LOAD & HAUL
Two Cat 793F CMD autonomous trucks
machine health off-board with Cat VIMS, a key building block for autonomy. With no operator onboard, we needed to be able to remotely monitor and understand any problems developing with machines.” Te DARPA (Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency) Challenges provided a step change for autonomy. “We partnered with Carnegie Mellon University to sponsor the award-winning ‘Boss’, an autonomous Chevrolet Tahoe, that won
Cat LHD working semi- autonomously
first place in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge,” Murphy said. “We were the first company to leverage the technology from the DARPA Challenges. Since then, we believe our machines have travelled twice as many miles as any automotive company’s autonomous vehicles.” Te company’s record is indeed
impressive. Currently there are over 225 autonomous trucks in operation and they have achieved over 1.5 billion tonnes
hauled over 50 million kilometres with zero lost time from injuries. Elaborating on the technology, Gary Cook, commercial manager, Surface Autonomy, MineStar Solutions, explains, “Te trucks have a similar technology stack to what you see on autonomous cars, but built for durability in a tougher environment, and with additional safety systems. “Our key advantage is our use of spinning lidar to detect objects. Using lidar is like driving a car with high-beam headlights – where you get improved visibility allowing for traveling at higher speeds safely and with confidence. Tis strong perception technology allows us to run the truck at maximum speed when conditions allow.”
Cat uses multiple positioning systems (GNSS and an inertial measurement unit) for accuracy. If a satellite signal is lost, autonomous trucks can continue to run for a short period of time. Te firm’s philosophy is to have what Cook calls “advanced processing power and decision-making capability, which
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