Original subtitles

[narrator] Welcome.

You may have seen autonomous cars driving on the road.

But, did you know that autonomous mining vehicles

have been around for decades.

On this episode of Tomorrow's World Today

we'll visit the world of production.

Where we will learn about the past, present,

and future of autonomous mining.

Here's our host, George Davison.

When I was a kid my brother and I were always playing with our toy construction vehicles.

You know, we were always pretending we were building these superstructures.

And then we went high tech.

And we went from analog to digital and remote control.

Well, today the world of remote control vehicles has grown.

Literally. I'm talking huge mining machines.

Trench diggers.

Loaders, rock trucks.

All operate remotely, with nobody in them.

I wanna know all about it.

So what we're gonna do is, send one of our creative correspondents to Illinois,

to talk with the people at Caterpillar.

We wanna know about their history and see how they decided

to get into making driverless construction vehicles.

We're gonna go explore.

How they develop and test different autonomous vehicles.

For use in the mining industry.

And how they can be used in fields like construction.

We're gonna shed some light

on where this technology is headed

and what the future of autonomous vehicles might look like.

It's gonna be a big job.

But I'm sure we can handle it.

[David] I'm so excited to be here, at one of the oldest

most iconic companies in the world.

This is Caterpillar.

I'm here at the visitor's center in Peoria, Illinois

where we'll be learning construction and mining

are leveraging innovations to promote safety

and the precision of the machines

that can utilize autonomous technology.

I'm going to meet with Denise Johnson,

the group president of Caterpillar.

She'll be taking us through a history lesson

to help us understand this evolution.

Denise. It's so good to meet you.

Dave, welcome.

We're so happy to host you at the visitor's center in our home town.

So when I think of Caterpillar I think about big machinery.

I don't necessarily think about autonomous vehicles.

Could you kinda walk me through the innovations in the history of your company

and how you've gotten here.

Well, David, Caterpillar's had over a 100 years

of experience in innovation.

And those innovations are very focused on adding customer value.

So, I would love to take you through that history. Why don't we go see it?

Let's go.

So, we were created by two pioneering founding fathers.

C.L. Best and Benjamin Holt.

They came together to form

what is now known today as Caterpillar.

Okay, so you start with a company Best and a company Holt.

How does that combine to be Caterpillar.

Well, it's a really interesting story

and it's one that involves innovation.

Okay.

So, as Caterpillar was developing on new products

one of the first most innovative

and never seen before products was the track.

That track was used to push the machine across the field.

And a photographer saw that.

Thought it looked like a caterpillar.

And the name stuck.

Well, he was right. It does look like a caterpillar.

[Denise] It does.

I'd like to continue to show you some of the newest innovations.

Some of the best innovations we have at Caterpillar today.

- Sounds great. - Let's go.

So, Dave, this was the innovation that I wanted to show you.

This is our 797 large mining truck.

Where's the truck?

It's right here.

- What? This? - Look up.

This building?

[exclaiming] This building is a truck.

Well, it's a life-size replica of our large mining truck.

And it is an enormous machine.

Oh, it's huge. It's an absolute monster.

Is what it is.

Well, it's leveraged in mining markets

everywhere around the world.

And it really is an enormous piece of equipment.

In fact, you know, if you look at some of the specifications, from a gross power perspective

over 4,000 horse power.

Operating weight of over a million pounds.

It stands 25 feet high and 32 feet in width.

So, it is an enormous machine

used around the world for mining applications.

And it's really exciting.

But what's even more exciting is the innovation that we are putting inside this truck.

So, let me show you exactly what I'm talking about.

- Let's take a little walk back here. - All right.

So, Dave, the innovation that I wanted you to see

was autonomy,

as a technology that we placed on this large mining truck.

As you look at the truck, from the front,

you see that there's a lot of blinking lights and sensors.

At the top,

the blue blinking light means that is in autonomous mode.

No people are in the machine when it's blinking blue.

That's insane to think that somebody is not driving

this massive truck.

Well, in order to integrate the technology,

there's a lot of sensors that are located on this

in combination with software.

You see the spinning Lidar.

And here at the bottom you see three radar.

