SafeAI, a global pioneer in autonomous heavy equipment, announced today a partnership with Siemens to develop an autonomous, zero-emission heavy vehicle fleet for Obayashi Corporation, a construction giant located in Japan, to build smarter, safer, more sustainable, and productive construction sites.
SafeAI and Obayashi first announced their collaboration in October 2020, with a prototype site in Cupertino, California, USA. They have successfully tested and deployed an articulated autonomous dump truck for over 580 load-haul-dump cycles since then.
Due to the rising convergence of these three mega-trends in vehicles, SafeAI and Siemens struck a deal in May 2021 to collaborate on upgrading off-road heavy trucks for autonomy, zero emission, and networked applications.
Earlier this year, Obayashi Corporation found a fleet of construction trucks ranging in size from 45 to 65 tons that might be modified for autonomy and zero emissions.
The businesses began retrofitting the first 45 ton vehicle in May 2022, and it is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2022. Over the next three years, the partnership will expand across the whole fleet.
It is projected that the total cost of ownership for the converted electric car will be 15-30% cheaper than that of the original internal combustion engine vehicle for this project.
With increasing technological maturity, total cost of ownership, government incentives, and regulations, nearly four million zero emission heavy vehicles will be deployed by 2030.
Reference- EV Obsession, Inside EVs, SafeAI PR, Obayashi Corporation, Forbes, PR Newswire