research-article

An exploratory study of software engineering in heavy-duty mobile machine automation

Authors:

Marea de Koning,

Tyrone Machado,

Reza Ghabcheloo,

Outi Sievi-KorteAuthors Info & Claims

Volume 165, Issue C

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2023.104424

Published: 01 July 2023 Publication History

Abstract

As the amount and complexity of software for automating heavy-duty mobile machinery is increasing, software engineering in this domain is becoming more important. To characterize the industry’s current state of software engineering and its issues to guide future research, we performed an empirical exploratory study. We interviewed 16 software engineering professionals from 13 different companies conducting business in heavy-duty mobile machines and their automation. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively, and quantification of the analysis results is presented. We first create an overview of software engineering in the heavy-duty mobile machinery industry. We then identify problem areas affecting software development and discuss some of the possible solutions found in literature. Our findings indicate that the major problem areas faced in the industry that require more research are its digital transformation, autonomous machine functional safety, low availability of workforce for developing software for robotic mobile machines and the lack of established software standards.

Highlights

•

Heavy duty mobile machine industry faces digital transformation.

•

Three major types of automation software are high- and low-level onboard and offboard.

•

More skilled and motivated developers are needed.

•

How to guarantee safety of the machines requires more research.

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Cited By

Cavalcanti AMiyazawa ATimmis J(2024)Software engineering for roboticsRobotics and Autonomous Systems10.1016/j.robot.2024.104648174:COnline publication date: 1-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.robot.2024.104648

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cover image Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Robotics and Autonomous Systems Volume 165, Issue C

Jul 2023

176 pages

ISSN:0921-8890

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North-Holland Publishing Co.

Netherlands

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Published: 01 July 2023

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Cited By

Cavalcanti AMiyazawa ATimmis J(2024)Software engineering for roboticsRobotics and Autonomous Systems10.1016/j.robot.2024.104648174:COnline publication date: 1-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1016/j.robot.2024.104648

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