Last week, WARA Robotics held a workshop hosted by Volvo Trucks, bringing together academic and industrial partners from across the WARA Robotics community for a visit to the Tuve Plant and the Future Factory Lab at CampX in Göteborg.
The workshop aimed to strengthen collaboration within the community by connecting research with real industrial needs, while providing deeper insight into the truck manufacturing context in which many of these challenges arise.
The day began with the TuveTrain tour, offering participants a 40-minute overview of the full production flow, from beam manufacturing to final truck assembly. It provided a valuable snapshot of how a complete truck is built in roughly six hours.
The group then took a closer look at one of the use cases especially relevant to WARA Robotics: the pre-assembly line, where modules are kitted and pre-assembled before being delivered to the main production line. Participants also had the opportunity to see two automation solutions originating from previous research projects:
- GPSS, a generic photo-based sensor system (see related article here);
- A fenceless robotic system for sensor calibration directly on the truck.
Another important part of the workshop was the series of presentations from PhD students. These sparked valuable discussions on how industry partners can better support research by helping define relevant and impactful problems.
Finally, the workshop also served as an important step in shaping the upcoming WARA Robotics Challenge. Together, the group explored its scope, setup, and prerequisites, with a shared focus on strengthening collaboration between academia and industry. Further details on the challenge will be announced soon!
