Unmanned Excavator Deployed for the First Time: HD Hyundai Site Solution Achieves European Milestone

AI Autonomous Excavator Deployed for Swiss Construction Project
Applied at European Sites, Sparking Global Expansion
22-Ton Excavator Used for Automated Civil Engineering Work

On April 29, HD Hyundai Site Solution announced that it had deployed an unmanned autonomous excavator at a European construction site for the first time. This marks the first case of applying autonomous construction equipment technology to an actual construction project.

An unmanned autonomous excavator without a driver in the cockpit is being demonstrated at CONEXPO 2026, a North American construction equipment exhibition. HD Hyundai Site Solution

The equipment, which was supplied to a site operated by the European construction group Kibag, was developed in collaboration with Gravis Robotics, a company specializing in AI-based unmanned automation.

The excavator is a 22-ton class mid-sized model from HD Construction Equipment, equipped with the 'Real-X' solution that combines HD Hyundai Site Solution's smart excavator platform and Gravis's AI automation technology.

This excavator will be deployed at a construction site in the Tugen region to perform civil engineering work unmanned, excavating to a depth of 3 meters, a width of 12 meters, and a length of 1 kilometer.

The unmanned autonomous excavator equipped with the 'Real-X' solution automatically carries out tasks according to preset work objectives, unaffected by operator fatigue or skill level. The company explained that average productivity increases to about 120% compared to manual operation.

This supply represents the outcome of the two companies' collaborative project to advance construction equipment autonomy. Since signing a memorandum of understanding for the demonstration of autonomous technology at BAUMA 2025 in Germany last year, the two companies have continued their partnership.

HD Hyundai Site Solution began developing unmanned autonomous construction equipment solutions in 2019 and has continued to showcase related technologies at major exhibitions in Europe and North America. With the application at this Swiss site, the company plans to expand its global partnerships and increase the number of real-world deployments.

Kim Panyoung, Executive Vice President of HD Hyundai Site Solution, stated, "This project is the first case of implementing unmanned autonomous construction equipment technology at an actual site," adding, "It will serve as an opportunity to improve safety and productivity at construction sites and accelerate transformation across the entire industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.