In it for the large haul

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute are working with engineers at Caterpillar to develop autonomous large-haul vehicles used in mining operations.

The Robotics Institute will adapt over a decade’s worth of its own research into self-driving vehicles for use with Caterpillar’s two largest haul trucks, each with payload capacities in excess of 240 tons.

This is the first major project resulting from a three-year master agreement for sponsored research signed last year by Carnegie Mellon and Caterpillar, a manufacturer of construction, mining and other heavy equipment.

Researchers at the Robotics Institute’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) will work closely with Caterpillar’s Pittsburgh Automation Center, which opened in September 2007.

Tony Stentz, principal investigator and associate director of the NREC, said: ‘We’ve assembled a great team of people from across the institute who are excited to play a major role in delivering this groundbreaking capability.’