Autonomous trucks spotlighted at UK demo

South African earthmoving equipment manufacturer and supplier Bell Equipment used this year’s Hillhead 2024 exhibition, held in June at the Hillhead Quarry in Buxton, UK, as a platform to showcase its autonomous B40E articulated dump truck (ADT), which the company says is the UK’s first autonomous ADT.

The B40E ADT – which was on loan for the event from Welsh machinery supplier Chepstow Plant International (CPI), having bought it earlier in the year from Bell Equipment – was well received by visitors to the event, reports Bell.

“The demonstration of the B40E autonomous ADT sparked great interest, with many people coming to the stand to ask questions about its benefits and efficiencies,” says Bell Equipment original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) product manager Brad Castle.

Although the majority of Bell’s ADT trial applications have been based on proof-of-application and feasibility pilots, Bell is expecting its autonomous ADT offering to grow in popularity after the first such commercial variant was deployed earlier this year in the mining sector, he explains.

In addition to CPI’s autonomous ADT and technology platform specialists xtonomy’s test site in the Alps mountain range in central Europe, which has been operating two autonomous B30Es since 2020, Bell has also partnered with suppliers of different control systems, such as Pronto AI in the US.

“Our strategy is to enable interoperability between different control systems, and the trucks we produce allow customers to choose their preferred autonomous system,” says Castle.

He adds there are fully autonomous ADTs operating on clients’ sites in North and South America, where clients are experiencing the site efficiency and safety advantages that this technology delivers.

In line with the increase in autonomous machine enquiries – both for full autonomous solutions and remote controlled – additional sites are due to be established in Europe and Australia later this year.

“The autonomous solution is focused on safety, productivity and efficiency,” notes Castle.

He tells Mining Weekly that the autonomous ADTs can be operated in a fully autonomous mode or a manual mode, the latter requiring an operator and, therefore, offering clients the versatility of having both options with the push of a button.

Having either autonomous or manual operation has resulted in the Bell autonomous ADT having been well received by the mining sector globally, according to Bell.

While the autonomous ADTs can adapt to most application sites where the haul roads are wide enough for two ADTs to pass each other, Castle notes an autonomous haulage system is better suited to sites where the loading and dumping zones do not change drastically on a daily basis.

The Bell autonomous ADTs are standalone autonomous solutions which simply require good mobile data network coverage, he adds.

The Tech of It

The hardware for the autonomous ADT is supplied by xtonomy and includes robust radar sensors, high-precision GPS, multichannel communication systems and on-board processing hardware to create a drive-by-wire solution.

Further benefits associated with autonomous trucks include extended component life, reduced wear and tear, as well as environmental advantages, owing to improved fuel efficiency from enhanced operational efficiencies.

“CPI’s autonomous B40E takes environmental benefits a step further by using hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel instead of diesel, making the machine almost carbon neutral, which is a significant achievement in the current quarrying and mining industry,” he boasts.

Importantly, Castle says the autonomous operability of the B40E negates the threat of operator harm or accidents: “Our autonomous ADT can operate safely when there is poor visibility.”

In addition, productivity increases when using autonomous vehicles at certain sites where inclement weather is common, when, for example, an operator would be at risk in dense fog or the machine would have to be parked.

With the autonomous ADT’s drive-by-wire system, all the machine inputs are far more controlled, thus improving efficiency and decreasing wear, as the machines can be operated within predetermined metrics and not influenced by human behaviour.

Ringing it In

Bell Equipment also used Hillhead 2024 to highlight its seventieth anniversary this year, as well as launch the Bell Tracked Carrier and the Bell B30E 27 000 ℓ water tanker in Europe, besides others.

Castle highlights that the tracked carriers offer “exceptional” versatility in sand mining applications, where they enable ongoing production during excessive rainfall and when high water tables reduce drainage.

“They can also be used for tailings pond management when required, or [for] carrying attachments, such as personnel carriers and drills,” he adds.

The new-model water tanker is built on to the proven chassis of the acclaimed B30E ADT and can also be fitted with firefighting options for additional versatility benefit.

“It is an innovative off-road water tanker, which is ideally suited to dust suppression in mining and construction operations,” says Castle.

He stresses that, owing to Bell being the OEM that builds the main chassis, and the water tanker, the finished product enjoys full factory support.

“This means that wherever in the world a customer takes a Bell water tanker, they can be guaranteed of Bell Equipment’s technical support offered through the company’s global network of customer service centres and dealers,” concludes Castle.