ALL-4-eHam - Fully Autonomous WheeL Loaders for efficient HAndling of Heterogeneous Materials

ALL-4-eHam is a collaborative project between the Mobile Robotics and Olfaction Lab at Örebro University, NCC and Volvo CE. The research aim of the ALL-4-eHAM project is to develop a generic, modularized system for autonomous wheel loaders that carries out all parts of the material handling cycle in the context of an asphalt production site. The goal of the project is to develop a demonstrator system, which carries out the material handling cycle at 70% the productivity of a skilled human driver and 70% of the fuel efficiency, measured as the mass of the moved material relative to the consumed energy (ton/liter fuel). At the end of the project, one autonomous wheel loader will be demonstrated, running for one hour continuously at an NCC asphalt mill. The project is funded by the Knowledge Foundation and Robotdalen where matching funding is provided by the industrial partners.

In order to achieve a system that is economically superior to current solutions based on human operators, the whole material handling cycle, and in particular the loading/unloading procedure needs to be optimized in terms of speed and energy efficiency. The goal of the project is to develop a demonstrator system, which carries out the material handling cycle at 70% the productivity of a skilled human driver and 70% of the fuel efficiency, measured as the mass of the moved material relative to the consumed energy (ton/liter fuel). At the end of the project, one autonomous wheel loader will be demonstrated, running for one hour continuously at an NCC asphalt mill. Due to its generic and highly ambitious goal, the solutions developed in the project will be applicable to the wide class of scenarios where grained materials have to be handled.