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

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.

First Future innovations and MORE newsletter published

Hot Topics for Heavy-Duty Mobile Machines

What’s going on and what can we expect?

In this newsletter, we want to have a closer look at the trends that define the current developments in the heavy-duty mobile machine (HDMM) sector. This way, you will get to know what is influencing as well as motivating our work in the MORE project. David will start by elaborating topical powertrain technology with a focus on construction machinery, and Tyrone will highlight some developments within automated and autonomous HDMMs.

Articles

knowMORE: FAQ video series online

Have you ever wondered what our early stage researchers (ESRs) were are talking about when they mention optimised power management or what exactly perception sensors means? Have we ever used acronyms such as HDMM or BAGEL which just are not clear? Or have you ever wondered what the daily tasks or our ESRs are?

Our ESRs receive questions or are asked to explain parts of their research on a daily basis which may seem obvious to researchers in heavy duty machinery but for all us others can be overwhelming or difficult to follow. Based on this, the MORE ESRs have recorded the knowMORE series, a frequently asked question in video format answering the main FAQs they receive in an easy to follow way.

Second annual MORE network event held in Sweden

The second annual MORE network event was organised by Örebro University in Sweden from the 18.-20. May 2022. During the annual network events the focus is to give all the MORE early stage researchers the opportunity their research results and work progress and to obtain valuable input from their supervisors, industrial collaborator and external experts.

The annual events are always combined with other activities, such as technical sessions about relevant topics, onsite visits as well as social networking activities. During this annual event, we received a lab tour through the AASS lab at Örebro Universtiy as well as a visit to Munktell Museum. Time was further devoted to the training of the MORE early stage researchers from partners within the network. This included sessions on Communication, dissemination and exploitation activities in MORE: As open as possible, as closed as necessary (Julia Götz, accelopment); Towards robot-, task- and environment-agnostic multi-robot fleet control (Federico Pecora, Associate Professor at Örebro University); and Ethics for Robotics & Automation (Masoumeh Mansouri, Assistant Professor at the School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham).

We would like to thank Örebro University for hosting the meeting and for all participants for their active contributions and engagement during the meeting.