Hitachi Construction Machinery Develops Fleet Awareness V2X Safe Driving Support System for Mining Dump Trucks
Using V2X technology to contribute improving safety mining operation
Tokyo, Japan September 26, 2016 —- Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (TSE: 6305; “Hitachi Construction Machinery”) and Wenco International Mining Systems (Headquarters: Richmond, British Columbia, Canada; “Wenco”), a subsidiary engaged in the development, sales, and maintenance of fleet management systems for mining operations, today announced it have developed the Fleet Awareness V2X safe driving support system for Mining Dump Trucks. The system, which incorporates V2X (vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication) technology owned by Hitachi, Ltd.
At present, customers engaged in mining operations around the world are striving to improve safety along with the efficiency of the entire mining supply chain, from exploratory mining to excavation, production, processing, transport and shipment. To achieve these aims, there is increasing demand for machinery and software manufacturers to incorporate ICT technology into mining machinery and management systems, and to provide solutions that integrate these technologies.
The Hitachi Construction Machinery Group has developed the Fleet Awareness V2X safe driving support system under these circumstances, in an effort to contribute improving safety mining operation and promote productivity. The system incorporates GPS technology and is built on the existing PitNav system, which uses an operator’s seat monitor to show the real-time positional data of machinery at mining sites along with travel routes.
By conducting wireless communications between vehicles without relying on IT infrastructure, the system enables operators to quickly understand the location of other mining machinery, such as the numerous dump trucks and hydraulic excavators operating at mining sites. The real-time positional data of each vehicle is displayed on a map in the driver’s seat monitor. The system also makes use of the vehicle information of the fleet management system, so that when a vehicle comes in proximity to other mining machinery such as another dump truck, an appropriate warning is displayed in the monitor with accompanying sound. By providing these warnings to the operator while driving, the system contributes to the reduction of collisions in situations with poor visibility, such as at intersections in hilly terrain, or at night when there is some distance to the next vehicle on the road ahead.
The Hitachi Construction Machinery Group embraces the “One Hitachi” concept of using the construction machinery technology that we have accumulated over many years in combination with the Hitachi Group’s strengths in ICT & control and IoT technology, while also promoting open innovation. Moving forward, Hitachi Construction Machinery will continue to serve as a familiar and trusted partner by providing “Reliable solutions” that resolve customer issues through collaborative creation.
■Example of Fleet Awareness V2X display
The operator conducts normal driving while checking the PitNav display (the green icon represents operator’s own vehicle).
When approaching a Y-intersection, Fleet Awareness V2X detects another vehicle. An audible warning is provided, red circles are displayed around the icon representing the other vehicle, and a yellow mark is shown in the direction indicator at the top left of the monitor. In accordance with the rules at the mining site, the operator reduces the speed of the vehicle, comes to a stop, and yields right-of-way to the other vehicle.
After the other vehicle proceeds, the operator resumes driving.
