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Hitachi Partners with Rio Tinto on Autonomous Excavator Technologies
The five-year collaboration focuses on developing remote operation and partial autonomy for ultra-large hydraulic excavators at Pilbara mining sites.
www.hitachicm.com
Commemorative photo taken during the signing of the agreement
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. has signed a Charter agreement with Technological Resources Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto for a program of work directed to development of remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators. Under this agreement, Hitachi Construction Machinery and Rio Tinto will advance their collaboration over the next five years to continue to develop technologies to support the next generation of mining operations which include operator assist, remote operation, and partial autonomy of digging and loading for ultra-large hydraulic excavators.
At mine sites where continuous operation is required 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, prioritising safety and productivity is essential. In this context, the adoption of remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators represents a significant step toward both goals.
In this collaboration, Hitachi Construction Machinery will develop remote operation technologies while Rio Tinto deploy ultra-large hydraulic excavators equipped with various technologies to excavate, provide operational data, and provide feedback at their mining sites located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Partial autonomy functions will enable operators to instruct the system on the initial digging position and the dump truck loading position to automatically repeat a series of subsequent operations.
By 2030, Hitachi Construction Machinery aims to build an interoperable platform capable of operating multiple ultra-large hydraulic excavators with partial autonomy across mine sites.
To date, Hitachi Construction Machinery has collaborated with Rio Tinto on a number of strategic priorities, including verifying the durability of booms and arms for ultra-large hydraulic excavators and evaluating operator-assist technologies. This expands those efforts to realise the practical application of autonomous operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators in line with the medium to long-term roadmap. The two companies will continue to partner to establish highly versatile technologies through tests under diverse site conditions.
www.hitachicm.com
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. has signed a Charter agreement with Technological Resources Pty Limited, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto for a program of work directed to development of remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators. Under this agreement, Hitachi Construction Machinery and Rio Tinto will advance their collaboration over the next five years to continue to develop technologies to support the next generation of mining operations which include operator assist, remote operation, and partial autonomy of digging and loading for ultra-large hydraulic excavators.
At mine sites where continuous operation is required 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, prioritising safety and productivity is essential. In this context, the adoption of remote operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators represents a significant step toward both goals.
In this collaboration, Hitachi Construction Machinery will develop remote operation technologies while Rio Tinto deploy ultra-large hydraulic excavators equipped with various technologies to excavate, provide operational data, and provide feedback at their mining sites located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Partial autonomy functions will enable operators to instruct the system on the initial digging position and the dump truck loading position to automatically repeat a series of subsequent operations.
By 2030, Hitachi Construction Machinery aims to build an interoperable platform capable of operating multiple ultra-large hydraulic excavators with partial autonomy across mine sites.
To date, Hitachi Construction Machinery has collaborated with Rio Tinto on a number of strategic priorities, including verifying the durability of booms and arms for ultra-large hydraulic excavators and evaluating operator-assist technologies. This expands those efforts to realise the practical application of autonomous operation technologies for ultra-large hydraulic excavators in line with the medium to long-term roadmap. The two companies will continue to partner to establish highly versatile technologies through tests under diverse site conditions.
www.hitachicm.com
