Caterpillar Inc says it has successfully demonstrated the fully autonomous operation of its Cat® 777 off-highway truck. The debut of this latest model of Cat® MineStar™ Command for hauling at Luck Stone’s Bull Run plant in Chantilly, Virginia, it says marks a significant milestone in Caterpillar’s objective to deliver an autonomous hauling solution for the quarry and aggregates sector.
This successful deployment of machinery and technology highlights the progress being made between Caterpillar and Luck Stone, the largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand, and gravel in the United States. In December 2022, Luck Stone and Caterpillar announced an agreement to accelerate the development of Caterpillar’s autonomous solutions for quarry and aggregate applications.
This marks Caterpillar’s first deployment of autonomous technology in the aggregates industry and will expand the company’s autonomous truck fleet to include the 100-ton-class (90 t class) Cat® 777.
Caterpillar has long been recognised as an industry leader in autonomy, with autonomous trucks on three continents having travelled more than 325 million kilometres and autonomously moving more than 8.62 billion tonnes. The current fleet of Caterpillar’s autonomous trucks with Command for hauling moves more tons per year worldwide than the total annual US crushed stone production.
Some of the world’s largest mines are using Cat Command technology to achieve performance improvements. For two years, Caterpillar has been embedded with Luck Stone to build expertise in quarry operations, aiming to develop a system that is scalable and economically viable for customers across the quarry industry while also helping them to achieve a step change in safety and productivity.
“Congratulations to both the Luck Stone and Caterpillar teams for this outstanding achievement. It’s meaningful not just for Bull Run operations, but for our customers of all sizes as we develop new technologies to serve the quarry and aggregates as well as construction industries,” said Denise Johnson, Group President of Caterpillar’s Resource Industries. “This hands-on collaboration has accelerated our ability to scale our proven mining solution for this sector.”
The success of autonomous hauling at Bull Run plant marks the initial milestone in the collaboration between Caterpillar and Luck Stone. This achievement lays the foundation for ongoing testing and validation of assumptions and technology before making autonomous technology commercially available in the aggregates industry.
“The successful implementation of an autonomous hauling solution at our Bull Run Plant is a major accomplishment for Luck Stone associates, for Caterpillar, and for our industry. Our mission is to ignite human potential and positively impact the lives of others, and this project does just that by providing opportunities and experiences for our associates to grow and learn. Caterpillar’s innovative technology will also improve safety and be a tool for attracting the next generation of mining professionals. We’re excited for the future and what’s next for autonomy, and thankful for our continued, collaborative relationship with Caterpillar,” said Charlie Luck, Chairman and CEO, Luck Companies.