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Writer's pictureRALPH COPE
Oct 30, 20203 min read

A Look into the Machines of the Future


We are living in an age of technology and innovation. The trend is being driven by Silicon Valley which is shaping the future of mobility around connectivity, autonomous driving, telematics, and the movement away from fossil fuels towards battery and renewal energy sources. It appears that the heavy equipment market wants to adopt some of these advances. It is always interesting to take a look into the future of heavy machinery, although here in Africa we maybe a couple of years behind the technological developments we are seeing in the advanced economies. In this blog, we are going to look at some of the most recent advances in our industry.


Autonomous Machines Long haul trucks are pioneering the move to autonomous driving. A few years back, autonomous trucks and buses were not projected to be commercialized before 2025. Some studies also predicted that they would not be commercialized before 2030. Shortages of drivers, high wages, and accidents during long-haul journeys are a few factors that are accelerating the developments in autonomous drive commercial vehicles. This same technology is being adopted in heavy machinery. For instance, Rio Tinto currently has 69 autonomous (see photo above) dump trucks—manufactured by Tokyo-based Komatsu—operating at its Pilbara sites, each of which leverages GPS to move high-grade ore without a driver. “These driverless vehicles deliver their loads more efficiently, minimizing delays and fuel use, and are controlled remotely by operators who exert more control over their environment and ensure greater operational safety,” Rio Tinto says of its Autonomous Haulage System, adding of its Autonomous Drilling System, “It is much safer for the operators and it maximizes precision and equipment utilization.”


Battery Powered In the next 20 years, it’s possible that all the backhoes, excavators, dozers, graders, and other heavy equipment we use on construction sites will move away from diesel engines to all-electric. Volvo CE showed off their all-electric compact excavator, the EX2, back in 2017. Bobcat unveiled the prototype for their E10e electric mini excavator back in 2016. The excavator was developed at Bobcat’s innovation center in Dobris, Czech Republic. JCB launched their first all-electric excavator in 2018. The 19C-1 E-Tec is a 2-ton excavator that can work all day on a six-hour charge.


Connectivity and Telematics The Internet of Things is defined by three characteristics: the presence of sensors, connectivity of networks, and the ability to rapidly compute incoming data. These applications are swiftly moving into vehicles. Firstly there is telematics which is a highly intelligent computer in machines that can report on nearly every detail – from speed and acceleration to tire pressure and track tension. Secondly, there is vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity. This allows vehicles to talk to one another – similar to what we saw with truck platooning. Truck platooning connects the leader to his soldiers employing artificial intelligence and autonomous driving technologies. These technologies will drive the support systems such as adaptive cruise control for speed and lane keep assist for positioning on the road. As in a military operation in the Vietnam jungle, the formation is wrapped tight. The trucks behind take their cue from the leader who is at the front of the formation. These vehicles adapt and learn from the leader with little or no human interaction. This enables longer distances to be covered and addresses the health and safety issues associated with driver fatigue.


It’s clear that these new technologies will rapidly change the industry as we move towards a reduction in carbon emissions, a reduction in energy cost, and a reduction in operator cost. Is it possible that we will operate in a world with zero emissions, zero unplanned downtime, and zero accidents are the industry standard?


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