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Autonomous machines provide the advantages of being smaller, faster, and cheaper. In addition they contribute to the improvement of the machine operator's environment by reducing the information-related stress. In addition, lighter machines often reduce environmental damages, such as oil discharge pollution.
IFOR has been established by a collaboration between the industrial world and the Institute of Technology at Umeå University and SLU, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå. Some of the companies and institutes currently collaborating with IFOR are Komatsu Forest AB, Skogforsk, Sveaskog, Holmen Skog, Land Systems Hägglunds, and LKAB. Hopefully, more interested partners will join IFOR, to form a strong and competitive research collaboration.
The IFOR research projects are based on its joint partners' common interests and goals.
Read IFOR resultatsammanfattning 2009-10-12.
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| IFOR'S Long-Term Goals |
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To become a leading research center at Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå, performing basic and applied research in intelligent off-road technology, as well as a network/center of excellence, together with other academic institutes and industry.
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To act at a national level with strong support from society and relevant industrial fields, such as the forest industry, the mining industry, the construction industry, and the defense industry.
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To collaborate with industrial partners in and out of Sweden, in development projects generating numerous commercial products with highly automated off-road technology.
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This venture aims at supporting the development of autonomous (independent) machines that can perform advanced and/or dangerous tasks with minimal involvement of human operators. The operator can be at a distance, and may be responsible for more than one machine at a time. One of the advantages of autonomous machines is that they can be made smaller and more flexible, becuase there is no human onboard them. Furthermore, they can be set to work in environments dangerous for man.
However, there's still a long way to go before fully autonomous vehicles become prevalent, and on the way semi-autonomous systems will be introduced. A gradual introduction of automation is the key to increased productivity. The driver is often the limiting factor, when considering the full capacity of the machine.
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