AUTONOMOUS plows ahead

Agriculture, construction, mining-even marine-are advancing autonomous technology to improve the productivity and safety of vehicles on the job.

When engineers and executives discuss macro technology trends, regardless of the specific off-highway sector, increased automation of vehicles is inevitably among them. Though experts recognize that achieving full automation in production equipment will take some time, operator-assistance technologies such as automatic braking are becoming more widely available today.

And companies aren't shy about revealing autonomous prototypes that promise what's on the horizon. For example, Komatsu unveiled its Innovative Autonomous Haulage Vehicle featuring a cab-less structure at MINExpo in September. Unlike its 930E and 830E autonomous models, Komatsu claims it developed this vehicle exclusively for unmanned operation to maximize the advantages.