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Dissemination

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. 

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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Watch Amirmasoud’s presentation at the ISARC 2022 online

Our MORE early stage researcher, Amirmasoud Molaei (ESR2) presented his research at the 39th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2022), which was held in Bogotá, Colombia from 13-15 July 2022.

Over the course of the three-day event, a total of 89 papers from 291 authors/co-authors from 26 countries were presented related to digital construction, automation and robotics and their importance in the construction sector. This included Amirmasoud’s presentation on “An Approach for Estimation of Swing Angle and Digging Depth During Excavation Operation” which is available as a recording for those who missed it. Watch the video recording or read the conference proceedings which have both been made openly accessible online.

IFK 2022 – David presents an efficiency and cost analysis for an electrified telehandler

After an online version in 2020, the 13th International Fluid Power Conference (IFK) took place as an in-person event again this year in Aachen. Around 400 participants from industry and academia came together from June 13.-15. to discuss the latest developments in the hydraulics and pneumatics world. With a strong focus in this conference on heavy-duty mobile applications, David’s presentation on his work dealing with the electrified implements of a telehandler attracted many interested listeners and got a lot of positive resonance afterwards. David is looking forward to presenting further results of his studies on this at the next IEEE Global Fluid Power Society PhD Symposium in October.

Presentation at FPMC 2021, “Towards a Standard Taxonomy for Levels of Automation in Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery”

Our MORE Early Stage Researcher, Tyrone J. Machado presented a paper titled “Towards a Standard Taxonomy for Levels of Automation in Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery” at the ASME/Bath Symposium on Fluid Power and Motion Control (FPMC) 2021. 

We noticed a lack of commonly accepted definitions and taxonomies for levels of automation (LOA) in the heavy-duty mobile machinery (HDMM) industry/community. They rely on SAE J3016 from the automotive industry, which is unsuitable for HDMM because HDMM perform working activities or manipulation of external materials, in addition to driving activities. Thus, we propose a new two dimensional LOA matrix concept, with manipulation LOA on one dimension, and driving LOA on another dimension. 

The conference was held virtually from 19 to 21 October 2021 and the recording from Tyrone’s presentation is available to watch below.

Presentation on Autonomous Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery: A Multidisciplinary Collaborative Challenge by Tyrone J. Machado at IEEE-ICTE 2021

Tyrone held a presentation at the International Conference on Technology and Entrepreneurship IEEE-ICTE2021 in Track 6: Interconnected business models; open innovation in digital age; Digitalization of innovation, R&D and creativity processes held virtually from 24-27 August 2021. The paper titled “Autonomous Heavy-Duty Mobile Machinery: A Multidisciplinary Collaborative Challenge” was a joint effort by all the MORE Early Stage Researchers.

In the presentation, Tyrone introduces autonomous heavy-duty mobile machinery from a more general rather than technical perspective, and highlights the conceptual challenges that arise when transitioning from traditional machinery to autonomous machinery. The paper took a holistic and multidisciplinary view on the topic covering technical, economical and management perspectives.

David (ESR4) participated at the SICFP’21

The Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power (SICFP) is one of the major conferences in the fluid power community and was held for the 17th time on 1-2 June 2021. David, MORE’s early stage researcher 4, was one of the speakers, presenting his simulation work on an electro-hydraulic concept for improved energy-efficiency of the implements on heavy-duty mobile machines.  Even though the pandemic forced the participants to meet online instead of in Sweden at Linköping University, the conference offered David a good opportunity to present and discuss his research.  The fact that many other talks dealt with electrification and efficiency improvement as well showed that David is on a right track with his research.