Teleo’s autonomous system will be employed on a US residential building site to move material via remote control
US autonomous technology provider Teleo has announced that its first customer, Tomahawk Construction, will be deploying Teleo’s autonomous capabilities on an active job site.
Tomahawk Construction’s articulated dump trucks will be able to use autonomous functions to move material to build a residential community in Florida, starting in December.
The initial autonomous capability being launched is tramming, or autonomous hauling of materials from one point to another. Tomahawk Construction will initially use three Teleo-equipped articulated dump trucks for autonomous tramming, with plans to roll it out to 12 machines over the course of a few months.
Operators driving dump trucks spend the majority of their time tramming from one point to another. By automating the tramming portion, one operator can run multiple machines simultaneously, multiplying their productivity, Teleo says. The physical dumping of materials will be handled remotely by one operator controlling multiple machines from a command centre.
“Teleo’s technology has the potential to completely transform our operations,” Tomahawk Construction managing member Scott Lyons says.
“With Teleo, two of our dump trucks that have been idle will be put back into service to haul dirt across the site autonomously, allowing our remote operators to do more. This will help us to run a more efficient operation.”
New Customers
Teleo says that, through eight new customers, it will deploy 42 Teleo-enabled machines on 17 job sites across eight US states and Europe, with a mix of machinery brands.
US company Ajax Paving Industries will outfit two new Caterpillar wheel loaders with Teleo’s technology. These loaders will be stationed at two of the company’s asphalt manufacturing plants to load the bins at the plant. The plants are roughly 80 miles (120km) apart.
“The asphalt industry operates on tight schedules,” Ajax Paving vice president Andy DeCraene says.
“When our customers require asphalt, we must deliver promptly, making it imperative for our machines and operators to remain available. Allowing one operator to control machines at multiple sites is a significant advantage. If an operator is unavailable at one site, another can operate the machine remotely. This is a genuine game changer for our business.”
Expansion
Earlier this year, Teleo announced the addition of Ozark Laser, Murphy Tractor and Position Partners to its global dealer partner network, bringing its technology into Australia and New Zealand.
“Construction companies are facing historic labour shortages and incurring significant costs as their machines sit idle,” Teleo co-founder and CEO Vinay Shet says.
“We are seeing an unprecedented number of customer orders, which demonstrates Teleo’s powerful value proposition. Our technology breathes new life into our customers’ machines, addresses their labour shortages and makes the operators’ role safer and more comfortable.”