An elite team has been deploying Caterpillar’s MineStar technology platform, which will enable the autonomous operation of the Cat 794 AC trucks and their interaction with manned machines. “We are honoured to be part of this milestone in Peruvian mining. Caterpillar’s leading experience, proven on three continents, shows that autonomy increases the productivity and utilisation of trucks and, at the same time, guarantees a safe, controlled and predictable interaction between all the teams in the operation,” highlighted Fernando Armas Tamayo, Large Mines Vice President at Ferreyros.
In its recent Q3 earnings call, Caterpillar’s Jim Umpleby, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer said the company now has over 340 autonomous trucks running and expects to approach 400 by year-end. It took only 16 months to get from 1 billion tonnes in November 2018 to 2 billion tonnes hauled in early 2020 and the figure is now past 2.5 billion tonnes, achieved over just seven years.
Caterpillar technology enables the autonomous mine operation of an unlimited number of trucks with manned ancillary vehciles and the operating fleet of autonomous mining trucks encompasses a variety of models, including the highest capacity Cat 797F and Cat 798 AC, both 400 ton class trucks.
The Caterpillar Autonomous Hauling System consists of the Cat MineStar Command technology and hardware enabled in trucks (for example, radars, sensors, and electronic control modules); optimisation of processes in the mine; and people management.
The system allows autonomous trucks to make their own decisions in real time. For example, according to the conditions they encounter, they can control their speed or even stop, and then return to their regular speed, simultaneously sharing this information with the other units of the autonomous fleet.
The teams operate in a totally isolated and safe environment: the Autonomous Operation Zone (AOZ), in which all units – both autonomous and manned – are visible to each other, guaranteeing safe interaction.
Predictive Path is a Caterpillar development that has revolutionised the operation and safety of autonomy systems. This functionality projects the movement pattern of autonomous machines and allows them to interact safely with manned machines. To maximise production, the allocation of each autonomous truck is intelligently carried out: that is, the determination of the loading equipment with which it must work and the unloading destination. The system takes the best option dynamically. Likewise, variables such as the speed of the trucks are programmed, which contributes to the consistency in the operation of the autonomous machines.