So, there are number of other sensors throughout the large mining truck,

which keep it in position and object detection is known.

But I really want you to learn about autonomy

from the ground up.

And so, I'm gonna send you to the Mossville validation center,

to meet with a few of our engineers,

to talk a little bit about remote control. Are you up for that?

Yeah, that sounds great.

Okay, let's go.

Alan, great to meet you.

David, welcome to the design visualization center.

Are we playing video games today?

Not today. Today we're gonna talk about remote control

and this is the first building block

on the path to autonomy.

- So come with me. - Yeah.

David.

What we have here

is our remote control console.

Here you're gonna see

Geoff running

a small wheel loader in North Carolina live.

- So we're in Illinois. - That's correct.

- That's incredible. - [Alan] It is.

As you'll see he's using the high definition machine mounted cameras,

with very few blind spots to operate the machine.

He has a better view than he would inside the cabin.

Well, some of the benefits that I'm seeing is enhanced safety,

uh, the fact that Geoff has a very cool job,

and the fact that he has a better home life.

Because he can go home at night instead of being a state away.

Absolutely. Would you like to give it a try?

Yeah, that's what I've been looking forward to.

- [Alan] Let's do this. - All right.

[David] Well, Geoff, thank you so much for the training.

I, uh...

Look forward to seeing you that my training actually helped you here.

[chuckles] We're about to find out.

So, I'm gonna have you do your challenge to see

can you get a good full bucket.

-All right. Challenge accepted. -[Geoff] Good.

All right. So, I'm gonna go in forward here.

All right.

Okay, let's back up just a little bit.

[David] Okay.

Backing up.

[Geoff] That's good.

[David] All right.

[Geoff] Bucket down.

Bucket down.

I think that's a winner.

[Geoff] I think so.

Nicely done.

- Thank you, guys. - [Geoff] Absolutely.

- All right. - Ready for a new career?

[David chuckles]

[narrator] So far we've looked at the history and innovation

that has led to the development

of CAT command remote control technology.

Now we're ready to take it to the next level.

Autonomous vehicles.

So, welcome to our virtual minestar control room.

This is a very impressive room.

What actually happens here?

Yeah, so you just saw remote control machines.

Um, in here, the system runs the machines,

and we just monitor them.

[David] So, what actually are you monitoring?

[Andrew] We're monitoring autonomous vehicles.

And we actually have a couple running out at our test track, if you'd like to see them.

- Yeah, absolutely. - All right.

- [Andrew] Welcome to the test track. - [David] Oh, thank you.

So, this is where we first start to bring the autonomy building blocks together

for the first time.

Uh, we've got autonomous SUV's back behind the building here.

And they are basically running like autonomous trucks would in a mine.

We've got support equipment like a...

like a loader here who's pretending to load the truck.

And we've got different dump areas around the mine.

So, why do you use the SUV's instead of a full size vehicle?

[Andrew] Yeah, so the SUV's burn less fuel,

Uh, they're smaller, easier to use.

And we can test about 90% of the functionality

of autonomy on them, before we ever put it on a machine.

The systems you're testing here

same as you use on the full size vehicle in the field.

It is. It is the exact same software and hardware

that you'd find on an autonomous truck.

Now, do these have drivers?

So, you'll see check drivers in there. They're really just passengers.

They're just there if we need them.

- So, you wanna go take a ride? - Yeah, I guess.

- Let's do it. - All right.

[David] So, it's a little crazy.

[Andrew] They look a lot more graceful

- in there than they actually are in here. - [David] Yeah,

you actually get in, there's a little bit of a bronco buck going on.

[David chuckles]

[David] How does the Lidar and the radar work together?

[Andrew] Yeah, so, the Lidar can see further and it's higher up, right?

And so it's basically putting together a 3-D map of everything around it.

And then, the radars are used for a little shorter distance.

Um, also they can see in different... scenarios.

Like, the Lidar doesn't see very well in fog,

because you wouldn't expect light to see very well through...

But, the radars can see right through that. It doesn't bother them at all.

So, they work together. Basically, they're kinda...

To kinda complement each other.

[David] So, what's happening right now?

[Andrew] So, we're back into the loader.

