Page 15 - COAug2022

COVER STORY

which operators conventionally do at construction sites. ZCORE Machines’? It’s a strong possibility. Ammann has been able to
consists of information processing platform, which collects data garner important knowledge from a German research project.
from various sensors and communication networks, and machine Smart Site, a research project with the participation of consortium
control platform, which controls hydraulic components and partners from research and industry, focused on the integration
power-train components. It is a system platform, which allows for of the entire logistics chain and the work process of an asphalt
flexible expansion of functionality. With the use of ZCORE, Hitachi construction site within an overall system, via intelligent cloud-
Construction Machinery is now able to develop autonomous based networking. The project’s final demonstrator – renewal of
equipment more quickly and adapt or add functions according the carriageway surfacing on the L1206 highway in Filderstadt,
to various customer needs. In the future, the company plans to Swabia (Germany) – provided impressive proof of the practicality
utilize ZCORE on autonomous hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders of this solution.
and rigid dump trucks. Smart Site collects and documents data that can be evaluated
A smart factory connects all the equipment in a factory by internet regarding the environment, the construction machine and the
to collect and manage data regarding machine operation. This construction process control along the entire value chain for road
information makes it possible to efficiently operate an entire building. Based on central planning for the entire value chain,
factory and achieve even higher levels of productivity and quality. dynamic and decentral information is provided to all players
Kobelco has implemented equipment including various sensors during execution; this information relates to the mixing plant, the
and torque control nutrunners to promote on-site visualization of transportation logistics, the automated paver and the assistance-
the production situation by means of IoT. By gathering data which controlled rollers.
was previously managed by individual workers for various aspects The company envisions to move from local analogue construction
of production including quality control, production control and sites to regionally networked digital sites. “Intelligent control
work procedure, the company is creating a database to prioritize of the construction process is the goal,” Kuno Kaufmann,
improvements and draw out the most suitable method to address Ammann Group’s Head of Digital Products Machines,
those priorities. In addition, the company plans to automate the stated. “This is based on developing BIM-integrated processes,
operations by robots in the future. and on feedback, analysis and monitoring of semantically
High costs are always incurred whenever errors occur during enriched and context-based construction-specific data that
road construction – for example, if the asphalt is insufficiently is situationally and autonomously concentrated. The goal is
compacted so it becomes brittle. The built structure or road has achieved through autonomously controlled information exchange
to be dismantled and reconstructed at great expense. Another among construction machines, between the environment
factor is that road construction sites lead to traffic jams – an and the construction machine, and between the construction
unwelcome situation. management and the construction machine.”
The Internet of Things automatically captures relevant information “In this way, an information hub is created for all the parties involved
from the real world, links it together and makes it available in a in a construction project. The result is that all the links in the value
network. Will the next step be the ‘Internet of Road Construction chain for asphalt road construction can be closely meshed. This

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