Tag Archives: autonomous dozing

HARD-LINE-Polymath

HARD-LINE and Polymath Robotics team up to automate dozer operation

Automation, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Polymath Robotics and HARD-LINE, on the opening of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 in Las Vegas, USA, have announced a collaboration on a solution for autonomous dozing.

In line with this collaboration, HARD-LINE has been added to Polymath’s network of hardware integration partners and Polymath has joined HARD-LINE’s software integration ecosystem.

HARD-LINE is an OEM-agnostic leading supplier of automation, teleoperation and remote-control technology. Polymath Robotics makes safety-critical autonomous navigation software for heavy machinery.

Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, CEO of Polymath Robotics, said: “We are excited to add HARD-LINE to our network of hardware integration partners and join their software ecosystem. Our collaboration brings autonomous solutions to the heavy equipment industry as part of each other’s partner ecosystems.”

The dozing technology is vehicle agnostic and can be implemented on any heavy equipment regardless of make, model, or type of machine, according to the companies. The solution leverages HARD-LINE’s hardware integration, remote operation capabilities, and machine control API, integrated with Polymath’s autonomous navigation tools.

The companies said: “The autonomous dozer is built to tackle important but repetitive tasks, like dewatering, planting and heap leaching. This exciting new technology will be made available for any bulldozer, whether new or existing.”

Ryan Siggelkow, SVP Technology at HARD-LINE, said: “We are proud to have Polymath join our software integration ecosystem, in addition to collaborating on an autonomous solution for remote dozer operations. We see these solutions as a way to further enhance productivity and efficiency by bringing remote autonomous dozing to the market.”

Polymath and HARD-LINE are collaborating on the implementation and are taking pre-orders expected to ship in the second half of 2023, they say. They will be demonstrating elements of the autonomous dozer solution during the event, which runs from March 14-18.

Cat’s autonomous hauling and dozing platform receives wireless signal boost

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , ,

After a year of extensive testing, Caterpillar says it has completed the validation of a wireless technology that will improve networking capabilities for users of its Cat® MineStar™ Command automation offerings for hauling and dozing.

The wireless technology is provided by Fluidmesh Networks, a leader in wireless networking for operational technology applications involving fast roaming and autonomous vehicles, which only yesterday became the subject of a takeover offer from Cisco.

Cat Command for hauling helps improve productivity, efficiency and profitability while reducing overall costs, according to the mining OEM, while Cat Command for dozing provides line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight solutions to keep operators out of the cab and out of harm’s way.

Cosimo Malesci, Fluidmesh Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Sales, said: “Fluidmesh’s goal is to help customers achieve higher mine-wide productivity by offering a better wireless transport layer. We are extremely pleased to have been able to achieve this milestone with Caterpillar and extend our solutions to Command customers.”

Fluidmesh employs a multiprotocol label switching based solution over wireless, a routing technique capable of reducing roaming times, packet drops and overall network complexity, according to the company.

Gabe Klyber, IT Communications Consultant for Cat MineStar Solutions, says this translates to higher uptime, higher throughput, and lower latency for Command customers when compared with other solutions. “It will also give our customers more options when it comes to connecting trucks, dozers and other supporting assets,” Klyber said.

The Fluidmesh solution, transmitting at 5 GHz end-to-end, uses artificial intelligence algorithms and dual-polarity antennas to improve transmission in challenging environments, according to Fluidmesh. “This approach adds diversity to the networks supported by Caterpillar for use in Command applications,” Cat says.

Malesci added: “Validating wireless solutions for Command offerings and tele-remote operations takes a massive amount of energy and dedication. We are committed to assisting mining companies with their connectivity needs and are truly excited to be able to offer to Command customers a radical new approach to wireless networking.”