Working with Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation, Santa Clara, California based autonomous heavy equipment retrofitter SafeAI unveiled a Caterpillar 725 haul truck that is both driverless and runs on battery-electric power.
The autonomous technology was provided by SafeAI, while the electric powertrain was fitted by AVIA Engineering, which specializes in integrating electricity into trucks.
In terms of sustainability, SafeAI claims that adding a driverless, emission-free car to a building site may enhance environmental performance by up to 13%, and that switching from diesel to electricity can reduce net life cycle emissions by more than 60%.
Indeed, creating a longer-term cost-effective strategy for meeting sustainability goals is an important consideration for Obayashi Construction.
Concerning safety, the combination of autonomy and an electric powertrain protect workers from potentially hazardous driving situations on a construction site and makes the vehicle more maneuverable, especially in tight spots.
The retrofitted Caterpillar 725 unveiled is now on the job in Spain and will then be sent to work on a project in Japan later this year. The company will then ramp up production to build the twin technology trucks for use in the mining industry.