FLEET AUTOMATION
AHS access
Paul Moore spoke to the two leading global truck OEM
providers of mining AHS solutions plus the two leading
independent or “agnostic” players to get a true perspective
of the market
o get a true picture of the world of AHS in
mining fleets, IM spoke to the leaders on a
range of questions: the market, the
technologies and the business cases. First up
was Gary Cook, Commercial Manager – Surface
Autonomy, MineStar Solutions at Caterpillar. As
of February 2020, Caterpillar had more than 275
autonomous mining trucks running with 65.4
million kilometers travelled. Caterpillar
customers have hauled more than 2 billion
tonnes autonomously with Command for hauling.
But he highlighted also that its customers have
had n0 lost-time injuries associated with the
operation of the trucks and added: “While
customers have a variety of reasons for adopting
technology, the two primary reasons are safety
and productivity improvements, which in the end
lower their total cost of production.”
As far as improvements made since the first
adopters, Cook says the Cat Command for
hauling system continues to improve with each
release. “We have an improved LIDAR, allowing
us to detect obstacles better and run faster. We
have two software releases per year and each
release contains improvements based on
customer feedback and operational observations
by our on-site run teams. We continue to invest
to improve the system and to deliver the safest
and most efficient system available.”
Asked about the maintenance strategy for an
AHS truck, Cook says this is similar to a manually
operated one. “There are a few more checks
required for the technology layer, but that work is
conducted during base machine maintenance.
Maintenance on AHS trucks is conducted more
frequently than on manually operated trucks due
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62 International Mining | APRIL 2020
to the higher utilisation of the automated
machines. AHS trucks operate for more hours
during a shift, have less idle time, and operate at
higher average rates – which all contribute to
greater productivity.”
Trucks aside, Cook says they are already
seeing remote control for excavators and wheel
loaders, but full automation is not imminent.
“Customer business drivers will ultimately
determine how quickly ancillary equipment such
as water trucks, wheel dozers and graders will
become fully automated.”
Another interesting aspect is how Caterpillar
works with its dealers in AHS implementation
and delivery. “Caterpillar dealers definitely share
experiences with Command for hauling. We’ve
held several technology events in Tucson that
enable education and collaboration among both
U&M is a pioneer in the contract mining world
by pressing ahead with its own AHS solution on
a Cat 777 truck (pictured), already proven at
two customer sites in trials. Now it is going
bigger with AHS applied on a Komatsu 730E
dealers and customers. There is also extensive
training for dealers on how to maintain the
technology layer. These machines are sensor
driven machines and require a broad
understanding of the mechanical side as well as
technology side to maintain them. Caterpillar
provides dealers training through simulation
schools and virtual reality sessions. In these
sessions we can introduce faults or errors in the
system for individuals to troubleshoot. This
hands-on approach helps build muscle memory
to quickly solve problems in the field.”
In set-up terms, Cat Command for hauling
system does require use of Cat Fleet for the FMS
and Cat has network specifications along with
Caterpillar validated networks that it shares with
dealers and potential customers. Cook says Cat is
in the process of validating LTE at its proving
grounds near Tucson, Arizona and will be testing
at a customer site soon. “We want to fully
understand how the network will function in the
multitude of situations and applications at a mine
site before we introduce the functionality.”
Moving on to the other big mining truck OEM
and AHS solution provider, Komatsu, IM asked
the company to compare an early autonomous
truck from Codelco Gaby from the late 2000s to
an AHS truck delivered today. The company cited
improvements to safety systems and processes
to reduce operational errors, improvements in
vehicle integration (ie mixed fleet, manual and
autonomous), improvements in navigation
technology, single constellation GPS moving to
multi-constellation GNSS, Improvements in
communications technology, and 802.11b Wi-Fi
moving to high-bandwidth mesh to 4G LTE.
Talking V2X, Komatsu agreed it is becoming an
increasingly important technology, and said
As of February 2020, Caterpillar had more than 275 autonomous mining trucks running with 65.4
million kilometers travelled