course of your research project?

My highlights definitely involved the conferences and MORE workshops that I could attend in various countries, but definitely also my defence at which I could present all my accomplishments, discuss them, and feel appreciated for them. 

Are there any elements of the training you received that you find should be integrated in local doctoral programmes?

I think I benefited a lot from the exchange at numerous international events that I was able to attend and from the exchange with network partners that work in different but related fields (automation, in my case). If possible, local doctoral researchers should be encouraged and supported as well in visiting conferences frequently and exchanging also with researchers from neighboring fields.

How did the MORE network impact your doctoral experience?

The network and the frequent meetings were great for receiving input and feedback of high quality and from very different perspectives, which would have been hard to obtain otherwise. Furthermore, the social bonds between us ESRs grew very strong, and I’m sure they will remain far beyond the time of our doctoral studies.

What are your plans for the future?

In March, I already started my follow-up position at Bosch Rexroth in Elchingen. With a good mix of follow-up and new tasks as well as great colleagues around, I’m very optimistic that I can have an impact on the future of the heavy-duty mobile machine industry while further developing myself and supporting the company. 

Paolo Forte on secondment at Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH

Paolo, our MORE Early Stage Researcher 3, moved to Liebherr-Werk Bischofshofen GmbH located in Bischofshofen, Austria for his secondment. The Liebherr Group is a family-operated technology enterprise with an extensively varied range of products, encompassing a total of 13 distinct product segments. Liebherr has grown to become a global leader in a diverse range of industries, including construction machinery, mining equipment, aerospace technology, maritime cranes, and household appliances.

Paolo will work at Liebherr from 01.08.2023 until 31.12.2023. During this time, he will investigate his material flow planning, coordination, and optimization algorithms for fleets of heterogeneous autonomous HDMMs for real-world applications. The secondment will provide Paolo with real-world scenarios to test material flow coordination and optimization research concepts in the field of construction site automation, while Liebherr will benefit from the research insights that may help their future business and research collaborations.

Third Future innovations and MORE newsletter published

June 2023

Automation and Control for Heavy-Duty Machines

Reshaping the future of operations with artificial intelligence and technological advances

Technology has taken a trampoline-leap in recent years, with the advent of machine learning algorithms, software, and hardware that have completely redefined the idea of “learning from data”. Outside the hype train related to large language models and simulated games, there is real potential to leveraging these machine learning tools to design intelligent control systems for the fleet of heavy-duty machines and robots. In this newsletter, we take a closer look into the usage of artificial intelligence for heavy-duty mobile machines (HDMMs). The first article describes how AI can be used for automating wheel loaders. The second article explains what can be leveraged from the machine learning world by engineers for more efficient and high-preforming machines in construction.

Articles

MORE at Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power (SICFP) 2023

The MORE partners and early stage researchers have travelled to Tampere, Finland to participate at the Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power (SICFP) 2023. The event organised by our coordinator, Tampere University, will explore the latest advancements and foster collaborations in the field of fluid power.

MORE is happy to be able to participate at this highly engaging and innovative conference and also to use this platform to disseminate results to key experts, engineers and researchers at in the field. If you are at the SICFP 2023, do not miss out on hearing about our project either at the IHA Demo Night (1 June, 18:00–22:00) or at our early stage researchers presentations listed below:

31 May 2023

Tyrone J. Machado (ESR1), Bosch Rexroth AG, Germany, Industry Perspective of Stakeholder Relationships in the Technology Transition and Automation of Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery in Session B2: Safety, business, and productivity (14:20-16:20)

Amirmasoud Molaei (ESR2), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) / Novatron Oy, Germany/Finland, A Novel Framework for the Estimation of Excavator’s Actual Productivity in the Grading Operation Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Session B2: Safety, business, and productivity (14:20-16:20)

1 June 2023

Paolo Forte (ESR3), Örebro University/Novatron Oy, Sweden/Finland, From Blocks to Fine-Grained Material: on the Limitations of Discretizing Continuous Quantities for Task and Motion Planning in Construction-Sites in Session A3: Automation (10:30-12:10)

Daniel Eriksson (ESR6), Tampere University, Finland, Towards Multiple Material Loading for Wheel Loaders Using Transfer Learning in Session A3: Automation (10:30-12:10)

Abdolreza Taheri (ESR8), Tampere University / HIAB, Sweden, Towards Energy Efficient Control for Commercial Heavy-Duty Mobile Cranes: Modeling Hydraulic Pressures Using Machine Learning in Session A4: Control (13:00-14:40)

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