The University of Tartu is leading an international working group of researchers and entrepreneurs to develop artificial intelligence-based solutions for self-driving heavy vehicles. The European Commission is supporting this four-year project with 8 million euros.
Heavy equipment is often used in challenging environments such as excavation sites, forests, or urban areas with harsh weather conditions. Self-driving vehicles must navigate slippery surfaces in winter, while excavators must handle the soil scattered by their wheels. Unpredictable environmental conditions like ice, snow, mud, and large immobile rocks make it difficult and dangerous to use self-driving technology, as autonomous vehicles may struggle to adapt to rapidly changing weather and unpredictable circumstances.
An international team of researchers, led by Arun Kumar Singh, an associate professor of collaborative robotics at the University of Tartu Institute of Technology, will investigate artificial intelligence-based methods to enhance self-driving heavy vehicles’ operational safety and reliability in these conditions.
The research aims to improve autonomous operations in land reclamation, forestry, and logistics to reduce vehicle fuel consumption and minimise environmental impact, such as soil damage. The project’s results are expected to have practical applications for business partners, including the Finnish heavy equipment technology company Novatron, the Swedish mechanical engineering company Komatsu, and Clevon, a company developing autonomous vehicles in Estonia.
Vehicles will be tested on the Clevon platform
Martin Appo, the head of Clevon’s self-driving vehicle department, emphasised the project’s significance for developing Clevon’s vehicles and the industry as a whole. He stated, “Our participation in the project means that the final solution will be tested and implemented on the Clevon platform, allowing us to further enhance and demonstrate the capabilities of our technology. In collaboration with top-level scientific and industrial partners, we are developing systems that ensure the safety and efficiency of self-driving vehicles, even in the most demanding conditions.”
The project “Explainable, Safe, Contact-Aware Planning and Control for Heavy Machinery Manipulation and Navigation” (XSCAVE) is funded by the European Commission. Research partners in the project include Tampere University, Aalto University, Czech Technical University, and Umeå University. Additionally, the informatics research centre, FZI from Germany, and Toshiba Europe from the UK and Algoryx Simulation AB from Sweden are participating in the project.
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