I am a retried operator, What would be missing for me would be the satisfaction and feed back from the machine, the sounds, the smells and even the comrade of the other operators on the job... Even getting dirty was a badge of accomplishment. I am actually proud of my past. I started with cable and progressed from pony motors to direct electric start, from 500 rpm diesels to what we have today.... The old Murphy diesels had a totally different kind of power...A good operator felt everything, heard everything and even heard when a bushing needed grease or a hydraulic line was leaking even by smell or a leak of antifreeze before the engine seized up.... I think it would take a team of mechanics and technicians to keep these things running and even to keep the lenses of the cameras clean and dry.
I can agree to what your are saying. But to a contractor, I need someone to drive this and get this done. I can spend hours trying to find someone or hit a giant list of operators that can run this machine and how much exp, and cost...hit go and get it done. AGAIN I agree that its totally different and to me wrong, just a way to dehumanize something else.
It was a very interesting video.. I read several comments... I would have liked to have seen a camera on the ground in Georgia watching the loader. One guy was talking about the feel and smell of the machine.. and possibly not seeing a problem.. like antifreeze leaking and oil lines busting.. which would stop some of the working part of the machine... Time will tell.. like always. Thank You for sharing your experience with the new toy's... Careful where you are flying on that drone.... never know when the battery will go down...lol. Be safe. 😀
Very good point galendrake.you nailed it. And what happens when the power goes out? We're doomed. You see what's happening on the west coast and on the East Coast with the blizzards. No power. No charging.
Hi Mike, video was an eye opener, but going down the rabbit hole of remote operation, here in Western Australia that already happens. Hamersly Iron and Rio Tinto both have people sitting in an office in Perth's CBD, controlling haul pack trucks at the open cut mine and the huge, as in a mile long ore train going to Dampier port for export. Scary thing is, if the system gets hacked. Last year, an Aussie bank and an Aussie telco got hacked, the train has no human in the cab. Seems we are running headlong down the electric tunnel, without the infrastructure to support it. Melbourne for example, fine you for charging your EV using an extension lead, as the town houses do not have off street parking, so you need a public charge station. The cost of charging from a charging station, is more than the cost of a liter of fuel, at todays cost $2.00. a liter. And the oil company's are getting involved in the charging stations, must be getting ready to boost the profits even more. Enjoy the cold weather Mike, we are in a mini heat wave here, well it is summer. Top end of Western Australia expecting 49c and cyclone next week.
Very interesting comment for sure. The petroleum industry is just too powerful to sit back and allow electrification to take over unless they are involved also. First they sell you on the remote computer controlled operator in high risk areas only, then it's moving rapidly to replace all human involvement.
Petroleum has the chemical commodity and feedstock industries even if they loose the fuel industry . You cannot make or move a thing without petrochemicals . There is nothing that isn't made without the use and involvement of petroleum in some way shape form or fashion .
I think the remote operating of the machine is a great idea. I'm 71 and was an operator but my legs won't let me climb in and out of the machines anymore. Even someone like me could operate a machine from home. I could start contributing to the community and society again. Most of all I could feel useful again.
First of all Congratulation's on hitting 200K subscribers !! The sky is thee limit. Great show and definitely the future. I am 73 and could still be operating a excavator !!
Wouldn’t this type of technology be very risky with all the cyber attacks ? Someone could really cause a lot of damage to a job site. People’s crazy these days!!!!
Hopefully this doesn't upset anyone. Contractors need to teach and give people a chance. Not just dismiss you if you don't have years of experience. Make training school more affordable. Everyone have a great day and a safe one.
Hey Tate...if you're looking to learn, check out your local Operating Engineers Union Hall for their Apprenticeship Program. I was led in that direction in the late 80's and it got my foot in the door for some amazing learning (and excellent wages!).
As a operator for 25 plus years I agree with you that happens a lot, my advice to young guys is, when you get the opportunity to get in the seat, take it, even if you have no idea how to run something fake it, then learn as you go till you get it, don’t take it personally if they kick you out and poke fun at you for not being any good, truth is if they’re poking fun at you that means they think enough of you to do that, if they don’t then you should be worried lol, but don’t give up, just bug the shit out of them till they let ya run something and don’t be picky about what it is, just get in and go do as good of a job as you can, then next time they might let ya in something you want to learn how to run👍hope that helps. Good luck 👊
What is so hard about making summer jobs for high school students to train them. Carpenters and plumbing people do that all the time. They can make summer money and learn how to work. There are so many people who don't have a clue on how to work or think ahead on doing anything. No we don't have the operators but we also don't have anyone willing to train people. Go to any high school and ask the students if they ever thought about being an equipment operator and they will look at you like your out of your mind.
@@TimothyKepner You don't need training rubbish, just another operator telling you what to do on the day you start, then you get on with it, make minor mistakes and by the end of the week you can do it.
@@TimothyKepner well the kids nowadays you got to be able to get them off of the computer and gaming system. And for somebody that was young I imagine they probably have a hard time with possibly insurance reasons on them operating the equipment just like delivering parts or something a lot of that stuff you got to be 21 for.
…and then, there were all the articles about EV’s abandoned at charging stations in Chicago this week on the tail end of the cold snap that illustrated how lithium batteries are crippled by cold. However, the boys at Edison Motors (RU-vid) seem to be making great hay with the constant speed diesel-electric combination that enabled locomotives for the last 90 years. Just throwin those thoughts out there.
Drone technology with regards to surveying is now at a point to collect data such as elevation, position and contours. I can see this working for pond building, ditches and house pads. And yes, it would be a virtual “man behind the scene”! 😊
Drone technology in the military is such it is able to pinpoint a target and all a single 155 artillery shelled fired from a M777 to hit and destroy the target, People talk about Russia firing 2000 shells an hour, and Ukraine fires 100, but less than 1% of what Russia fires actually hits the target, but on the other hand Ukraine is able to hit the target 95% of the time. The old adage the advancement in technology jump are born in the military , and bleed into the private sector.
