Is The Future Of Heavy Machinery Autonomous?

Since before the start of the Bobcat company as it is known today, their fleet of small, powerful heavy machinery has transformed construction and been a highly desirable part of many fleets.

Even with decades of innovation, many were shocked by the RogueX2 in 2024, a concept machine that was designed to take loaders, excavators and other industrial equipment into an autonomous future, with major implications for industry as a whole.

This idea has even spread to the internal structure of Bobcat’s parent company, Doosan Group, which spent several months in 2024 trying and failing to split Bobcat from its Enerbility division and merge it with its Robotics division.

This was a statement of intent for where Doosan, and by extension Bobcat, see the future of industry as being heavily dependent on automation, remote operation and artificial intelligence.

This concept, broadly known as Industry 4.0 beyond Bobcat themselves, involves the use of Internet of Things sensors, robotics, cloud computing, analytics and other integrated technologies to boost several heavy industry sectors.

Some of the aspects of the RogueX concept vehicles are close to production, such as the use of lithium-ion batteries as a power source, eschewing hydraulics and using an electric drive system.

However, the more automated systems are still at a more conceptual level, and it is unlikely that a lot of cabless Bobcats will be sold anytime soon.

Part of the issue of integrating autonomous technology onto a construction or agricultural site is that, unlike manufacturing or logistics, the environment is filled with potential variables that no autonomous control system has entirely managed to account for as of yet.

Rain, hidden hazards, traction issues, emergency stops and a lot of safety implications need to be accounted for before a vehicle like the RogueX is likely to become a mainstay of construction sites.

In the meantime, there is a wide range of Bobcat vehicles that in the hands of a skilled operator can significantly improve the efficiency of a work site.