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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

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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

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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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New MORE publication published in Robotics and Autonomous Systems

A new MORE publication has just been published titled “An exploratory study of software engineering in heavy-duty mobile machine automation” in Robotics and Autonomous Systems. The article is fully open access and can be read online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921889023000635?via%3Dihub#d1e2742

Abstract

As the amount and complexity of software for automating heavy-duty mobile machinery is increasing, software engineering in this domain is becoming more important. To characterize the industry’s current state of software engineering and its issues to guide future research, we performed an empirical exploratory study. We interviewed 16 software engineering professionals from 13 different companies conducting business in heavy-duty mobile machines and their automation. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively, and quantification of the analysis results is presented. We first create an overview of software engineering in the heavy-duty mobile machinery industry. We then identify problem areas affecting software development and discuss some of the possible solutions found in literature. Our findings indicate that the major problem areas faced in the industry that require more research are its digital transformation, autonomous machine functional safety, low availability of workforce for developing software for robotic mobile machines and the lack of established software standards.

Second Future innovations and MORE newsletter published

Autonomous heavy-duty mobile machines: Why and how can we use them in construction sites?

From manual to automatic material flow based on machine productivity in construction sites

In this newsletter, we want to discuss how fleets of (semi)autonomous Heavy-Duty Mobile Machines (HDMMs) could be used not only to complete a construction project, but to accomplish that in an optimal way. Optimization is essential to improve productivity and efficiency and reduce cost and project time. Nowadays, manual methods are employed to allocate tasks to construction machines based on the experience of worksite managers and manual observation of operations. However, these methods are costly, error prone, and depend on few experts that must always be available. Automating task planning and assignment based on fleet productivity can be a promising solution for solving the above challenges and achieving optimality. Firstly, Amirmasoud will describe how to estimate the productivity of a fleet of HDMMs during earth-moving tasks; secondly, Paolo will focus on optimizing the performance of the fleet of autonomous machines by solving task planning, task assignment, motion planning, and coordination problems jointly.

Articles

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One open MORE PhD position

MORE is looking for a PhD student. The Early Stage Researcher (ESR) 7 position focuses on radar perception and will be hosted by Örebro University, Sweden for 6 months and seconded to Bosch Rexroth, Germany for 9 months and a further 9 months either at Örebro University, Sweden or TU Munich, Germany.

All details can be found online under Open Positions

Deadline for application: 9 March 2023.