Look at the parallels in Aviation. I learnt to fly pre GPS, now I can push one button and have the aircraft recover itself and Autoland. Military drones using a combo of automation and remote control can perform missions half a world away. You often refer to Operators and Excavators. You may be able to use simulations for the first 20% of Operator training, but I suspect the balance will have to be operating an actual machine, albeit potentially remotely. To become a competent Excavator, I don't have the experience base to even guess. One thing I do know is that when this change occurs, we will need alot more mechanics and techs per equipment hour, as well as on-site support doing all the things an operator does between when they arrive at a site and settle into their seat with a Pepsi 🙂 It will be an interesting and inevitable journey...
I had read about GPS in tractors long before it came a reality. It always confuses me on how long it takes for technology to be implemented. Take tankless water heater. I read about them in the early 1980s and it was until the 1990s they took off. That loader was very cool. I was hoping that you would talk about the excavator there, very cool excavator. Run a machine from an office should reduce the wear and tear on the human body. As we have seen from watching you and LetsDig18 where the machines are tossing you around. The use of electric in mines also a safety issue. Thank you and have a great week. PS This is the best of video of 2024, so far. So much to talk about. :)
Science fiction was way ahead of you. Robert Heinlein wrote a story in the 1930's about farming on a distant planet where tractors were remote control with pre-mapped patterns for harvesting. Meanwhile gasoline tractors were rare here in the states and really primitive. Think about how many in the Depression were still using mules to pull plows with a man guiding it. He also wrote a story back then about using a laser to burn a ledge inside a crater on the moon to glue a plastic dome to and inflate. We are not burning rock but how many laser transits work daily on the same principle? Give humans ideas and they work it out over time. Someone was doing it in the eighties but it took time to work out the bugs and bring down the cost to be affordable. Also to get enough satellites in space to be accurate enough.
All that movement the operators body takes and feels is the biggest part of operating a piece of equipment. Along with listening to it and the smells. A good operator can smell an oil leak or antifreeze leak long before any gauge will tell you and by the time a gauge will tell you 10’s of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage can already be done. I used to run bulldozers and 3/4 of operating a dozer is feeling the movement of it. Plus it keeps you from falling asleep if you’ve had a hard night out with the boys. 🎉😂
The opportunity to design a pond in your chair, preshift the equipment and set the path like the g coding in cnc. Learning in life is what drives me. Retired, having built cnc machines that can reproduce my victorian style porch trim. This is exciting and could make the dirt trades geek out. LET's ROLL!
Operator health and longevity is my biggest hope for these types of machines. Less wear and tear of the senses and body is where I hope these types of innovations will help prolong the careers of master operators like Jerry, Mike, Chris etc. Anything that will help with hearing loss to back and spine injuries is where these types of machinery will be worth the integration, adaptation and adoption towards the job site. The terrain Mapping features the new drones will have built in will also be a game changer. Having radar to spot rock, sand and gravel deposits will help with project management of a particular job. Any thing that helps these folks safer and quality of life better is a major improvement.
Getting kids interested in the construction industries has to begin in schools. The schools push college as the only way for success, even though not everyone is an academic. Mike Rowe is trying to spread that message and you and letsdig18 are a good example of being successful with some hard work and enjoyment of what you do. I worked in a factory for 43 years, it provided for me and my family well, but much rather been outside working. Love your channel and stay safe.
Autonomous machines might be one thing but I am yet to envision them being self repairing. Being readily relocatable might not be in the job description either. Computers were predicted to make offices paperless and the opposite is true. I would venture that these predicted new machines will create more job descriptions in support than they would eliminate.
Back in the 70’s my brother-in-law was a third generation farm field tiler who worked mostly with Vermeer equipment until he bought a Zor Plow on a D8 CAT platform. It was a beast with terra gator tires and Auto Grade leveling and it was crazy to think that any improvements could be made to the technology. Now I think the future is virtual reality/augmented reality operations like you experienced in Vegas. I’m not sure whether it will be an EV, hydrogen or a new power source but AI will definitely be involved and the video gamers of today will have a leg up as operators.
Looks pretty cool to me! I'll probably be retired before any self driving loaders hit my price range at the auction. Hopefully my son can figure them out.
Extremely interesting....new technology is only a problem for people who have lived with old tech...young people that are started off with new tech don't know any difference and can make it work. Change is difficult for everyone, BUT, if it proves to be safer and move productive, then it is a good thing. Great video. Thanks to you and Hyundai for showing it to those of us who couldn't be there.
If this loader in Atlanta could be driven by an operator in Las Vegas, I wonder if it could be driven by an operator in, say, India? $25 an hour operator labor just gone down to $0.25 an hour!
@@kidsteach938 The costs for the equipment are going to be significantly higher. I don't see smaller owner operators having this stuff in their fleet. Only big companies with lots of money. Then you have to consider the costs of the software and security. This kind of technology will open the doors for hackers and could result on possible catastrophic consequences. Imagine a foreign nation taking over an entire fleet and causing deadly devastation! Outsourcing to foreign cheap labor will become the norm, just like everything else.
@@americanpatriot2.06 agree. Most people posting here are operators, or retired operators, not large company owners. Their sons and daughters will not be the ones operating these machines. There will be higher costs, for the things that you suggested. Some guy in a foreign country might drive one of these on to a lowboy in the middle of the night!
