TEKNOAX 2.0
Bringing intelligence onto axles of third millennium farming trailers
| Business | Time | Project Coordinator | Funding Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Start date: 01/01/2017 End date: 31/12/2018 |
A.D.R. S.P.A. | H2020-EU.3. - PRIORITY 'Societal challenges' H2020-EU.2. - PRIORITY 'Industrial leadership' |
Challenge
Agriculture is facing a big transformation and extensive farming has raised the need of farming vehicles with better performances in terms of working loads (lower unladen weight with higher load capacity), on-road vehicle performances (higher speeds, reliability, dynamic performances of the vehicle using high-traffic roads to move from one field to the other) and compliance with traffic regulation (carriageway obstruction).
In this framework, trailers, which are vehicles connected to tractors for the carriage of loads, made up by a cargo bed placed on two or more axles, have remained far away from this technological revolution and represent a bottleneck to this market transformation.
The TEKNOAX 2.0 project aims at answering to agriculture increasing demand for intelligent components in the market of axles for farming trailers, going beyond the state of the art and filling the existent gap with precision farming needs.
In particular, the project (funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 737848) will bring intelligence onto axles, enabling unique traceability, performance monitoring and condition based maintenance through a collaborative platform and a mobile App, increasing in this way the lifecycle of the trailer and its components.
Approach
In the framework of TEKNOAX 2.0, RINA has developed a control and communication system connected to a collaborative platform and a mobile App in order to track axles performances, to improve the maintenance onto each unit and to increase in this way the lifecycle of the trailer.
The platform developed by RINA allows end-users to monitor the trailer parameters (speed, temperature, position, weigh of the load etc.) and to customize their axles by selecting the features they want to be equipped on. Moreover, it allows the user to perform a unique identification of their axles and keep track of all the maintenance activities performed, easing the identification of spare parts.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the overall main impacts of the project are the following:
- Development of the new generation of axles having enhanced mechanical proprieties as well as optimization of the manufacturing process
- Bringing intelligence into axles and enabling their sensing capabilities enabling the monitoring of trailer performances
- Validating the new generation of axles in relevant operational conditions
- Development of user-friendly features for the ICT web based collaborative platform connected to a mobile App
- Validating innovative business models based on TEKNOAX 2.0
