A remote-controlled excavator that measures just 1.35m high and can learn operating manoeuvres and then replay them automatically has been developed by XCMG.
Nicknamed ‘Little Swan’ by the giant construction machinery company based in Xuzhou, China, the 1.08m-wide XE15R has a 100m wireless range.
XCMG sees the machine as being particularly suited to work in severe operating environments, such as toxic conditions or extreme temperatures due to its remote operation and self-learning function, which XCMG says is a new phase in the ‘intelligentisation’ of its excavators.
“Intelligentisation is an inevitable choice as XCMG follows the path of new industrialisation,” XCMG president Wang Min says, “and the XE15R shows that we do what we say. Its design embodies our pursuit of efficiency and user friendliness.”
XCMG says that it is devoting more effort into the research and development of core hydraulic parts and intelligent technology through a global collaborative development platform.
“Excavators are of strategic and decisive significance to XCMG’s development,” XCMG excavator business unit general manager Li Zong says. “XCMG has been working to become a first-class excavator brand.
“We have had a clear development strategy and plan positioning from the very beginning. Key to the manufacture of small, medium and large excavators is being precise, strong and superior,” Li adds.
The company’s excavator series ranges from 1 to 400 tonnes, with the XE15R at the bottom and the XE4000 at the top.
The latter, which also features in the video above, is the first 400-tonne crawler-type all-hydraulic excavator made in China and was awarded the domestic 2015 Top 50 Technological Innovation Gold Award.
“The steel giant is perfect for heavy-load mine operating conditions and reduces power consumption by 8 percent,” XCMG says. “Its human-friendly design relieves the boredom of long-term operation.”
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