And the loader operator is gonna put a couple of loads of, um...

material in the back of us.

[David] So, this is simulating what would actually happen in the field.

[Andrew] That's right. That's right.

So, he's got a panel in there that allows him to tell us

exactly where he wants us to stop.

And then, the system actually tracks the material that gets put in.

And then when he sends this out, the system says okay

I need that material taken to this dump and then

- the truck heads out to that dump. - [David] Okay.

Are these vehicles communicating to each other?

Or is this all pre-programmed?

[Andrew] So, they all communicate through the main office,

and the main office is telling them where to go.

The system also monitors how close they can get to each other.

Each truck is monitoring what the other trucks are doing.

And if anything looks like it could potentially cause a collision, they'll stop.

[David] The process of the safety driver

in case something would go haywire with the system,

is it difficult for him to grab a hold of this system?

[Andrew] It is not. He's got...

He's got one button he has to press

and then he's got full control of gas, brake and the steering.

[David] All right. When you get out to the actual field,

are there always a safety driver in the vehicle?

[Andrew] There's not. Um...

At the customer site, you very seldom put a driver in

unless we're specifically asking them to test something.

[David] How long can these systems run without stop?

[Andrew] Um, they can run until they need fuel.

Basically. So, a mine site will, uh...

pull them into a fuel bay,

about every 24 hours to fuel them up and send them right back out.

[David] So, your system can run non-stop.

It's the vehicle that determines the length of the connection.

[Andrew] That's right, yeah.

[David] Where do you see this technology heading

as we head into the future?

[Andrew] In mining at least,

the more we can get people out of harm's way,

I think the better off we'll be.

So, if there's any kind of role in a mine,

where there are safety issues.

We can automate that and get those people out into a safer place.

Get them a... Get them a different job,

having things in a safer location.

I think that's where I see us heading.

So, what do you think?

- Well, first, incredible technology. - [Andrew] Thank you.

With that said, it was a little weird to get used to.

But, I'm very impressed with what that's you're doing here.

Nice. Well, if you thought that was impressive, uh,

we're gonna send you to our Tucson proving grounds.

Where you'll get to see the actual mining trucks.

Big mining trucks driving without a driver.

-[David] That sounds great. -[Andrew] All right, yeah. Let's go.

- All right. - Yeah.

David!

Michael, good to meet you in person.

Great to see you. Welcome to sunny Tucson.

Thank you, I'm enjoying it. It's much warmer than Peoria.

Hey, we're glad you're here.

I got some great things in store.

We can go see some of our machines.

And I got a special surprise So, come on. Let's go.

All right, let's go.

Autonomy is all about approved safety, productivity and consistency.

The autonomous system allows us to get the most out of our machines.

It allows us to get the data,

that allows people to make good informed decisions

and run the mine.

Why don't we go take a closer look at the machine.

Okay, this is the 793F haul truck.

This thing is fitted with a CAT autonomous haulage solution system.

Here is the monster I've been waiting to see.

This thing is beautiful.

Absolutely. Let me tell you a little bit about

how you'd know this is an autonomous truck.

First of all, if you look up top, you can see those GPS antennas.

That gives us the ability of accurate position and heading.

Then if you look... back around here

you can see the equipment cabinet.

That's the cabinet with all the computers and all the brain power.

Finally, if you look out front we have the sensors.

There's radar and Lidar sensors.

Those give the machine the ability to perceive the world around it.

So, why do you utilize both Lidar and radar?

[Michael] That's a good question.

We have to use both sensors cause we need to be able to see far,

and we need it to be able to see through dust,

fog, rain, snow, all the environmental conditions.

That makes complete sense to me.

Absolutely. One more thing you need to know.

There's mode lights on the side of the truck there.

If there's a flashing blue light

that means this thing is in autonomous mode.

Flashing green, manual mode.

You're gonna need to know that.

Because we're gonna go see a machine operating right now.

You may even get a ride.

[David] Oh, come on, let's go.

Okay, Michael, I definitely did not expect this when Denise sent me.

That huge machine...

It's moving just like it has a driver...

a human driver, but there's no human driver inside that right now.

