Autonomous wheel loaders (All-4-eHam)

In the All-4-eHam project, autonomous wheel loaders are developed for efficient handling of material at a facility for asphalt production. The goal is to develop wheel loaders that can operate independently in a dynamic, unstructured outdoor environment. A demonstration is scheduled for spring 2013.

The project's goal is to get a working prototype of an autonomous wheel loader that can independently load, transport and unload various types of materials, such as piles of gravel and sand, in a dynamic outdoor environment. The project will also result in a doctoral thesis, and is a collaboration between Volvo Construction Equipment, NCC Roads and research AASS (Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems) at Örebro University. A demonstration is scheduled for spring 2013.

Volvo Construction Equipment is the world's leading manufacturer of articulated haulers, wheel loaders, excavators, road construction and compact machines. Autonomous construction machinery is an area where the company sees a huge potential for the future, therefore research project All-4-eHAM is completely in line with their plans for technology development. Volvo Construction Equipment's goal for the project is a working demonstrator, and to be able to demonstrate the viability of such a product in order to be able to go ahead and industrialize it. The basis of the prototype is a new model of an ordinary wheel loader, with additional equipment and software developed in collaboration with Örebro University. The technology used for the automation is mainly 3D laser scanning, a technique which the researchers at the University have an extensive experience of. The solutions developed through the project will also be applicable to a wide class of scenarios where grained materials have to be handled.

The project has been granted 3.3 million by the KK-Foundation and runs from 2010-2013. Robotdalen has also contributed with additional funding to the project.