Imagine a construction site with zero accidents, zero emissions, and zero unplanned stops. That is what engineers and innovators at Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) are hoping to achieve in their machines of the future.

"It is not just a vision, we call it a plan," said Volvo CE executives as they showcased a range of futuristic concepts and innovations from autonomous machines to electromobility and total site solutions at the company’s Xploration Forum in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
 
Hundreds of customers, members of the international press, government representatives and academics were given an exclusive look at a host of ground-breaking technology that has the potential to transform the industry by Volvo executives.

Highlights at the event included unveiling of the LX1 prototype hybrid wheel loader, a machine with the potential to improve fuel efficiency by up to 50 per cent; demonstrations of a prototype autonomous wheel loader and articulated hauler working together; and an electric site solution that showcased the new concept HX1 autonomous, battery-electric, load carrier.

Volvo executives insisted that customer collaboration is essential in achieving the disruptive change the company is seeking to make and bringing these innovative technologies to market.

The electric site project aims to transform the quarry and aggregates industry by reducing carbon emissions by up to 95 per cent and total cost of ownership by up to 25 per cent, Vovlo executives said.

All of the innovations shown at the Xploration Forum are ongoing research projects that aren’t commercially available at this stage and it was not revealed when they will go into production.

Innovating for a sustainable future

“In line with the Volvo Group’s vision to be the most desired and successful transport solution provider in the world, Volvo CE is committed to contributing to sustainable development,” said Martin Weissburg, member of the Volvo Group Executive Board and president of Volvo CE, at a press conference.

“At Volvo CE, we are developing technologies connected to electromobility, intelligent machines and total site solutions that will benefit our customers and the environment by contributing to increased machine performance, productivity, efficiency, safety and sustainability. Our future products and services will play an important part in building a sustainable society," he stated.

Volvo CE, said Weissburg, was at the forefront of technological development.

"Each year, the Volvo Group invests billions of Swedish Kronor in research and development to drive the evolution of new innovations. We organise events such as the Xploration Forum because we want to share our exciting projects and concepts with the world," he remarked.

"Although this technology may be years away from – or may never enter – production, it will undoubtedly influence our future offering and has the potential to transform the construction industry as we know it. The progress our engineers are making is exciting," he said.

The Xploration Forum, which builds on the Innovation Forum Volvo CE held in 2013, was designed to underscore the company’s position as the innovation pioneer of the construction equipment industry, noted Weissburg.

“We’ve set ourselves four key technology challenges that we call Triple Zero and 10x: zero emissions, zero accidents, zero unplanned stops and 10x higher efficiency,” explained Weissburg.
“We believe that our clear focus on electromobility, intelligent machines and total site solutions will help us achieve these ambitious goals and pave the way for a sustainable construction industry,” he added.

Volvo Concept Lab

The innovations shown at the Xploration Forum were presented under the umbrella of ‘Volvo Concept Lab’, a new Volvo Group initiative.

From now on, Volvo-branded companies within the Volvo Group will showcase their research and development projects under this technology communication platform, said the top official.

“At the Volvo Group we want to show our customers, journalists, government representatives and members of the public the exciting projects we’re working on,” remarked Weissburg.

“Volvo Concept Lab will showcase ideas, innovations and collaborations that could potentially lead to future products and solutions – exactly like those Volvo CE presented at the Xploration Forum,” he said.
 
An exclusive demo of Volvo CE's prototype autonomous wheel loader and articulated hauler working together was held during the forum.

The prototype wheel loader filled the prototype articulated hauler – before dumping its load and repeating the cycle.

In a one-hour comparison, it was found that the autonomous wheel loader could reach the equivalent of 70 per cent of that of a skilled operator’s productivity levels when loading and unloading. This is not just theoretical, the machine has also done 'real work' for a Volvo CE customer at an asphalt plant in Sweden.

“The demonstration machines were programmed to work together and carry out a specific set of actions on a pre-defined route,” explained Jenny Elfsberg, the director of emerging technologies at Volvo CE.

"The machines can perform the same task over and over again, along a fixed route, for a relatively long period of time. But it’s still early days for this technology, we are working on developing solutions that have the required safety and performance levels that the market will accept," he added.
 
Looking to the future

The demonstrator machines are standard Volvo products – a L120 wheel loader and an A25F articulated hauler – which have been upgraded with autonomous technology. Once a solution is finalised, this technology could be applied to other products in Volvo CE’s range.

“Autonomous machines will increase safety in hazardous working environments and eliminate the possibility of accidents caused by human error,” explained Elfsberg.

“They will also perform repetitive tasks more efficiently and precisely than a human operator and, because machines will be operated in the most efficient way, customers will benefit from improved performance, productivity, fuel efficiency and durability," she noted.

"In the future, you could also potentially have one operator for three or four machines, increasing productivity and further decreasing costs," said Elfsberg.

Looking ahead, I imagine that autonomous machines will be smaller and more robust. There will be no need for a cab or suspension – much like the HX1 concept," she added.-TradeArabia News Service