[Report] Unmanned Excavators Choosing Ground Even in Heavy Rain... Operating in Remote Areas and at Night

On the 20th, rain poured down as if a hole had been torn in the sky over Boryeong, Chungnam. The HD Hyundai Site Solutions 22-ton class DEVELON unmanned excavator and 10-ton class DEVELON unmanned dozer silently leveled the ground and moved soil despite the rain. On this day, a demonstration of the 'Concept-X2' unmanned excavator and unmanned dozer without a driver's cabin, developed for the first time in Korea, was held.

Standing 30 meters away from the 1-ton class DEVELON unmanned dozer by HD Hyundai Site Solutions, operating the dozer with a console (controller) the size of a tablet PC.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

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Standing about 30 meters away from the 1-ton class DEVELON unmanned dozer, I tried operating a controller the size of a tablet PC. Raising the left lever made the dozer move forward, and lowering it made it go backward. Raising the right lever lifted the dozer blade (the part that digs the ground), scooping up soil. Lowering the right lever lowered the bucket, digging into the ground. Hong Heeseung, a senior researcher at HD Hyundai Site Solutions, said, "It can be controlled from up to 150 meters away." Even in a heavy rain of 40mm per hour, the machine did not creak or stop, even when operated by a beginner.

It was puzzling why a person controlled the unmanned equipment via a console. The company explained that for safety reasons and other necessities, a person operates the dozer when needed. More precisely, the site manager usually controls it via console, and at night after leaving work, it operates unmanned. Senior researcher Hong said, "Console remote control is suitable for use in dangerous areas where human entry is difficult," adding, "It is useful in situations where unmanned control is difficult for the equipment to handle."

The Concept-X2 is an unmanned automation solution. It is a control tower that analyzes the surrounding terrain in 3D using LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) attached to major equipment such as excavators, dozers, and wheel loaders, as well as drones, to control the process. It can be seen as a 'smart factory' operating on a construction site. When the excavator digs the ground, the LiDAR scans obstacles, and the comprehensive control base, X-Center, monitors in real time.

HD Hyundai Site Solutions 22t-class DEVELON unmanned excavator online demonstration. Due to heavy rain of 70mm per hour, I could not operate it outside and examined it indoors.
[Photo by Moon Chaeseok]

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The highlight of the demonstration was the remote control of the excavator, which was conducted online. In the afternoon, as rainfall increased to 70mm per hour, it was judged on-site that it was difficult to go outside due to safety concerns. From an indoor workspace about 200 meters away from the construction site, I observed the operation of the 22-ton class DEVELON cabin-less unmanned excavator. The excavator was perched on a mound of soil about 10 meters high (equivalent to a 3-story apartment). Kwon Yongcheol, a senior researcher at HD Hyundai Site Solutions, explained, "The excavator's working equipment is equipped with LiDAR sensors, allowing real-time terrain recognition during operations."

Through an IP camera installed near the excavator bucket, small raindrops could be seen. The fact that small raindrops were visible even in the indoor workspace means that the process situation can be grasped vividly as if inside the excavator cabin. The LiDAR sensor attached to the excavator's working equipment is designed to detect whether the ground is uneven, how much moisture has seeped in, and to avoid obstacles.

Notably, the Concept-X2 was equipped with a component called a 'tiltrotator' on the excavator bucket, which increased production efficiency. The tiltrotator is a part that allows the bucket to rotate 360 degrees horizontally even if the excavator body remains still. Simply put, it is like having a stationary body with arms that can rotate 360 degrees. The company explained that this improved work efficiency by 13% compared to the 'Concept-X' first unveiled worldwide in 2019.

HD Hyundai Site Solutions 22t-class DEVELON unmanned excavator. Due to severe weather, the driving scene outside could not be seen.
[Photo by Moon Chae-seok]

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Site managers said that the Concept-X2 is much more useful than smart factories in general manufacturing plants. Most smart factories only need to detect a few variables such as defective products within a fixed process, but on construction sites, since it is impossible to predict when and what obstacles will appear or what the weather will be like, an unmanned control system like Concept-X2 is essential.

The company predicted that since the Concept-X2 system can operate anytime at night or in remote areas, it could be utilized in overseas resource development construction sites such as in the Middle East and Latin America in the future. To this end, they plan to create a business model for exporting the Concept-X2 platform to overseas construction companies. Currently, discussions are underway with Neom City in Saudi Arabia regarding a Concept-X2 demonstration project.

Lee Dongwook, head of technology and CEO of HD Hyundai Site Solutions, said, "Neom City officials visited our company, and we proposed the demonstration project," adding, "Since there are no commercialized cases of unmanned automation solutions like Concept-X2 worldwide, we believe that by conducting a demonstration project first and verifying safety and quality, commercialization will be possible."

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HD Hyundai Site Solutions is confident that Concept-X2 can significantly increase construction productivity. Based on the amount of work done per hour of excavator operation, the current productivity of Concept-X2 is at 90% of the highest skilled operator with over 20 years of experience. It has reached the 'autonomous' stage where equipment operates without a human onboard.

Kim Dongmok, senior researcher of Smart CE (Construction Equipment) at HD Hyundai Site Solutions, said, "If autonomous unmanned equipment like Concept-X2 is deployed, even excluding fuel replacement and maintenance time, equipment can operate 21 to 22 hours a day," adding, "Considering the 52-hour workweek system where people can only work up to 8 hours a day, unmanned automation solutions can improve on-site productivity."

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