Good news for the ZIM Innovation Network AutoRobXL: The second phase of the network will start on November 1, 2024. AutoRobXL has now received the official funding approval from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
In this second phase, the network will further deepen and expand its goals to promote automation and digitalization on construction sites over a two-year period. With the support of the BMWK, the work can be carried out even more intensively, and new technologies and innovation projects can be initiated, which should benefit not only the industry but also society.
“With this support, partnerships between the participating companies and research institutions can be further promoted to develop practical automation solutions for the challenges of the construction industry,” says network manager Dr. Manfred Baugärtner. “Phase 2 promises to make important contributions to the development of (semi)autonomous mobile construction machines,” expects Prof. Frank Will, Chair of Construction Machines at the network partner Technical University of Dresden. “Furthermore, our work should provide positive impulses for the entire industry and help position Germany as a pioneer in construction site automation.”
The ZIM Innovation Network AutoRobXL aims to implement automated work processes using mobile construction machines and large-scale manipulators. Large-scale manipulators are understood to be long, often elastic boom structures, which are subject to strong deformations and vibrations. Examples include truck-mounted concrete pumps, mobile cranes, or aerial work platforms. High movement accuracy and precise positioning of corresponding structures are already important for manual work; for the automation of the associated work processes, these are indispensable. As part of the network, new solutions are to be developed that enable position-accurate control of corresponding boom structures as well as the associated work tools. Building on this, we want to gradually expand the website of the AutoRobXL Innovation Network into a developer platform for the automation of large construction machines.