Heres my take I'm physically unable to get in the equipment but hhave great skills with machines so even with my. Disability ii could still be productive in working. Thats my take thanks for sharing DP👍❤️🚜🏁🏁
What I also find interesting, you could have multiple pieces of equipment on the job site and switch between them without leaving your seat. The controls today are so universal, you could move from skid steer to excavator to dozer in seconds. Just remember to pull the rippers up :D
As a retired pilot it make sense to me this sim could be a good place to learn a new piece of equipment even if it were just a new device added to existing equipment. Laser as an example. A couple of hours training on a new piece of equipment would go a long way over trial and error.
in the early 1970,s we operated 2 ,100RB electric face shovels which we replaced with a Cat 245 and a 988 front end shovel in the UK but the 100RB only had 3,1/2 buckets dumpers went up to 45 ton Terex from R15 Euclids.to go back to battery./electric the battery needs to be compact with higher outputs,Long live diesel for one old timer
Very cool indeed. I can remember sitting in a college lab almost 20 years ago and the instructor hit a button on his laptop and the machine behind us in the shop started clicking and buzzing running self diagnostics completely wireless and thinking it was wild and cutting edge at that time. They also had a remote control Bobcat skidsteer that we got to try put and a John Deere Simulator. I knew things were changing in the industry but never imagined they'd make it where you could run a machine from 2k+ miles away. They talked about it, but I never thought I'd see it in this lifetime. Definitely look forward to seeing what the next 20 years have in store for the industry. I'm still a fan of the simulators and remote controls as it allows people to learn and train without burning diesel or wrecking real equipment. The ability to send equipment into hazardous situations while the operator stays at a safe distance is very cool and innovative indeed. The concept that has always stuck in my mind is of an excavator that can drop the cab and operator off safely while the rest of the machine goes into a hazardous work zone. Very exciting stuff for sure.
Anything that would speed up estimates (virtual site maps, 3D modeling that could estimate the amount of material that you would have to remove for a particular job site, That along with the amount of materials ( how many sticks of pipe etc...)..Would enable you to give your client a more accurate cost for their project.
That's right! It is more important to be open to new technologies than to enforce bans. As a former IT systems administrator, I see both sides, the traditional and the new world. In 2005, my mainframe was in Raligh, NC, the transaction staff was in Singapore and I was in Switzerland. Today, I'm a truckie. The key element for a construction site is the power source, and electricity is a very efficient technology. I can imagine that especially for remote construction sites, a nuclear reactor (an SMR) will provide the power for the machines. Also for logistics and many, many other applications. The technology takes us further, a ban does not.
Wow that's a lot to absorb in a 30 minute video, The future is inevitable but just how far away is it. Just getting the infrastructure in place would be years out there. Keep up the good work Mike.
Thank you for the view of ideas. Alot makes sense, I work with alot of younger people that think much differently than I do. We each learn from each other. Open mind keeps me interested in things to come.
See the Edison truck. Hauling logs with a 140hp genset charging batteries. A smaller dsl engine running at peak efficiency all the time. (PS: designed by truck guys.) They are expecting 50% better fuel economy from an engine that's always running at it's cleanest. Great videos.
Old Henry Ford wanted the model T to be affordable to the people that made them. I still see this stuff replacing workers and question who will be able to buy the products produced. In the surface gold mines of Nevada, I have heard that one person controls multiple mine trucks. On the other hand, I love my 18 volt Milwaukee tools. Doing away with cords and generators is a game changer. Drones and GPS will just make things so much better. I can't imagine AI laying field tile but I can see that the laser is about irreplaceable. Your automatic gismo probably will get more use as it's refined and you wrap your head around it. Just glad that I'm not going to be around to see all this stuff. Heck, how would AI ever replace MBTS?
As a 70+ year old who was driving tractors at 6 yrs old , repairing JCBs and Hymacs at 17 , driving 3 cylinder golf mowers at 20, Safety officer on the largest construction site in Europe at 24, on power station construction , then electrical engineer on a running nuclear station, then decommissioning it , then running a 12" to the foot modelling facility for nuclear problems. I know the main reason we are in this labour mess is the ridiculous modern interpretation of safety legislation, the hours of boring claimed training by incompetent contractors, the Ar_e covering protectionism of unions and claimed threat of insurance rules. I had no special training for any of those jobs and some others in between and now every youngster is discouraged by ridiculous ignorant themselves, advisors. Not by a foreman who would throw a spanner at you if you were a prat but let you get on with the job and say thank you when you finished it. Very much like you...and the Man behind, not so sure about Millen man, he makes so many cock ups but also the same vein Captain K. . Not the c .u. but the get on with any job with your own confidence and guesses. The future you are showing today is worrying, we have too many people in this world with too little to do, and excuses to do nothing , it will end in crap.
First , Congratulations on reaching 200' followers. Yes, my father started farming with horses for tractors with iron wheels and ended up with satellite-controlled tractors and combines, what a development
Loved the video and the fact that you approached change with an open mind. I agree change is coming to this industry alongside others. When businesses are able to be more productive at less cost they are going to change no matter what people’s political opinions are.
Here's the trick I use. The defense against change is FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt). Reverse things. Assume the emerging technology is the entrenched technology. Now, make your case to displace the emerging technology with the existing technology. That one exercise removes the FUD factors. You're left with the real issues. Try this example in history. The manufacturing plant is run on a single steam engine. It drives three sheaves with belts that turn three rods running the length of the shop floor. At each station a machine takes power in the form of a leather belt driving between the rod and the machine. Now, you have two new inventions: (1) Electric motors and a generator. (2) Small ICE engines and gasoline. Can the steam engine replace (1). Can it replace (2). Can (1) replace (2)... and vice versa. In the end, our plants run on electric... not steam... not ICE. And you can be sure the FUD doctors were working overtime to keep that from happening. But we still must power the generators. We can do it on site. We can do it in the community. Or we can do it from miles away. Enter the Thorium MSR (Molten Salt Reactor). FUD away. And then examine things at the limit. Robots do everything. Who are the robots going to sell to? What are the buyers going to trade with? Taking it to the extreme. If you didn't have to do what you're doing to feed and shelter yourself and your family and buy your toys, what would you be doing with your time. If it's the same thing you're doing now, well that's as good as it gets.
