1 ICPC 2015 – 4.3 Connected Machinery – Enabling Automation - Martin Frank Volvo Construction Equipment Germany Copyright © 2015 AVL List GmbH, Volvo Construction Equipment Germany and SAE International ABSTRACT With the increased demand on fuel efficiency and productivity of the different construction equipment types, the connection of the equipment’s sub systems, the connection between the different on site machines and the connection to the site management gets more and more important. By analyzing the different systems and the underlying requirements, several optimization possibilities arise with the connection of the different data sources. It will be shown that the connection of the different system on machine level as well as the connection between machines will have a big impact on performance and efficiency of the systems and subsequently of the machine itself. INTRODUCTION Looking at the increasing number of sensors and information source at the different types of construction machinery as well as the increasing data sources on a typical worksite the analyzing possibilities has not been as big as they are today. By using the growing calculation and processing capabilities of the standard vehicle ECU’s (Electronic Control Unit) the data is used to continuously optimize the machines subsystems towards the predefined target functions. Traditionally, the generated sensor information was used in the machines subsystems as input for control loops as well as information source for the operator. There is still a big value to use this information to optimize the machines systems and performance but with the increased possibility to share the data with connected off-board system makes each single machine to a data mine itself. The different levels of connectivity and automation require a different handling and transmission of the system, machine and process data. The SAE Standard J3016 defines levels to describe and distinguish the stage of automation [1]. The defined levels are shown in Figure 1. Levels for automation are defined for on-road vehicles but also can be applied to off-road vehicles and construction equipment in the same manner. Figure 1 Table of levels of driving automation for on-road vehicles [1] In close conjunction with the automation also the connectivity of the systems and vehicles will increase and therefore can be clustered into the same numeration as well. While the level of automation is increasing also the requirements on the communication and connection between the vehicle components and systems are increasing. This is driven by the safety features but also by the need to exchange system data on a higher level to enable sophisticated control and optimization. Different communication technologies are used for the different levels of automation. Low level automation of vehicles systems still relying on analog data transmission as well as CAN communication on a basic system layer. On machine level, these communication technologies are not sufficient to support further machine and vehicle automation. The trend towards advanced communication technologies in the commercial vehicle domain is recognizable. CAN FD as well as on-board Ethernet communication could be possible solutions.