Robotics & Automation News

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driverless mining trucks

Komatsu claims its autonomous mining trucks have hauled more material than all other companies’ vehicles put together

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Komatsu, a global heavy equipment manufacturer, claims its FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System – a colossally gigantic driverless truck used in mining – has achieved the “unprecedented milestone” of more than two billion tons of surface material moved autonomously.

Komatsu further claims that this means the FrontRunner system “has now hauled more than all other commercial mining autonomous haulage systems combined”.

Since its first commercial deployment in 2008 at Codelco’s Gabriela Mistral copper mine in Chile, the FrontRunner AHS has experienced exponential growth in cumulative production, breaking the 1 billion tons mark in 2016 and the 1.5 billion tons mark in late 2017.  [Read more…] about Komatsu claims its autonomous mining trucks have hauled more material than all other companies’ vehicles put together

Komatsu autonomous trucks ‘increase productivity by 34 percent’ at Rio Tinto

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Global mining giant Rio Tinto is said to have increased productivity by 34 percent through the use of Komatsu autonomous trucks.

Rio Tinto has been testing and implementing autonomous technology for around a decade, and after a decade of using Komatsu’s massive driverless trucks, the company is integrating autonomous trains into its operations.

Komatsu’s vehicles are called autonomous haulage systems, or AHS. The AHS truck fleet is forecast to drive reductions in operating costs at Australia’s iron ore mines by up to $0.62 per ton by 2020, according to research company GlobalData.  [Read more…] about Komatsu autonomous trucks ‘increase productivity by 34 percent’ at Rio Tinto