Pronto, a Silicon Valley-based autonomy pioneer, and Heidelberg Materials North America, a leading producer of construction materials, announced their plans to deploy Pronto’s Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) at Heidelberg Materials Lake Bridgeport quarry in Texas.

In the initial pilot at Heidelberg Materials Bridgeport Quarry, Texas, in 2023, Pronto and Heidelberg Materials retrofitted a Komatsu HD605-8 with the AHS, with Heidelberg seeing a few key benefits according to a post from the company:

• Technology: AHS ensures precise movements, even under difficult conditions.
• Efficiency: We can optimise plant capacity utilisation.
• Safety: The system reduces risks for our team.
• Sustainability: AHS helps us to become even more sustainable.

Pronto cites safety and sustainability as two of the core reasons it has focused on the mining and quarry markets. Like others, it also points to autonomy as a way to assist with ongoing labour shortages.

Pronto’s AHS is a cost-effective solution to addressing the challenge of recruiting skilled operatives while also increasing the utilisation of haul truck assets. The AHS leverages advanced sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to autonomously operate haul trucks in complex and dynamic environments.

“Pronto is focused on the mining and quarrying markets because, unlike on-road environments, autonomous vehicle technology is mature enough to safely commercialise fully driverless in those settings,” said Christian Kurasek, CEO. “As we move towards carbon-neutral forms of energy, massive incremental volumes of transition minerals need to be produced; at the same time, the industry is facing an acute labour shortage. In a world where everything is either grown or mined, Pronto’s AHS… ensures everything can be extracted in a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and safe manner.”

As the technology becomes more prevalent, especially in the mining space, fleet managers face concerns of pricing and implementation on construction sites. Kurasek cited statistics that said autonomy could be a worthwhile asset. 

“Operators have reported AHS implementations resulting in haul truck productivity improvements of up to 20%, fuel savings over 10%, and total lifecycle cost savings of 10-15%. Our results to date have been consistent with that industry experience.” 

To learn more about the future of automation of off-highway vehicles such as mining equipment, hear keynote speeches about the latest innovations in the field, and visit a wide array of exhibitors, book your tickets to the DZOM EXPO, taking place at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Centre in Chicago, IL, on December 3–4, 2024.

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Source:
Pronto

Construction Equipment