[Michael] That's right, David. It's fully autonomous the truck's doing all

the driving as the truck's operating,

uh, it's managing all the things that the operator would do.

And that's, you know, speeds so engine speed, throttle control

the appropriate gear that it needs to be in

whether it is descending or ascending the hill.

And even the braking. All that is managed, uh,

by the on board computers.

So, this is actually the largest mechanical drive mining truck in the world.

Payload's 400 tons.

This thing sits 25 feet tall, 31 feet wide.

And it sits on six tires, they're 13 feet tall.

So, this machine is gonna operate all day and night,

Uh, not need to take any breaks.

And it obeys all the rules of the road.

[David] So, there's no changes to its schedule.

It does the same thing every pass.

[Michael] That's right David. It's consistent.

It does the same thing day in and day out every time.

And it's completely safe to have a vehicle that heavy and that massive

moving at 45 miles an hour.

[David] What makes it that safe?

[Michael] The machines themselves are designed to run at that speed.

And now what we've done with autonomy

is to made sure that we've put on the right technology

to be able to perceive the environment

far enough ahead.

So that we can run the trucks at that speed

And still stop for any obstacle that the truck might see.

[David] There's just so much technology going on.

Not just the autonomy, but just the technology of that vehicle itself.

I'm just very impressed with everything.

[Michael] That's right, David. Actually that's one of the largest robots in the world.

Caterpillar has packed so much technology

onto this machine, to make it a very smart machine.

That technology has to be hard

and we have to be able to operate in harsh environments.

24 hours a day, seven days a week

and make money for our customers.

Michael, I got incredible news from George.

I'm very excited about this.

I told them about everything that I was doing on my trip.

And he wanted to hear more from Denise.

So, he invited her to Pittsburgh and she's going.

So, he gave me two more days for whatever I wanna do.

And what I would like to do is learn how to drive this big boy.

Wow, great. Well, hey, based on you excavator skills

it may take us two days. Let's do it.

[chuckles] Okay.

- Hi, Denise. - Hi George.

I'm assuming that

you're the one who sent me that truck.

Yes, I thought you would really enjoy

getting to be a part of the autonomy action.

Well, I don't think it's right that David is the only one

that gets to play in the autonomy world. So...

Thank you for sending it.

And by the way, I hear he's staying out there for a while longer.

He wants to try out every vehicle you have.

[chuckles] We're thrilled with how enthusiastic he has been.

Learning about the company,

uh, and operating nearly every piece of equipment that we build.

So, it's been a great, great time.

Well, you know the deal right?

It's never stop learning.

[clicks tongue] Absolutely.

So, I understand you have a few questions for me.

Yes, I do.

Um, I'd like to look into the future.

I'm really curious about,

where the world is going in autonomous mining.

Well, George, it's all about innovation and integration.

And it's not one size fits all.

Hmm.

Well, I know everybody is

talking today about the environment.

And... kinda where is the world of

sustainability and environment going?

Do you have some thoughts on that?

Well, I tell you, large mining companies are making very bold goals

around environmental sustainability.

And so, powering of the mines of the future

will be with renewables.

And mobile equipment will run with flex fuels,

it will run with batteries, it will run with

potentially hydrogen fuel cells.

And all that will be tied together with autonomy.

So it's a super exciting space to be a part of.

Wow. Well, that's a lot of initiatives

to wrap my mind around, right now.

It sounds like you're making good advances

- on lots of frontiers. So... - That we are.

I wanna thank you for coming.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of Invention land.

The tour was amazing.

Thank you so much for your hospitality.

You're well-- Hold on, before you go, I have a gift for you.

[Denise] What do you have?

[George] My family and I were out west this last year,

and we went into an old antique store.

And I found this old pocket watch,

with a Caterpillar award on the front of it.

That is the medal that they used to give

to their execs and workers, as a gift.

And... I had the watch repaired,

when I thought this would be wonderful to give

to your organization.

Well, it's an incredible piece of Caterpillar history.

So, thank you so much, George. I will ensure it

gets a place of honor at our Caterpillar headquarters.

Thank you from everybody here in Tomorrow's World Today.

Thank you. Take care.

[narrator] To learn more about the content in today's episode

visit us online at www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com