Definitely a big kids playground I see with my grand kids you can see where this technology will take things to a whole new way at my age I will never see this in play for me Mike probably Gunner will take over for you and will be ready for this in the meantime I will enjoy more DirtPerfect as is today 👍👋🇨🇦
Mike, Here in Australia we have driveless haul trucks and driverless locomotives in the mining industry operated by a control centre located in Perth many thousands of Ks away. I am sure that what you are experiencing at the Las Vegas show is only the beginning of changes in your industry though I doubt that what you do will take awhile to elevate to this level. I know you already use technology using electronic leveling when laying those dewatering pipes you lay. Great show though Mike.
the industry I was in changed over to new technology about half way through my career from film to digital ,I seen lots of photographers destroyed in the change over but I was always looking and keeping up with the newest tech,if you don't keep up you fall behind .Their was about a 3 year change over until the quality had caught up to film .
I grew up with my grandfather running cable and listening to my dad and uncle argue weather model 6 NW or aBE 38 with the hoe attachment was the smarter but for putting sewer mains in. Fast forward the project my brother myself and son were on we wer installing 60in pipe and talking about how things had changed in our life time. I have left excavation and semi retired my brother still running crews on large commercial jobs and he uses drones to keep his office and inspectors updated on projects. Love your pod casts.
A lot of this work could also be automated, so one operator might control multiple machines as they do the majority of the work autonomously and you only butt in when they get confused about something. Might also use the drones to offer extra views when you need it (automatically taking off from a charging dock when you need it).
Great video DP! I’m a 3rd generation electrical contractor having started in the trade as a young boy following my dad and grandfather around on jobs so I have seen many changes in the automation world and I think it’s amazing. I agree many of these advancements are safety, efficiency, the increasingly struggle of staffing jobs instead of trying to eliminate jobs. As my dad always says “ the future is electric “ I’ve worked on several shovels like the ones your dad was familiar with as well as locomotives, cranes etc. That technology isn’t new and has evolved as will our power sources. Having muscle cars growing up, I never imagined a big block Cuda, Road Runner or Camaro burning 4 gallons per mile could be replaced with a electric car until I rode in a electric Mustang, wow! Thanks for the great videos!
3:35 I haven't seen the rest of the video yet, but this point you make about farmers was actually a conversation I had across the kitchen table with my Dad less than a week ago. We're both farmers and just the technological advances we've seen in my lifetime (32y) will boggle the mind. We postulated how difficult it would be to describe all this to my Grandfather (whom I never met) where he grew up with draft horses and plows. Here We are in 2023 with nearly autonomous ag equipment...it almost makes your head spin. Mark my words, in my lifetime we will see ag equipment being piloted remotely by people in their apartment sim rigs from downtown Seoul or New York. People will get paid to drive your combine remotely. Now whether or not the owner of said equipment can still call themselves a farmer or not is an entirely different discussion. Just wanted to share that little tidbit. Carry on!
Mike love the attitude that the wo⁰rld is changing we will adapt or perish in my industry sprinkler fitting we went from heavy pipe put in the air by change falls put together with screwed fittings made up with chain tongs and two men to light weight pipe all types of push on fittings to scissor lifts and as a fitter that install it all give me technology every time you can work longer live longer and still make a great living thank you for a great segment keep them coning this is from a 74 year retired fitter
Infrastructure is the key to the evolution of all the fantastic inovations that are on the drawing board today, and will be more important for everything in the imagination of a whole new generation of thinkers that are being educated with these futures in the back of their minds. There is a future coming that will become reality whether we realize it or not. Thanks for the tour Mike.
I'm a researcher in computer science in a program that is focused on robotics. I have some practical experience using some smaller equipment, but am by no means an expert in construction equipment. As I see it there are a number of questions to ask. You are asking at least some of the right questions. Power sources, are interesting, historically, electric vehicles could have been the past had the cost of internal combustion engines been greater. Same thing with hydrogen. Hydrogen powered vehicles have been around for several decades. The technology hasn't really progressed for various reasons, infrastructure for fuel delivery being one. Same for electric vehicles. However, infrastructure will come quickly if economic demand is high enough. Remote control of machines has a lot of practical uses, one that comes readily to mind is underground mining. Or, and this gets to another future idea is mining in space. Imagine machines that can chew up asteroids and produce materials like steel, etc. that can be used to build things in space. As far as AI taking over jobs, you are right to observe that in a lot of cases the jobs they would take over are ones that no one wants. Some jobs are dangerous hard work. More and more those jobs go unfilled. Autonomous machines are still mostly a long ways out in the future. Something as simple as a robot arm that will pick up an item from a conveyor belt and place it into a shipping box, is only just recently viable. It was and remains a difficult problem. Self driving cars are also still a ways out. It turns out that all the things that make it hard to drive like rain, snow fog, glaring lights, etc. Are also difficult for machine vision. Short term, I think the remote control things you showed are a good first step with some very practical applications. At the same time it is difficult to provide all the tactile feedback remotely that you would get in an actual machine. There is also an argument that being on site allows for a lot better information. Is it hot out? Is is cold? Does that matter? Maybe. Do you work your machine different in temperature extremes? Do materials behave differently? I have watched technology progress for more than 40 years. In that time I've seen technology become more capable, but often less reliable. Are there jobs for people to maintain autonomous vehicles? Probably yes, at first. But as autonomous machines become more capable eventually the machines will be able to maintain themselves. This starts to veer off into a philosophical debate about what happens when machines can do everything we do as well as or better than we can. Do we then need to enter the cyborg era where we can directly access computational power directly by thought? I submit that in some sense we are already there. Ask me a question I don't know the answer to. What do I do? I pull out my cell phone and search for the answer and often find it. The future is maybe dystopian. But it is our future to make. Do we blindly embrace all new technology? Probably not. Arguably social media is a technology that has evolved in ways we didn't expect, resulting in conflict that doesn't happen when we talk face to face. So it is right to question the value of new technology. At same time labeling it as all bad doesn't seem like the answer either. And there is something to be said about learning how to use old technology. Before the horse drawn slip it was a simple shovel wielded by many people. Pretty inefficient and certainly there were a lot more jobs. Still I'm old enough to know how to use a shovel efficiently and swing a maul for splitting firewood. There is value in learning some of the old techniques. But it doesn't make economic sense to go back to exclusively using them for everything. We have nail guns and excavators, but there are still places where a hammer and shovel is still the right tool. What will the future bring? It's hard to say, we were supposed to have flying cars already, but we are still waiting. Technology that invented at the end of the last century like e-ink and hydrogen powered cars is still only just coming into common use. Electric cars are more than 100 years old, but only just recently becoming common. The future is hard to predict. It will come, those that can adapt to the changes it brings will do a lot better than those that refuse to adapt...
I’m in the operators union and in our school we have VR operating school. Running tower cranes, to drive haul trucks, wheel loaders, dozers, anything you can think of is in this simulator. The simulator coast like six figures we were told but it helps people get into running equipment for first time and get some seat times with zero experience.
Awesome video and a peek into the future, you did very well portraying where technology is taking us. In addition to explaining the need for these technologies. THANK YOU! I know I have commented in the past on your videos about alternative power sources…. Proud you are keeping an open mind and watching it all develop! One thing worth noting, the agricultural manufactures were using guidance systems prior to the legacy automotive manufactures. Keep the great content coming, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone to a places/events like CES - nobody is a fish out of water there, so many folks willing and ready to learn from one another and find solutions to any number of situations.
There is so much variability in when and where remote working can be viable, certainly in the near future. Big quarries loading truck is a perfect fit, stable environment specific load parameters. Take Dirt Perfect hanging on to his seat while he persuades his machine to work for him right at the extremes of balance and capability, trying to remote that would be done by reducing the angles and capacities of his machines to work within a very safe threshold. Result less done and more expense for the client. It may well take away the advantage that DP has over many other operators because the sensors on the machine wont allow it.
Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Infrastructure. When they went to combustion engines you could not travel very far because there were few gas stations. No matter what power source is used in the future.... if you don't have an economical way to supply your equipment it will be sitting at a job site "dead in the water". On the virtual remote control...you have to have very good quality "internet" service for it to work in "out of city" locations. Would you be able to run that loader at your "reclaimed farm land" with the cell infrastructure you have today?
Out here on the West Coast we used to call your slip pan a Fresno. I don’t know what we call the quarter acre sized Fresnos, but they are either guided by satellite or laser and allow either flood irrigation or drip irrigation. I would think our local farmers and nut growers would envy your problem !
Truly autonomous equipment will be a game changer, once the technolgy is mature enough. Imagine a fleet of robotic vehicles given a site plan for a thousand acre building site that you just turn loose to start moving and compacting dirt. They run 24-7 loading hauling, dumping, compacting, grading stopping only for refueling and maintenance till the job is complete.
I can see that simulator training in a community college would be a good step for a young person to get the beginning experience with out the wear, fuel cost, and actually having access to equipment. The unit you used to drive the remote loader, had feedback. The VR helmet would give the student operator the ability to turn their head and see recreation of the cab and worksite. The chair, attached as the drone simulator, would give the feel of the machine's normal motions while operating the machine. Simulation would be a much cheaper way initially train an operator in all types of equipment. The simulator can begin at a very simple machine that the operator can learn control layout and operation up to a "fully functional" machine simulation. The manufacturers might need to look at this, that is providing equipment simulators to technical colleges for example.
The technology has its place for certain applications such as an excavator with a breaker where you don’t really need someone being subjected to the noise or vibration all day and maybe dump trucks in a quarry situation where they have same haul routes, but I don’t think you can beat being in a machine on site where you have all round visibility without relying on a camera for your view in all weathers and the ability of seeing the ground conditions for yourself and react to them without possibly damaging or getting the machine stuck. To replace that kind of thing we’re a good few years away and there’s lots of things to consider like being able to maintain signal between where you are and the machine. It will be interesting to see how it goes in 20 years time though.
The remote control tech has been in use in the mining industry here in Australia for years. D11 and D10 dozers being operated thousands of kilometres away. Underground loaders and dump trucks operated from control rooms on the surface.
Ok, Now consider your setup - maybe a van on site and off you go. Or in the cab and observing through heads up screen not window. Come up with an issue - call service, have them watch you drive and get issue and they can take over test - modify software or data and try again without a long road trip and happy customer. Cool indeed. Rapid and real in life tech support.
I think in. The future you will have autonomous equipment following a blueprint where multiple pieces of equipment will work together to get the job done quicker. You will still need maintenance people, electronic techs, someone to refuel whatever power source that is needed, operators that will take over when necessary, people that will move equipment from job to job, and people that I haven't even thought of. I may not see it in my lifetime as I am a senior citizen but I think it will happen.
Interesting video Mike. Everything changes over time and you are absolutely correct that heavy equipment is typically the last place innovation happens. I learned to drive truck in a twin stick Mack, went to diesel school to learn how fix my trucks and learn the automatic transmissions that were starting to come out, then it was electronic injection and computers on equipment. The old 850J you run today is 20 years advanced from anything I've run, but that really is the point. I believe the new equipment innovation will most likely be similar to the mammoth shovels in a micro scale. The most efficient energy system we have world wide is diesel power generated electric hybrids. The electric motors and wirless circuits are far more powerful, effective, and cleaner than any other type of system. Yes, there will need to be closed system hydraulics because electrics are too delicate and sensitive for operations in water, fire, and other extreme situations, but shielding can certainly be added to improve some of those areas. The technology advancements have quite literally changed everything. People thought Elon Musk was a total nut job just a few years ago and look the incredible SpaceX program today. Did you know that every space flight SpaceX launches is completely autonomous including the Dragon flights that transport people and supplies to the International Space Station. The reusable booster rockets that return after launching are completely autonomous as well. I do see a lag time of about 35 years before we see industry wide changes but the quarry example, refuse, and many such jobs that require additional attention to potential health issues will certainly be seeing a lot more automation as the technologies become more practical and affordable. Building, construction, excavation, farming, and mining in particular are areas where the technologies are slowly finding their way in, but it really is slow because there are so many things that need to work together. Heavy demanding work, requiring extremely large machines, and finding those practical, efficient, and affordable devices and methods... Definitely going to take some time. The remote operating has actually been around for quite some time, but the VR interactive with actual realtime interaction on equipment is definitely much more refined now. The one thing I would like to see is a 10 or 12 camera, maybe even double that, to cover all visible areas around the machine while operating live in a remote setting. The feedback is reasonable, but in real-time I want to be able to know what is going on around me all the time. The forward view/reverse view on the simulator interactive is way too lacking for me to feel comfortable and willing to be responsible for operating a remote machine, especially where people and other vehicles would be present. The premise is sound and quite workable with a few additional precations. The additional camera views would also provide a much more realistic awareness around the whole machine. My instincts would be to look around on both sides of the machine as well as back and forth while maneuvering in any direction. The back-up camera view is ok, but there is no reference for depth perception or distance. Having cameras in two or three different focal ranges as well as under the bucket on the front of the machine would help expand the visual area and remove blind spots. One thing I find bizarre is sparce additions of technology. The give a little bit here and a little bit there just to intice and intrigue potential buyers, but never enough to really make it worth while. I will say that Hyundai is trying hard to be an industry leader and they seem to be making good products, so perhaps we might actually see a few really great innovations.🤙
In 1996 I left my full time job and started a small ISP business in my rural community. So many people thought I was crazy including some of my family stating things like, "the Internet is just a fad, it will never really catch on or be able to support you". This is the mindset that so many people have, and to some extent now that I am 66 years old, I find myself becoming guilty of it as well. As we get older resistance to change seems to follow each generation in one form or another. When you look back at the sixties and the Star Trek era, think about all of the things that have come to fruition from just the ideas that television show put into our minds. Talking computers, flip phones, Bluetooth ear pieces, laser weapons etc. I would say at this point, we cannot begin to imagine what the younger generations will produce in the next twenty years even to the point that what you experienced in Vegas will probably be old technology by then.
I really liked the end of this video Mike. Your point of trying to be open minded. There are so many people out there Mike that watch your channel and value your opinion. I'm almost 60. At times , I'm close minded to newer things. I'd still rather jump on an old D-6G than a high track. Or run a 580 Case with foot swing. I had the same android phone for nine years until it wouldn't update anymore. I bought a new phone 6 months ago and wonder how I went so long without it. Sometimes, change is ok. Sometimes it can even be for the better. Great channel Mike. Really good video. Wishing you and yours the best.
I like the way a small farmer can buy a 35 thousand dollar drone to fertilize or spray their fields with persistence every time and it will monitor it all. He can fly over it and know wet spots or dry spots
Like with farming, integration of GPS technology will surely be beneficial. Digital mapping of a job site incorporated with surveying can enable operators to see what needs to be done, all from within the cab.
Mike, three observations. 1. Don't care what is the level of technology and how many safeguards, all safety is relative. In person, safety is first hand, you can focus and understand in milliseconds the risks of the task real time all around the machine. If everything is on a display, the computer system has to make decisions on what to show you, relative of what its programming and rules are on its risk list (I'm a retired Controls Engineer). When you were backing up, it did not display where your bucket was going on that articulated chassis, while it is focusing you on the rear. Yes, the computer can warn you through 360 degree, full time sensors, but there is always situations where there are two or more issues, i.e. damned if you do damned if you don't scenarios. Probably the best improvement to give you the same aspect of sitting in a cab would be an F-35 style helmet, where if you turned your head, you maintain your head sight line and be able to keep situational awareness. Also, we need to be real on the stability of the hardware. I understand they are making earth moving equipment that relies greatly on computer monitoring, but if the monitor (including displays as well as the computer itself) goes bad, can you still run the machine with a level of getting the job done? For example Ford just put out a major safety recall on the car we had to buy as the display system, that contains ALL of the gauges, can go blank at anytime, while you are going down the road. They say it is cold solder joints on thousands of displays, but we consider that in engineering as single point failure, i.e. the machine dies because of one penny's worth item with NO backup for (safe) operation. The Bottom Line, we have to make sure all of this new paradigms are not crashed through the absence or loss of a 'horseshoe nail'. 🙂 2. Would have been nice to see what Aaron would have thought about all this. 3. Didn't see a Pepsi holder on the seat or dash, definite down check. Take Care, Mike!!!
I was testing for our local operators union and they made the statement that most kids now are more advanced in the operations of equipment right out of the door do to them having better hand eye coordination from years of video games.
There Will be Staff to UpKeeping,( Fuel, Breakdowns, etc ) The Building of the Units from Start to Finish. Not Counting in Space including Asteroids Mining . And the Building of Ships to be Able to get them in Space and Like You said, We will have to be Open minded of Type of Fuel… in which we still haven’t figured it out Yet….
Having an open mind is the most important tool to be able to respond to change, which is going to happen. As a homeowner and amateur backhoe operator, I would really benefit from seat time, which I would be happy to pay for, in a very realistic simulator without having to burn fuel in my machine to gain basic but good proficiency. I also think getting the next generations into simulators as early as possible might encourage more of them to consider "mechanical" careers. They are already playing the video games anyway.
FAIR WARNING; Long post. Okay. Here we go. Power: I grew up in a city on a river where we have dams that provide cheap dependable hydroelectric power. We're on a fall line, where we used the river to drive Industry even before it was used for hydroelectric. The textile mills built along the river and built their dams to power machines to process the cotton from two states. Textile industries have all migrated overseas in my lifetime. I'm 70 years old and retired, now, but I've seen it happen and know the history. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages what happens on this river and does a fine job of it. Much Respect. The Southern Company built and/or o ns the dams and the energy and sells it to us at a reasonable price without burning coal and polluting the atmosphere and the land. Let's dam the Grand Canyon and provide power for the Heartland! There's an excavating job for ya, Mike! I have worked many trades in my life, and learned from them all. I learned to run an offset printing press when I was 15, found I had natural mechanical aptitude and moved on to repairing the equipment. I got familiar with the old Linotype press and process out of curiosity just because it was available. At the time, that's how newspapers were printed. When I was 16, I got a job with an office machine and supply concern as a serviceman mostly working on Mimeograph machines. Copiers were a coming trend, so I learned some electronics. I worked in electric motor shops, and taught myself to run a metal lathe and milling machine along with rebuilding small engines and repairing welders and generators. I learned to weld. Sometime later I worked as a mechanic for a concrete cutting and coring company and learned to operate that equipment. I worked as a mechanic in a rental store that was big into tent rentals, where I first got on a skidsteer on a job taking a break enough down. I taught that Bobcat to walk on 2 wheels to keep from tearing up the lawn. I worked for a highway contractor and got on every piece of equipment I could. I got certified in Temporary Traffic Control and when I wasn't tied up with lane closures, I ran equipment. So, I'm not a pro on one unit, but I have background enough to ask intelligent questions. As for what will be the power source of the Future, I would guess Gravity, which is the underlying force for hydroelectricity. Now if we can tie that to the tides and revolutionize batteries for storage, we'll be on a good track. We still need petrochemicals too.
Mike of course this all going to in steps. The industry I’m in has autonomous vehicles already. We now have electric dozers and other machines and they’re also autonomously ran. We have machines in mines thousands of feet under the surface that are being operated topside. You made a valid point that we are not replacing operators. It is getting harder to find individuals that want to work. If we are to keep our country alive we have to find ways to operate machines. Casein point as kids we would work for the neighbors in the hay fields. As that generation grew up went to college we lost our help. Now we can cut hay, bale the hay, spray our crops you name it autonomously. Did we replace people? No we had to do what we needed to do to survive.
It's only a matter of infrastructure. Electric works today with a mining shovel with a direct to transformer hookup. Much harder to deal with iffy battery tech and cold weather/lack of onsite charging.
I agree fuels will change to what I also don't know. How this will change operating cost and improve the bottom line is going to be interesting. You still will need a person on site to maintain the equipment or does that also become robotic we just have to wait and see.
Mike, I admire your open mindedness and willingness to roll with the punches and embrace what will eventually happen in our industry !! You seem to be interested in the cutting edge of whats gonna happen in the future !
All I know Mike, I have been on this earth for 52 years, When I look at what has changed in just that short space of time, wow, I remember as a kid being fascinated by Sci-Fi movies where they talked to each other on hand held video screens. In my lifetime that's now a reality, to just name one, So yes, you are damn right things always change. I envy Gunner's generation, how he is gonna see so many more wonderous things improve and change in his life, when I will be long gone. It is really good to see that you have an attitude of embracing it all. 👍
One of the first things that I thought of, seeing that excavator in the background, was, the operator meeting with the architect, and programing the machine to dig how deep, how wide to dig a perfect hole, trench, or grade. As others have said, I would miss the smells, the satisfaction of doing the work myself. GPS and lasers, wow.
A couple of questions to ponder over' Why do you buy Old equipment? What do you do when it breaks down? What happens when your new equipment breaks down? Can you fix it? Do you even have the right to repair it? In 20 years will you be able to get the $1 sensor that stops the machine from running? Technology can be a great help but if you can't control, bypass or fix it it's a hinderance. Example: DEF, the sensor goes south, there is absolutely no reason why the machine should stop working, but you can't override the technology.
Seeing what they are doing in construction........makes me really wonder what the Military Applications of this kind of Tech are being explored.........
Hi Mike, great intro to tomorrow. Things will change and need to but the backup infra structure will need to rapidly adapt to support the operators of these machines to reach the potential capacity for maximum efficiency. For example the ability to monitor false/failed sensors in real time, check any loose or faulty components and have a total backup method from the machine manufacturer to keep the machine downtime to an absolute minimum. For your business operation, in particular, you would require a system that minimises setup/pack up procedure - (maybe the truck driver, as the operator may not be on site).
I try to watch every video You produce. I really like the interaction between You and AARON. My question is " where is the Man behind the scenes? I have not seen him of late and my wish is I hope all is well for both of you two thank you G
Mike, our military has been flying drones on airstrikes around the world just like this at least since W was president over twenty years ago. Firing weapons that unalive folks, so all of it is possible as the military advances and releases the old tech to other industries. That said my 2018 RAV4 has radar cruise control and collision avoidance systems in it. The other day I was on the interstate and my cruise control kicked out at seventy mph. Popped a warning that camera lost vision please clean windshield. So humans will be needed in some form on the job sites. But also like in that first tunnel simulation with the obstacles you had to maneuver around, that can be mapped one time and after that just push a button to "take me in" or "take me out" then sit back and let it drive. You have the operator work both ends but the middle be automated and pre-mapped. I have never understood the resistance to power plant changes. Nearly all of what you run for equipment does not care what turns the hydraulic pump inside it. If you have pump pressure, your stuff runs the same. Nearly all is various hydraulic rams doing the work. Even the final drives in the tracks are hydraulic if I am not mistaken. You could have a million squirrels running on a treadmill as long as they build enough pressure in the pump and it would work. Folks are going to be flexible in the mind or they will be left behind. Just a fact of life. Every change has had a hard core resistance that could not/would not adapt and got left behind. Think about the guys who resisted air flight. Resisted the horseless carriage. Change comes whether you like it or not.
