Zoomlion Unveils ‘Intelligent’ Robotic Excavator

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. has launched what the company called “the first collaborative intelligent robotic excavator” at its 6th Science and Technology Innovation Conference on Jan 7.

The excavator equipped with human-machine interaction system integrates artificial intelligence, intelligent control and other advanced technologies, which the company said empowers the excavator “to interact with the operator and perform tasks automatically, recognizing both gesture and voice commands to work accurately.”

The intelligent robotic excavator makes demanding slope cutting easy and more accurate, Zoomlion said. Once an operator inputs the 3D model of the site and task into the excavator, the machine can conduct a global analysis and drive to the target site and work automatically, without the need for professional operators or surveyors.

The company said it also changed traditional command interaction and developed voice control, which can recognize hundreds of commands such as “forward, backward and rotate (at any degree)” or an even more complex “slope cutting” command through the Automatic Operation Control phone app independently developed by Zoomlion.

Zoomlion has developed directive operations based on the requirements of accurate positioning in construction. Moreover, the company said it has developed a “bionic control mode” for complex tasks. The operator can guide the excavator to follow his/her arm movement.

Zoomlion’s collaborative intelligent robotic excavator is helpful for improving construction efficiency and reducing operating costs; more importantly, it can work in dangerous and complex environments, protecting operators from risks.

deputy director of Zoomlion’s Research Center, Liu Yanbin, said:

“Intellectualization has become an inevitable trend in the development of construction machinery, and Zoomlion has integrated sensing technology, Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to further promote the comprehensive connectivity of people, machines and things since 2014. The blockbuster launch of the collaborative intelligent robotic excavator not only represents the latest outcome in the field of human-machine collaboration, but achieves a new breakthrough, pushing Zoomlion’s application of human-machine interaction to new heights.”