John Deere introduced its first autonomous articulated dump truck this week at the CES consumer technology show in Las Vegas.
The 460E-II truck features an autonomy kit developed by Deere, along with its subsidiaries, Blue River Technology and Bear Flag Robotics. This marks Deere’s initial foray into autonomous technology in the construction sector.
{To see it in action, check out the video at the end of this article.}
At a pre-CES press gathering on November 13 at Blue River’s demonstration area in Gilroy, California, Deere showcased the 46-ton self-driving truck. Once research and development are complete, the autonomous technology is expected to be available as a retrofit kit for the 460 P-Tier, Deere’s largest articulated dump truck that will replace the 460E, according to company representatives.
Deere has been testing the autonomous ADT in quarries while gathering customer input. There’s no specific timeline for market availability since extensive R&D efforts are ongoing.
During the November event, Deere executives emphasized that this technology aims to address the labor shortage in construction. By introducing autonomy, the truck could enhance safety and reliability for repetitive tasks in aggregate quarries and for site development.
Functionality and Operation
The self-driving ADT utilizes technology based on Deere’s fully autonomous tractors unveiled at CES 2022. The “autonomy stack” consists of two Starfire 7000 satellite receivers designed for Precision Ag machine control.
Equipped with six stereo cameras for 360-degree visibility, the truck features a yellow box on top containing two vision processing units. Grant Warden, a systems architect at Blue River, noted that much of the rugged technology is already present in existing Deere equipment.
According to Maya Sripadam, a senior product manager at Blue River, an orchestrator will upload a map detailing haul roads, loading, and dumping locations. They can define the truck’s mission using software that will communicate with the vehicle through Deere’s Operation Center or via an app. Operators can still manually control the truck with the retrofit kit if they prefer.
Before full autonomy is engaged, a visual confirmation is required via the app after safely exiting the cab and completing a walk-around inspection, Sripadam explained. The truck also includes obstacle detection to avoid conflicts with workers, vehicles, and other objects.
Demonstration Video
During the November press event, Deere showcased the autonomous ADT performing simulated loading and unloading tasks, with highlights visible in the above video. The latter part features the truck being tested at a quarry.
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