Automated solutions have gained ground in multiple fields – for instance at factories, where the breakthrough of automation took place already in the 1980s. Automation has made production processes significantly faster and more efficient. Our vision aims to harness these benefits of automated solutions and new technologies and bring them to the construction sites as well. In cooperation with Aalto University, we’ve been developing an automated tower crane since 2016.

Trenox was born around a mission to transform the global construction sector. Tower crane operators are faced with enormous responsibilities every day. A job of moving heavy objects around worksites does not withstand mistakes and requires strong expertise from operators. The basic technology of tower cranes today is similar to what it was in the 1960s – the machine is used with a joystick that moves around the hook of the crane. The conditions are often volatile, and windy weather can cause a load to swing meters from side to side. In addition to this, tower cranes are often used at the worksites occasionally, and crane operators might have to sit around waiting for lifting jobs for hours.

This combination of old crane technology and varying conditions at the worksites made us consider ways to improve the efficiency and safety of operating tower cranes. What if there was a solution for enabling tower cranes to be used 24/7, safely?

In 2016, the first development project kicked off in cooperation with a Product development project course at Aalto University. The starting point of the project was not to develop a fully new, automated crane, but to investigate a solution that would be compatible with the existing hardware. A group of students started to examine opportunities to automate the steering of tower cranes.

The results of the studies made in cooperation with the students were supportive. As it turned out, already existing technology would enable automation. Furthermore, the solutions are relatively cost-effective and applicable in a construction site environment. A simple control logic would enable the deployment of automation since movements that the tower cranes make are mostly rather slow and simple.

This development work that started at the student course in 2016 is still ongoing, and some of the students are now working at the product development department at Trenox. Our products already at the market have been born as by-products in the process of developing an automated tower crane.

Keep following us for news about the current development phase of an automated tower crane.

Learn more about our products already at the market, enabling safer and more efficient work at construction sites: