AutoAgri and SAP Norway have agreed to collaborate. The purpose of the cooperation is to map the load in the structure of AutoAgri’s autonomous tractor. This is an essential step towards optimizing the innovative tractor.
– We think this is super exciting, says the development manager at SAP Norway, Martin Hasle.
After looking for projects they could be a part of, they were put in touch with AutoAgri.
– We quickly saw that they needed the technology we have, says Hasle.
SAP has software for simulating physical objects. It can be anything from oil platforms to smaller components.
– The most important thing is that our software is high-speed, and that we can do real-time simulation, says Hasle.
It is this technology that they will contribute to during the prototype testing of AutoAgri’s autonomous tractor. They will soon be ready to start the testing.
– Our test season is from May and throughout the summer. It is very nice to have a professional partner on the team who will help us with the testing. SAP will help us retrieve data and process the data, says Jostein Sandvik in AutoAgri.
During the prototype testing, they will map how the load on the tractor’s structure is, depending on, for example, speed, terrain, equipment and lifting weight.
– Then, the tractor will have all the instrumentation, and the results we get from the testing will be fed into a digital twin. We will use the results we get to adapt and optimize the tractor. Then we will take it further from prototype to demo, then full scale, Sandvik says.
– By doing it this way, we get thorough tests, while we get a lot of data collected in a short time, says Hasle.
– The collaboration with SAP gives us an important tool that provides us with good insight into what measures we must implement, says Sandvik.
– Because this is an autonomous vehicle, you are more dependent on such tests. There is no driver who can observe how the vehicle reacts and handles various stresses, says Hasle.
Sandvik believes the testing will be more thorough by conducting it in collaboration with SAP.
– We have developed a tractor that is not like other tractors. This means that we have no basis for comparison. Therefore, it is difficult for us to rely on experience from tests of other tractors. We get thorough tests through the collaboration with SAP, and the testing itself will take less time. Thorough testing, the risk of the project will be significantly reduced.
– It again leads to the tractor being safer and optimal for the customer, he adds.
The testing and the digital twin will also be useful for AutoaAgri and their customers when the tractor has entered the commercial market.
– The tool that SAP develops can also be used further in the production, service, and maintenance of the tractor. The opportunity to continue to use the tool has been particularly interesting for us, says Sandvik.