Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations
The use of autonomous systems at wood processing sites of forest industries can significantly increase safety, productivity and efficiency by reducing the number of monotonous and dangerous tasks conducted by human labor utilizing heavy machinery. However, autonomous machine operation in mill yards...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Access |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9861625/ |
| _version_ | 1811282606647410688 |
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| author | Ahmed Abdelsalam Ari Happonen Kalle Karha Aleksandr Kapitonov Jari Porras |
| author_facet | Ahmed Abdelsalam Ari Happonen Kalle Karha Aleksandr Kapitonov Jari Porras |
| author_sort | Ahmed Abdelsalam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The use of autonomous systems at wood processing sites of forest industries can significantly increase safety, productivity and efficiency by reducing the number of monotonous and dangerous tasks conducted by human labor utilizing heavy machinery. However, autonomous machine operation in mill yards is challenging because of the dynamic and complex working environment and partly unstructured processes. The inherent complexity of wood handling and storage tasks requires significant human expertise. Rapid advancements in sensor technologies and machine learning techniques, along with increases in available computational power have enabled progress in automated operation frameworks and algorithms development, which opens the door to the introduction of novel autonomous systems into this environment. With the aim of gaining a better understanding of current issues and facilitating optimal strategies for the deployment of high-level autonomous systems in mill yard environments, this study: (1) utilizes a systematic literature review to map current autonomous technologies and algorithms suitable for adoption by the forest industry in automation of vehicles working in mill yards; (2) summarizes and discusses the potential feasibility of the considered sensors, systems and adoption strategies, and considers implementation challenges for high-level autonomous machinery in mill yard environments; and (3) proposes a system framework that integrates multiple technologies to enable autonomous navigation and material handling in mill yards. The study is the first of its kind as a comprehensive study on autonomous vehicles and machinery in mill yard environments. Our novel framework aids in the identification of follow-up research areas and thus promotes the adoption and use of complex autonomous systems in industrial environments. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:55:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fd4f1abb515c49afadebb931966481dd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2169-3536 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:55:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Access |
| spelling | doaj.art-fd4f1abb515c49afadebb931966481dd2022-12-22T03:07:46ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-0110882348825010.1109/ACCESS.2022.31996919861625Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle OperationsAhmed Abdelsalam0Ari Happonen1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0744-1776Kalle Karha2Aleksandr Kapitonov3Jari Porras4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3669-8503School of Engineering Science, LUT University, Lappeenranta, FinlandSchool of Engineering Science, LUT University, Lappeenranta, FinlandSchool of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, FinlandFaculty of Control Systems and Robotics, ITMO University, Saint Petersburg, RussiaSchool of Engineering Science, LUT University, Lappeenranta, FinlandThe use of autonomous systems at wood processing sites of forest industries can significantly increase safety, productivity and efficiency by reducing the number of monotonous and dangerous tasks conducted by human labor utilizing heavy machinery. However, autonomous machine operation in mill yards is challenging because of the dynamic and complex working environment and partly unstructured processes. The inherent complexity of wood handling and storage tasks requires significant human expertise. Rapid advancements in sensor technologies and machine learning techniques, along with increases in available computational power have enabled progress in automated operation frameworks and algorithms development, which opens the door to the introduction of novel autonomous systems into this environment. With the aim of gaining a better understanding of current issues and facilitating optimal strategies for the deployment of high-level autonomous systems in mill yard environments, this study: (1) utilizes a systematic literature review to map current autonomous technologies and algorithms suitable for adoption by the forest industry in automation of vehicles working in mill yards; (2) summarizes and discusses the potential feasibility of the considered sensors, systems and adoption strategies, and considers implementation challenges for high-level autonomous machinery in mill yard environments; and (3) proposes a system framework that integrates multiple technologies to enable autonomous navigation and material handling in mill yards. The study is the first of its kind as a comprehensive study on autonomous vehicles and machinery in mill yard environments. Our novel framework aids in the identification of follow-up research areas and thus promotes the adoption and use of complex autonomous systems in industrial environments.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9861625/Automationautonomous vehiclesautonomous heavy machineryforestryterminalsmill yards |
| spellingShingle | Ahmed Abdelsalam Ari Happonen Kalle Karha Aleksandr Kapitonov Jari Porras Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations IEEE Access Automation autonomous vehicles autonomous heavy machinery forestry terminals mill yards |
| title | Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations |
| title_full | Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations |
| title_fullStr | Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations |
| title_short | Toward Autonomous Vehicles and Machinery in Mill Yards of the Forest Industry: Technologies and Proposals for Autonomous Vehicle Operations |
| title_sort | toward autonomous vehicles and machinery in mill yards of the forest industry technologies and proposals for autonomous vehicle operations |
| topic | Automation autonomous vehicles autonomous heavy machinery forestry terminals mill yards |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9861625/ |
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