hi everyone! Two of my biggest passions are technology and heavy machinery. Read an article that talked about remote-controlled dozers, such as Caterpillar and TORC Robotics RemoteTask™ and Komatsu D155AXI-8 Radio Control Crawler Dozer, they seemed to be great for improving the efficiency and safety on jobsite. Have any of you had any experience with any remote dozers?
The Komatsu dozer that I saw reports on worked underwater. I was told there were two of them and I saw some video of the snorkel and exhaust above the water and then it traveled up on the shore. As far as I know that was the only use for them. I can't say that they worked any better than a dredge or a crane and clamshell or dragline.
I've heard one account of a d8 that was remote controlled getting lost in a sediment pond in wv.
They are optionnal of dozer. They have been using in the dangerous site usually. I already have repaired it.
They are called "AMPHIBIOUS DOZER" as an optionnal dozer.
It was probably driven in by a manned dozer operator who likes doing his job. We need a remotely controlled dozer on a job site like a fish needs a bicycle.
I think that is part of the video that I had seen. Thanks for linking it.
anyone seen the new high track 5 taking place of 6 n, would have liked to had it fifty years ago. would not had to get off to check grade would have been nice.
Actually I've been hearing that Cat is completely changing the model numbers of all the small line of dozers. Something to the effect that a D3 will become a D1 and model numbers progressing by size up to the D6. Anyone else heard those rumors.
Sales guy from the local dealer told me this.
It's true John. https://www.equipmentjournal.com/construction-news/cat-dozers-name-change/ Personally I hate it and think Cat is going backwards but what do I know right?
Drops Everything from a 6n down one number 6n is a now a 5 and so on. New 5 is available in 6way or standard
No - a D3 becomes a D1. D4 becomes a D2 A 5 becomes a 3 and so on... The Cat dozer nomenclature I've know my whole life re-sets itself.
I think the first time I heard of a RC dozer, it was an AC loader, they took the engine outta it, and installed a'lectric motor in it, to unload guano off a ship, hadda be back in the 40's or 50's... they did it, to avoid the dust, the operation generated. Gotta picture, in an AC book, somewheres...
Some more application of "AMPHIBIOUS DOZER" and of course It's a remote controlled machine.
It’s absolutely correct what’s been stated above regarding the new # system. And Cat for certain can add the RC package to most if not all of their big dozers. It’s mainly geared for hazardous environments.
All D10T and D11T models can be set up for remote control. It's called "Command for Dozing", and not just for hazardous environments. One operator can control up to three dozers. http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Caterpillar/C10338821
That's really something, I wonder if there is a push button on the controller for 'add grease to lube points'
One word - autolube. Still need grease monkeys to do maintenance and repairs though. Another benefit is that everything operation-related is captured on CCTV so there's no more wiggle room for operators to deny all responsibility for anything they break....
The company bought autolubers when they bought the T's. Sure would suck to be running three 11's in the muck, snow and ice. Because I know for certain the automatic track shoveling system has not been perfected. Mucking out a 10 that has been in -10 degrees pushing shot muck down in falling snow is a little like trying to dig granite with a square edge hand shovel.
I find this all very frustrating. What in the #$%& are people going to for work? The techies are pretty much single handedly working towards rendering several million people jobless with autonomous vehicles. Cat reportedly had a truck and loader show running completely autonomous at the proving ground. Makes you want to take a techie designer out to a pile driver to observe the fall of hammer... from the pile top. "It's the way of the future" they say. Not my future. I have had the pleasure of working with people who took pride in their craft, that can fix it if it was broke, could diagnose it by sound, feel, sight, and knew the tests to run. They could fab it, weld it and design on the fly. Field engineering was promoted not shunned. The Seabees improved Henderson field in 1942 on Guadalcanal by quarrying coral onsite and repaired it daily after Japanese bombing missions and naval bombardment. They did this under fire with gear we refer as historic today. Those guy's could run and by comparison... I am not fit to carry their dinner boxes. Just like the guy who shows up to monitor the autonomous mining outfit isn't fit to carry your's or mine.
MD, the problem is in places like Oz where that video was shot, it's becoming harder & harder to get people to leave their families for a couple of weeks at a time and fly in & out of a remote mine site that might be anything up to a 3-hour flight from "civilization". That's before the challenge of giving them somewhere comfortable to stay while they're on site. Then there's the cost side of it for the mine operating company. I'd hazard a guess that it's a "horses for courses" scenario that might apply more to Australia than anywhere else in the world.
That is probably a fair assessment Nige. It seems to be a global problem. A lot of people that will be entering the workforce or have just entered it that think that all that equates to work comes out of a computer. They are working diligently to cripple skill sets that at least used to be important to the furtherance of the quality of life. Perhaps I am wrong and have became such an anachronism myself that I have lost touch. As you and I both know the miners don't throw money where it won't return profit.
That is so cool! Thank you for sharing this. I am amazed at how much technology has advanced in the recent years. Now, we can operate heavy machinery from 1,000 feet and potentially saving so many lives.
1,000 feet away.? The technology exists to operate machinery such as autonomous trucks from hundreds of miles away from the mine site. Lots of remote mine sites in Australia are using the technology big time.
Saving so many lives?? Do tell...
I was told that the autonomous dump trucks can also run faster,as there are no people working in the area. So,no lunchtime,no bad back, & extra speed.....I guess the writing is on the wall.. As a younger man,I ventured onto remote minesites in Australia. I learned a lot,plus made a great living. Those opportunities will be gone soon. It's just (r)evolution - the horse & cart vs cars thing.Unfortunate for older people,but younger ones probably won't give a damn.More time for gadgets & boredom!
And that as I see it is the crux of the problem. The Millenials aren't interested in flying off to remote mine sites to spend day after day in (what they perceive as) mind-dumbing boredom driving a haul truck around in circles for 12 hours at a time.
Question, will the remote operators be subjected to the same health and safety rules, eg drug tests ? Next thing, I absolute hate car driving games on any computers due the arse feedback sensor that is missing, how I'm going to hear/feel that there is something wrong with the machine ?
You won't be running the machine at all. The AI will do everything and you will just sit at a console and watch, ready to hit a stop button should something go wrong.
Yeah, the future holds watchers, not doers. Man that abandoned salt mine is much more of an option now to automate and sell the technology.
That is a sad truth.
Just like Homer Simpson...
Really Sir?? Manufacturers has just a concept machine because of safety reasons. So that I think the owners have modified and are solely responsible. Following are concept machines of CAT; KOMATSU and HITACHI.
That's mostly for show. If you look at Rio Tinto's iron ore operation in the Pilbara area of Western Australia as an example the autonomous truck controllers sit in an office in Perth 1700 kilometres away from the mine site. This is typical.
Here's a Cat one done for show where the operator is 150 miles away from the dozer.