The Dawn of Self-Driving Construction Equipment

The days of walking onto a construction site to find a fleet of heavy equipments working without operators might be nearer than we thought. Autonomous and semi-autonomous construction equipment are seen as the future in the industry.

The same technology that has deliver us with self-driving or autonomous cars from companies like Google and Uber is being used for construction equipment for better safety, productivity, and efficiency while saving time, labor, and money that developers can invest in better designs.

How? Here’s an example: A 3D map with aerial mappings of the jobsite is created using laser scanners, UAVs or drones. Civil engineers then created a 3D development plans and autonomous machines equipped with cameras, sensors, and GPS are deployed on the site with instructions on where to go, how much to excavate, how to position the dozer blades, and so on... The autonomous machines would then send back data in real-time on the work being done so the software can update the 3D map constantly to reflect the site’s reality. The constant updating allows for an operator to monitor the work accurately.

As a matter of fact, today’s construction jobsites are already affected by these autonomous and semi-autonomous machines like the Komatsu D61i-23, John Deere’s Driveline Assist and Caterpillar’s Command technology used in their mining equipment. Volvo CE is taking a step further. The company aim is to develop equipment that is aware of its sourroundings, able to adapt to changing conditions and provide assistance to an operator to alleviate his workload. In the U.S., the Florida DOT and Royal Truck & Equipment are piloting a program using autonomous vehicles for road construction projects.