I worked for 10 years in the Electrical generating field, and I can say with some authority that Electric will probably ve the power source in the future (distant?) As a control system engineer, I am most intrigued by what is developing in the 3D space. You have experimented with the 2D grade system on the Hyundai excavatorr and the Automatic Grade control for your tile plowing system. I am a bit touchy on the idea of autonymous heavy machines, but I can see a future where a civil engineer could generate a 3D model of an excavated space, and an autonymous machine could be placed on the site, and using GPS and video inputs, for measuring, that machine could dig a very large and accurate earth work without intervention. Still a dream, but the technology is developing. This was a real interesting look into what is developing. Thanks.
Most of that change is already here. Tesla's have a working Full Self Driving car & they offer a working electric power source. With the help of a drone, they can do a topographic lay of the land before sending out the combines or any other piece of farming equipment. The beauty of the FSD is the fact it is in real time, not a mapped layout mode. No need to worry about changing scenarios, what you/computer sees, you get The current offering of tractors are already using computers to steer & manage the tractor's functions. These tractor's will someday be all electric when the batteries have longer run times. Right now, we use diesel/gas to run a power plant which in turn, runs a hydraulic power plant. So, they will only need to switch the diesel/gas to a battery storage set up. You might say it isn't possible, but over 75% of the setup is already in place - Need more battery storage
Mike, if you haven't check out Edison Motors. Their thoughts behind the Electric(Hybrid) Semi that they have built I think is a huge step forward for the Industries. A step forward that stands behind your comment about the construction and other industries lagging behind.
The criteria for automation and AI driven activities will be rooted in activities that are easily scalable, predictable, repetitive, and are not subject to many outside variables. The applications we have seen in farming as demonstrated in so many planting and harvesting videos by the Millennial Farmer. Much of the technology and its early adoption will be by larger enterprises and will ultimately flow down to the smaller enterprises. Example, Total Stations/Theodolites for survey used to be out of reach for most folks, today they are well within reach as the GPS technology and interfaces have provided competitive pressure. Doing one man layouts with a robotic total station does has some serious cost to the equipment but, it supports the one person survey companies well and keeps the overhead low. But the source data needs to be a digital output from CAD/BIM developed by an V. Another example of the tech working its way into the skill trades is the robot printer that will physically line out a floor plan on the surface to be built upon just like the drawings show. Imagine the time savings and the ability to identify the things that just wont work in reality before a nail gun is un-holstered? As for attraction and continuing interest in the trades there, has to be some softening of the rigid measures and definition of an operator. We joke about it, but we have young "kids" behind a joystick operating a drone in hostile areas far away from us and they are really really good. They "operate" at a much higher level with accountability and life altering variables. They process and visualize things different just because they grew up with the technology. There are young teenagers out there operating a joystick based piece of equipment with silky smooth results. Our challenge for the future is to educate, train, and demonstrate how to use those skills and tools to solve problems and why we do things in a certain order, quality or manner. That is not something AI can capture "COMPLETELY." The next thing will be an excavator with so much more telemetry in the bucket, it will tell you the soil and material type as you probe through the soil even to the point of identifying contaminated soils. This could be a future AMI bucket that cost more than the base machine. We still have a long way to go on large "cordless" electric excavators. The battery material mining, battery care and storage, and post life disposition all have health, safety and welfare impacts that have yet to be thoroughly addressed. But we will get there, we just cannot lose sight of it. The future is intriguing and holds a place for all. The non-large enterprise level civil works contractors as well as the small task based excavator will always have opportunities to grow. The attitude of Tristar Diggin' towards machine acquisition and application is admirable. You know the tool you need. Get it. Learn it. Master it. But never lose sight of the bigger picture. Your own challenge and gift is that you have a couple growing young offspring that might be teaching you how to make all the cool tech and AI work on your next new machine. :)
"future". The mining industry has been doing it for 30 + years. I was on the design side of the remote mining operations for a major gold mining company, we could operate scoops, which are underground loaders, 3000 feet underground from 200 feet away in a safe place, or from the surface control room or (our own record at that time) 20 miles away. We even controlled them from 400 miles away through satellite, but data latency made it dangerous and killed that idea until technology improved. That was back in 1994 through phone lines and radio repeaters, way before the Internet was available. Didn't look as fancy as your AI game ride, just plain old cameras, CRT screens, joysticks, repeaters, transmitters etc. We saved quite a few lives from cave-ins. With that said, that 4 track grey excavator on display, put an operator cab on it, I'll buy one. THAT looks cool :)
10 years in the future: When we said heavy equipment technology would catch up to farming equipment technology, what we meant was paying $50k to Hyundai, for a software update on a machine that we're legally not allowed to fix, so that the camera that we didn't need will work again, because the machine won't start without it. Love the channel. Beware the siren's song.
I think sitting in the excavator and controlling a "Bubba dump" to pull in, load, drive to dump site, unload, and return would be a savings on labor force. Also would just be awesome. Possibly sit in maintenance truck all day and run both excavator and off road truck.😮
That was really interesting. I'm a retired auto, medium, heavy truck mechanic, I remember when the industry started going to electronics I thought man making something easy go to hard to repair on auto first, so I switched to heavy trucks because they were still mechanical within a few years they started going to electronics. But once you get a little training it's not as bad. The youth now are more into A I stuff, so I fell there are always going to be jobs for the different industry for people. Thanks for the video always enjoy watching your videos
Hello Mike, I guess I’m just old school and hate changes and tend to try to resist as long as I can lol. I’m truly still in awe of the power of diesel and hydraulics of today. The technology of modern machinery today is awesome enough for me.
The future is crazy but also incubating. The atonomus trucks right kniw are way scarry! Taking the human out of 80,000 to 105,500 lbs is nuts! Especially with how easy it is to hack a computer! And how components are ! Let's see wear this takes us thou!
