There was once a time where autonomous vehicles and other objects onsite were nothing more than a sci-fi fantasy, but today, technology has transformed almost every aspect of the construction jobsite, making it a playground for the tech toys of the future. Autonomous vehicles, although still believed by some to only be a concept not yet tested in the field, have been changing the construction industry for some time. So hold on tight as ZBRELLA takes you through some autonomous vehicles that are breaking rocks and taking names out on the field because yes, the autonomous truck is already a reality.
Komatsu, Ltd. – Tokyo, Japan
Komatsu is one of those companies we can’t stop talking about, and for good reason. The Tokyo based company is a huge leader in autonomous equipment and vehicles for construction and has been for a couple years now. In 2008, the company released its first automatic driving system programed to large mining dump trucks, allowing the vehicles to operate with complete autonomy along a predetermined route. Using obstacle detecting sensors, high precision GPS, and other sophisticated technologies, Komatsu successfully implemented small fleets of their machinery throughout the world. Their projects included both Codelco in Chile in 2008 and Rio Tinto in Australia.
Komatsu’s bulldozer excavators also hit the field in 2013 and 2014 with autonomous features. The machines are able to level the ground and excavate on their own. More recently in 2015, the company implemented autonomous drones onsite with other autonomous equipment to improve safety and productivity. The company plans to go even further and continues to work on fully autonomous equipment in an effort to lower costs onsite.
Volvo Construction Equipment – Brussels, Belgium
Volvo is a construction equipment innovator, and for the past couple of years, the company has been working on making autonomous equipment a reality. By teaming up with universities throughout the world, like Örebro University (Sweden) and the University of Kaiserslautern (Germany), Volvo created an autonomous wheel loader that can perform simple tasks. The vehicle can do basic digging and loading onsite, but the team still has improvements to make on the equipment before it can hit the market.
Volvo is hoping that the autonomous vehicle increase safety, decrease emissions, and improves efficiency.
Royal Truck & Equipment – Pennsylvania, USA
This smaller company from the United States made a big splash this year with their automated TMA (truck mounted attenuator) truck. By outfitting the truck with an electro-mechanical system and a fully integrated sensor suite, which enables what they call a Leader/Follower capability, the ATMA truck follows the “lead” vehicle that would typically drive in front of a regular TMA truck.
Royal Truck & Equipment, Inc. implemented their technology onsite successfully in their testing process. The company says that the ATMA truck can be used for anything from line painting, bridge inspection, black top operations, sign removal, traffic light repairs, or anytime a worker is exposed to hazardous traffic conditions. The team is looking to have this autonomous vehicle fully implemented into construction sites in Florida by the end of 2015.
Automation Onsite
Construction has been and will continue to trend towards automation of equipment and vehicles onsite. The technology boasts many benefits such as:
- Eliminating Productivity Loss
- Increasing Production
- Promising Consistent Performance
- Increasing Truck Usage
- Decreasing Fuel Usage
- Improving Worker Safety
And the three companies above aren’t the only ones who’ve developed or implemented such equipment onsite. Names like Hitachi and Caterpillar will ring a bell, and it is one that should send the message loud and clear. Automation is here. What do you think about it?
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