Komatsu Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp. have launched a joint project to develop an Autonomous Light Vehicle (ALV) that will run on Komatsu’s Autonomous Haulage System (AHS).
Both companies are currently testing a concept ALV at their proving grounds, and plan to have a proof of concept at a customer site by around January 2024.
Since the launch of its AHS in 2008,
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Komatsu has proved its performance in various mine environments and has earned a reputation for safety and productivity, it says. Yet when autonomous haul trucks and manual light vehicles are running on haulage roads at the same time, autonomous haul trucks may need to decrease their speed or stop when passing a light vehicle to avoid possible collisions.
This has provided the impetus for the joint project, according to Komatsu. It will develop a new management program for ALVs on its AHS supervisory system, and Toyota will develop ALVs running automatically under AHS control.
By operating Komatsu’s autonomous haul trucks and Toyota’s ALVs in mine sites utilizing a common AHS, the project hopes to demonstrate the following safety and productivity improvements:
- ALVs operating safely along haul roads
- Prevent accidental contact caused by the operators of manual light vehicles
- Minimize speed reductions or brief stops of autonomous haul trucks while passing light vehicles on a haul road
- Autonomous transportation for maintenance support of other mining equipment working on the site
- Autonomous transport of equipment operators for machines such as wheel loaders or crawler dozers
The partnership calls for Komatsu to develop a new ALV management program on its AHS and for Toyota to develop an ALV that runs autonomously under the control of the AHS.
