Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute and Caterpillar Inc. have come together for developing autonomous versions of large haul trucks employed in mining operations.
Researchers in Carnegie Mellon will be using the in-depth research conducted on self-driving vehicles so that it can be used with Caterpillar’s two large haul trucks capable of carrying payloads of 240 tons or even more than that.
This will be the first major project launched after an agreement was signed between the University and Caterpillar last year.
Caterpillar manufactures construction, mining and other heavy equipment. Researchers at the Robotics Institute’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) and their counterparts at Caterpillar’s Pittsburg Automation Center will work together to develop the trucks.
“We’ve assembled a great team of people from across the institute who are excited to play a major role in delivering this groundbreaking capability,” said Tony Stentz, the principal investigator and associate director of the NREC.
“This project is one of many, allowing researchers and engineers from the National Robotics Engineering Center and Caterpillar to create innovative solutions for differentiated Cat products and services, with increased speed to market,” said Sam Kherat, manager of the Pittsburgh Automation Center.
The driverless haul truck forms a part of an autonomous mining haulage system which is being developed by Caterpillar with BHP Billiton Ltd. which is a global resources company. The autonomous trucks so developed will be integrated into some of the Billiton mine sites by 2010. This autonomous technology can provide more consistency in processes thereby increasing productivity gains. Autonomous mining will not only be environmentally friendly but also enables safety in the mining operations.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon will be adapting perception, planning and autonomous software architectures which have been originally developed for the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) UGCV-PerceptOR (UPI) autonomous vehicle program and the DARPA Urban Challenge robot race.
Carnegie Mellon is a research university specializing in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and humanities programs. The education here is focused on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation.
Caterpillar manufactures construction and mining equipment besides diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company also provides services through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services.
Shamila Janakiraman is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Shamila’s articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
Tim Gray
