Siemens is collaborating with heavy equipment machine learning specialist SafeAI to build a fleet of zero emission autonomous heavy vehicles for Japanese construction major Obayashi Corporation.

SafeAI began working with Obayashi in October 2020, beginning with a pilot site in Cupertino, CA, USA. The two companies have aimed to apply autonomous solutions to common pain points across construction such as unsafe working conditions, labour shortages and industry inefficiencies. The two companies have successfully tested and deployed an articulated autonomous dump truck to complete over 580 load-haul-dump cycles.

SafeAI and Siemens signed an agreement in May 2021 to collaborate on retrofitting off-road heavy vehicles for autonomy, zero emission and connected applications. SafeAI contributes its AI-powered retrofit autonomy while Siemens provides hardware and software for zero emission powertrains and necessary infrastructure to operate these vehicles.

Earlier this year, a fleet of 300 construction trucks operated by Obayashi Corporation, ranging from 45 – 65 tons, was identified to be retrofitted for autonomy and zero emission. In May 2022, the companies began retrofitting the first 45 ton vehicle, which is expected to be ready by the end of 2022. The collaboration will continue scaling across the entire fleet over a three year period.

“At SafeAI, we’ve always been committed to making heavy industry safer and more productive. Now, in partnership with Siemens, we can add ‘more sustainable’ to that list,” said Bibhrajit Halder, founder and CEO of SafeAI. “Siemens has already built a track record of advancing on-road electrification. Now, together, we can deliver these capabilities, at scale, to off-road industries. With this partnership, our present and future customers can experience the powerful, synergistic benefits of autonomy and electrification.”

“Heavy vehicle retrofit for autonomy and zero emission is an innovative yet cost-effective solution that will fast track adoption of sustainable technologies for heavy vehicles. Not to forget, retrofit is a form of reuse or recycle and hence in line with circular economy principles to better meet net zero goals. Combined with creative financing models and rigorous focus on safety, there could be as many retrofitted zero emission heavy vehicles as newly built zero emission heavy vehicles by 2030,” said Zubin Sarkar, Head of Strategy, Business Development and Marketing at Siemens Commercial Vehicles. “There’s a tremendous opportunity ahead for companies across industries like construction, mining, harbour and agriculture to reduce their carbon footprint, all while improving operations and lowering costs. In partnership with pioneers like SafeAI and Obayashi Corporation, we can imagine a more sustainable future for these industries.”

The project incorporates features from Siemens such as an autonomous-pantograph to enable automatic charging and an autonomy analytics suite to ensure reliable and safe applications. Simulytic, a new Siemens AG venture, has been established to help accelerate the deployment of autonomous vehicles by offering a trustworthy platform accessible to regulators, government, insurance, tech developers and operators alike. Andy Gill, Chief Operating Officer at Simulytic said “By creating a digital replica of the autonomous vehicle in its deployment environment, we can use our simulation technology to provide independent safety and performance analytics for both SafeAI and Obayashi.”

The retrofit project will be engineered by a system integrator known for its expertise in electrification and mechatronics of trucks, AVIA Engineering. “We are thrilled to further deepen our long-time collaboration with Siemens in the field of vehicle electrification with such an innovative project,” said David Sánchez, owner and CEO at AVIA Engineering. “To integrate a fully electric powertrain and improve vehicle attributes in such a demanding application is a task at the cutting edge of technology, and a technical challenge that we are delighted to take on behalf of our partners.”

“We firmly believe the future of the construction industry is both autonomous and electric—and we’re determined to establish that future ourselves,” said Hiroto Sato, COO at Obayashi SVVL (Silicon Valley Ventures & Laboratory). “We’ve already started to see the powerful impact autonomous technology can have through our work with SafeAI over the last year. Now, with SafeAI’s partnership with Siemens, we will pioneer more sustainable operations to continue leading the way toward a smarter future for our industry.”