NREC and Caterpillar are jointly developing the Autonomous Haulage System (AHS), a commercial system for automating large off-highway trucks.

Its purpose is to coordinate and autonomously drive a fleet of off-highway haul trucks operating in an open pit mine. AHS trucks will load and dump ore and navigate a network of haul roads without human intervention – all while operating safely in the vicinity of mining vehicles, personnel, and equipment.

AHS will make mining processes more efficient, reduce overall extraction costs, improve mine safety, and address operator training and retention issues.