Despite the dream of the self-driving car, most autonomous vehicles still have a steering wheel, giving passengers the option to take control at a moments notice. Komatsu’s latest dump truck is a bit different — it doesn’t even have a cab for a human operator to sit in. The company calls it the Komatsu Innovative Autonomous Haulage Vehicle. It’s a 2,700 horsepower autonomous truck designed to increase productivity by taking drivers out of the equation. Specifically, the company is trying to eliminate the three-point turn by developing a vehicle that doesn’t need to see where it’s going.
That may seem like an odd practice to eliminate, but it makes a lot of sense — human drivers can only pilot a vehicle by looking out of the front window, requiring them to turn around once they get to a dump site to deposit materials. A self driving hauler doesn’t have that setback: it can simply reverse course without turning. The autonomous design is also more balanced than a normal truck, with the load equally distributed on its four-wheel drive chassis. The company is hoping the balanced load will help the new hauler better negotiate slippery terrain.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNelRmmPpls?wmode=opaque]
The Innovative Autonomous Haulage Vehicle was only just unveiled in Vegas, but Komatsu says it’s planning to get the rig on the market (and into mining operations) soon.
Via: Popular Mechanics
Source: Komatsu