SafeAI, a leader in autonomous heavy equipment, is working to improve the safety and efficiency of mining and construction through the use of fully autonomous vehicles. Since its founding in 2017, SafeAI has automated the work fleets for major companies in the mining and construction industries, including Rio Tinto and BHP. SafeAI’s retrofit approach allows companies to upgrade their existing vehicles with autonomous technology, making it easier and more cost-effective to deploy autonomous systems. The retrofit process is relatively quick, typically taking about six weeks to fully automate 30 trucks. SafeAI’s system bypasses cabin controls and taps directly into the vehicle’s electronic control unit (ECU), making it fuel agnostic and able to retrofit any vehicle type. There is a use-by date, however, as it is only cost-effective to retrofit vehicles less than 15 to 20 years old. SafeAI’s CEO, Bibhrajit Halder, also discussed the potential for full automation in the cradle-to-grave lifecycle of products, envisioning a future where machines handle tasks from raw material extraction to delivery. This level of automation would free humans from laborious and dangerous manual jobs, and has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries.
