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OPERATING STRATEGIES Volvo CE Plans Advanced Simulator Project Using Human-in-the-Loop Concept As technology gets ever more complex, it's becoming more expensive to build prototype machines. Not only that; building prototypes takes a long time and commits a lot of resources. And what if the prototype isn't effective? Start all over again. Because of this it's becoming increasingly important to shorten the development cycle and use computers to carry out as much virtual testing and simulations as possible. To do this, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) said it is creating a system that is set to 'revolutionize' the product development process and enable tech- nology that doesn't even exist today to be accurately simulated in real-time— thanks to a human-in-the-loop system. The latest innovation from its tech- nology group, according to Volvo CE, will provide the operator with the exact expe- rience he or she would get from an actu- al machine—allowing engineers to assess operability and test crucial fac- tors such as performance and respon- siveness before an expensive prototype is built. Through thorough simulation and optimization, the real-time simulator will determine the feasibility of future technology as well as reduce the number of prototypes and ensure that models are built much closer to the final product and at a lower cost. "Traditionally, simulators are used for operator training and they copy an exist- ing machine," said Lennarth Zander, manager of the Technology group's Virtual Product Development (VPD) team. "However, what we are doing is creating a real-time simulator for re- search and development purposes that is able to behave as the next generation of machines will. One important purpose of this project is to understand the experi- ence the operator gets from future gen- eration machines—something that is very hard to do with mathematical mod- els. With this new technology we will increase efficiency and enhance the product development process—ultimate- ly helping to provide the best possible experience for our customers. "Creating a real-time simulator with a human in the loop is complicated, but we have the expertise and capabilities to do this," said Lennarth. "It's like build- ing something between a computer sim- ulation model and a real machine. One of the biggest challenges (which has pre- vented this work being done before now) has been simulating the hydraulic sys- tem in real-time. When an operator is involved in the simulation their actions need to be performed accurately and immediately—attention to detail is very important, otherwise you're not providing them with a true representation of the machine." "We have successfully achieved real- time simulation without compromising accuracy and that's a big breakthrough," said Jae Lee, chief engineer, VPD/ Advanced Engineering. "We've started by programming the engine and hy- draulics of an excavator (the most chal- lenging machine) into the simulator and once this project is complete we will continue the work with other Volvo machines. "The simulator will feel 100% lifelike and the operator will experience the exact same visual, audible and tactile feedback as if they were in a real machine on a job site," Lee said. "The normal vehicle characteristics for that specific machine—such as hydraulic power, engine sound and the way it maneuvers over uneven ground—are all faithfully reproduced and different appli- cations can be selected. As the operator sits in the simulator cab they will see the machine perform the commands on a spherical projection screen in real-time with no delay—just as they would if they were looking through the windscreen of their machine on a job site." Volvo CE says its latest simulator project—involving a "human-in-the-loop" concept—will allow more effective and cost-efficient machine prototype development. 122 E&MJ; • NOVEMBER 2012 "If someone presents us with an innovation, as long as we're able to describe it in terms of mathematics, we can use a real-time simulator to predict how a machine will behave with that technology and get operator feedback regarding how the machine feels to use," said Lennarth. "The possibilities are exciting and endless—we can use this advanced technology to test future con- cepts like heads-up displays, new trans- mission technology and intelligent machine features. But it will also help us to optimize our current technology and make it as fuel efficient as possible. "Testing potential new technology in this way will allow us to see how opera- tors respond to it and their reactions will help to guide the organization before prototypes are built," said Lennarth. "For example, if we look at heads-up dis- plays which can inform operators of their production per hour, fuel consumption, vehicle speed, etc., it would be interest- ing to see whether they found this infor- mation useful and if we had got the for- mat right—all before any money is spent on building prototypes. It is also much easier and less costly to make adjust- ments like this; if an operator doesn't like the performance from one hydraulic system we can simply program another into the simulator until we achieve max- imum performance." Volvo CE said the simulator is being built in Changwon, Korea, and will be completed by the end of 2013. www.e-mj.com