New intelligent, fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly construction vehicles could enter the industry by 2019/10 thanks to new software developed by WMG at the University of Warwick and JCB.

As part of the Off-Highway Intelligent Power Management (OHIPM) project – a collaboration between JCB, WMG and Pektron, researchers have developed a system which operates intelligent hybridised engines, enabling them to sense when machines are idle and switch off power.

A team led by Dr James Marco from WMG's energy team analysed large amounts of JCB data to establish which parts of the machine fleet could be most effectively optimised through intelligent power solutions.

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Control software was then created to operate intelligent engines with automotive powertrain technology, enabling them to sense when the machines are idle and make the decision to switch themselves off (or power down) when power is not required – leading to optimal energy efficiency and minimal pollution.

The WMG technology was then tested with prototype hardware and installed in a JCB Hydradig, allowing 'real-life' simulations to be conducted on actual machines.

With the OHIPM project concluding in summer 2017, it is anticipated this technology could be on the market by 2019/20.

Dr James Marco said: "Being able to extend our control and systems modelling expertise into the off-highway sector and to work with both JCB and Perktron engineers has made this a really exciting and rewarding project to be a part of and one where the research has the potential to deliver real impact for all partners."

Lee Harper, Principal Engineer at JCB, added: "This collaborative project between JCB, WMG; and Pektron has helped to identify and develop future technologies that can improve the efficiency of many off-highway machines. The novel technology has shown great promise when tested over a variety of real-world duty cycles."

Image: JCB machine with WMG software (credit: WMG, University of Warwick).

(LM/MH)