Published: February 7, 2022 |

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Caterpillar has long been recognized as the industry leader with the world’s largest autonomous fleet of haul trucks. Now, they’re excited to announce they’ve reached a significant milestone of 500+ Cat® autonomous trucks in operation worldwide. This achievement is exciting not only for the mining industry, but also their broad customer base as they scale autonomy into quarry/aggregates and construction industries’ product lines with competitive offerings.

“While Cat mining trucks have been around for generations, each new class brings cutting-edge technology built on a foundation of industry leadership. No doubt, these massive yellow machines are the heavy haulers of the mining industry. Their sheer size is daunting. And the fact that these trucks get the job done without an operator in the cab is, well, seemingly magical,” said Caterpillar in a statement.

“Of course, it’s not really magic. Nor is it new. Caterpillar has been investing in autonomous development for decades. From 1994 to 1995, Caterpillar ran the first two prototype Cat 777C autonomous mining trucks at a Texas limestone quarry, where they successfully hauled more than 5,000 production loads over a 2.6-mile course. Then in 1996, MINExpo guests witnessed a live autonomy demonstration via satellite from Tinaja Hills Demonstration and Learning Center. And that was just the beginning. Today, Caterpillar has the world’s largest autonomous fleet of haul trucks — now numbering more than 500 machines. But it’s not surprising that Cat equipment leads the industry in automation. Our engineering teams look to the future when developing onboard technology, and we partner with our customers to ensure our products and services are tailored to achieve our customers’ specific business goals and meet the industry’s most pressing needs,” the statement added.

“Congratulations to the Caterpillar team and our customers on reaching this impressive milestone. Having 500 driverless trucks in operation across the globe is tangible evidence of our ability to innovate and a clear indication of Caterpillar’s commitment to the future of mining,” said Caterpillar Resource Industries Group President Denise Johnson.

The company now has autonomous mine sites operating 24/7 on three continents. At year-end 2021, customers using Cat Command technology had safely hauled more than 4 billion tonnes and traveled over 145 million kilometers (about two-and-a-half times the circumference of the Earth) autonomously — a figure it says is significantly more than any competitor.

“It’s easy to see why customers across multiple industries are interested in autonomy — driverless trucks are safer and have up to 30 percent improved performance over those with operators. And we’re just getting started. By leveraging our deep expertise, we’re breaking new ground in autonomous equipment for mining, quarry/aggregates, and construction industries and beyond,” added Johnson.

Source: Reddit

About Caterpillar
With 2020 sales and revenues of $41.7 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. Since 1925, they’ve been driving sustainable progress and helping customers build a better world through innovative products and services. Throughout the product life cycle, they offer services built on cutting-edge technology and decades of product expertise. These products and services, backed by their global dealer network, provide exceptional value to help customers succeed. They do business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments — construction industries, resource industries, and energy & transportation — and providing financing and related services through its financial products segment.

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