The Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation (IHA) focuses on basic and applied research into intelligent mobile machines and hydraulic systems in cooperation with industry. Together with the Automation Technology Laboratory (ATL) at Helsinki University of Technology, IHA has established the Generic Intelligent Machines (GIM) research group that conducts leading-edge research into intelligent machines. The department is headed by Professor Matti Vilenius.
IHA researches the intelligence of mobile machines in relation to their internal structure and environment by utilizing commercially available components. IHA also develops new technologies, such as digital hydraulics that brings the construction of intelligent machines to an entirely new level. The scale of such change is similar to that in the television market with the transition from analogue to digital technology.
Research at the department influences the development of today’s mobile machines and builds the technological foundation required to transfer tomorrow’s field and service robots into products. The machines of the future will be environmentally and user friendly. They will also offer the possibility of long-range remote control and monitoring, even on an intercontinental level. In addition, they will be able to recover automatically from many failure situations and inform their host of the cause of failure.
Website of the Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation (IHA)