Liebherr assistance system for fast-erecting cranes makes semi-automated crane operation possible

Vehicles with intelligent assistance systems are becoming increasingly common in the construction machinery world. The Liebherr Group introduced intelligent operator assistants for its tower cranes at the end of 2024. These assistants help make construction sites safer for both people and materials, and also ensure more convenient and efficient crane operation. It only takes the push of a button to switch them on or off as required.

Positioning Pilot – navigating plotted routes and saved points

The Positioning Pilot assistance system makes it possible to precisely access up to three stored hook positions without sway, and travel two individually mapped routes. The routes can be travelled forwards and back again, and stopping in between is also an option. Travel speed is flexible and can be adapted to the particular conditions on site. This makes Positioning Pilot ideal for repetitive, monotonous lifting tasks like concreting work and truck unloading processes that require several lifts.

Positioning Pilot makes the crane operator’s work significantly easier as it takes away the need for manual operation of the various travel drives and can move the load independently. All three drives of the crane (slewing gear, trolley and hoist winch) are controlled simultaneously so that stored points are quickly reached. This not only improves work and operational convenience for the crane operator but also increases safety on site. The semi-automatic travelling of routes means that the crane hook’s movement is preset and incidents with a negative impact on cost-effective construction operations can be avoided. A radio control is used to directly control the assistant.

Operator assistants based on new control and operating systems

The new assistance systems are based on Liebherr’s Control 5 control system and Tower Crane Operating System 2. The control system’s high processing power enables all assistance algorithms to be processed in real time.

An integral, underpinning element of the assistance system is load sway damping. A battery-powered IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) sensor system measures hook inclination and angular velocity, while a sensor system on the tower detects the inclination of the tower. The sensors transmit data to the control system, which continuously processes this information together with crane structure measurement data to ensure precise and sway-free crane movements. A path following control system, including trajectory generation, allows the tower crane to follow almost any path independently. The control system is based on a detailed mathematical model of the crane, which has been developed in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart.

After nearly a decade of development, the intelligent Positioning Pilot assistance system was successfully launched for current K and L series fast-erecting cranes at the end of 2024.