With the aim to achieve zero emissions, significant efforts have been undertaken toward the electrification of mobile working machines. Consequently, an order of magnitude in control performance can be forecasted since electromechanical linear actuators (EMLAs) offer higher stiffness and better controllability properties. The predicted tenfold increase in positioning accuracy and controllability arising from adopting electric boom technology should also be seen as a key enabler for more agile future working processes and new mobile manipulator functionalities.

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Current semi-autonomous mobile working machines are mainly capable of moving autonomously from point A to point B, similar to self-driving cars; examples include semi-autonomous mining loaders and straddle carriers operating in ports. Manipulation tasks requiring higher precision are usually only possible by completely fixing the position of the mobile platform utilizing hydraulic outrigger legs. Developing productive automatized operations for the tasks conducted by heavy-duty working machines, however, includes different and considerably more complex challenges than those encountered in the research of self-driving cars.

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While striving to achieve high control performance in challenging conditions, there is an obvious need for simultaneous dynamic control, in a coordinated manner, of both the mobile platform and the manipulator mounted on top of it. This task is generally referred to as the mobile manipulation problem. Thus, the ultimate goal of this project is to establish an ecosystem of technological knowledge and cooperation for creating all-electric rough-terrain mobile manipulators capable of autonomously carrying out tasks in worksites using their mobile platform and manipulator arm simultaneously.