Komatsu and Toyota join forces for autonomous light vehicles

Komatsu Ltd and Toyota Motor Corporation have announced a joint project to develop an autonomous light vehicle for enhanced safety and productivity in mines that will run on Komatsu's autonomous haulage system.

Haulage trucks using an autonomous haulage system are already in use in mine sites, but when they share roads with manual light vehicles like those used for maintenance or transport, they may decrease their speed or stop when passing to avoid possible collisions.

This impacts overall productivity in mines, so Komatsu and Toyota have come together to develop autonomous operation in light vehicles to address the issue.

Under the agreement, Komatsu will develop a new management program for autonomous light vehicles (ALVs) on its autonomous haulage supervisory system (AHS), and Toyota will develop ALVs running automatically under AHS control.

Both companies are currently testing a concept autonomous light vehicle at their proving grounds, and plan to have a proof of concept at a customer site by January 2024.

“Since 2008, we have rolled out 650 driverless trucks at 22 mine sites around the world,” says Komatsu Australia Executive General Manager Mining, Leo Kaloglou.

“Our AHS has a proven track record in delivering enhanced productivity and lower operating costs, with safety as the highest priority.”

Komatsu Australia’s Managing Director, Sean Taylor, says Komatsu and Toyota have a long, strategic, global relationship, and this project is another example of this collaboration delivering value to joint customers.

“Komatsu and Toyota are also collaborating on hydrogen fuel cell technologies to be featured on medium sized hydraulic excavators, which will support our journey towards a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050,” he says.

“Komatsu’s vision is to empower a sustainable future where people, businesses and planet thrive together and we are accelerating our efforts to realise smart and clean future mine sites, leading to higher safety and productivity for our customer and partners.”