Business from technology

Networking of control systems

Competence

New networking and data processing technologies are also pushing their way into industrial real-time control and data acquisition systems, which traditionally operate in isolation from global networks. Our expertise in multitechnical systems together with implementation knowledge in embedded and networking technologies gives us the interdisciplinary competence to create new kinds of platforms for computationally intensive, deeply networked, distributed control systems for integrating critical real-time systems safely and securely into global information networks.

We develop new methods, architectures and solutions for control applications in a range of sectors, including industry, forestry, manufacturing, mining and the construction sector. Our expertise is multitechnical systems that include hardware, software, advanced control algorithms as well as real time positioning systems and wireless communication technologies. We can manage all the phases of the research and development process. This includes concept development, simulations, and virtual prototyping and design methods. Finally, a real prototype can be designed, built and tested.

Challenges

In the development of advanced control systems, the most important goals are:

• safety
  
• reliability
  
• usability
  
• efficiency and performance
  
• life-cycle management: maintenance, modular and upgradable systems
  

The challenge is to find an optimal solution to fulfil different requirements in:

• user interface design
  
• control algorithms
  
• control software and real-time programming
  
• software and hardware architectures for critical control systems
  

Solutions

• Control systems and platforms for stand alone and mobile machines for controlling the movements of the machine or a part of that
  
• CAC (Computer Aided Construction) applications in machine control. Real time positioning (RTK-GPS or automatic total stations) and data from CAD programs (such as a 3D model of the road surface) are used for automatic machine control in, for example, road construction.
  
• Wireless process data acquisition and management in a multi-machine worksite environment
  
• A system engineering approach for modelling the systems and developing the required algorithms. Embedded control systems for active damping and vibration control, special robotic applications and boom control of work machines
  
• Time-accurate synchronised measurements in an industrial environment
  

Benefits

Some of the main benefits of advanced control systems are:

• improved machine performance
  
• reduced workload of the user and improved usability
  
• improved working conditions and natural interaction for the user
  
• better work quality of the machine
  

References

We have competence in machine automation solutions for, among others, forestry and mining applications and we have developed challenging machine control applications for road construction, rehabilitation and pavement repair. In manufacturing we have researched human-machine cooperation, robotics and 3D measurement.