Excavator for the Play Station generation

by Nick Drew | Wed 20 Jan 2016

Excavator for the Play Station generation

Komatsu’s intelligent machine control system has been around for a while now and while “old school” operators like me struggle to come to terms with this technology it does appear to be the way to go.

The PC210LCi-10 was first launched at Conexpo in 2014 and was the first of its type in the world to feature factory a fitted and fully integrated Intelligent Machine Control and guidance system eliminating the need for an after-market installation. This guidance system shows in real time, the movement of boom arm and bucket and works to a pre-set jobsite design. This according to Komatsu, results in a faster and more accurate operator. The system also prevents over-digging (as the system will not allow the cut to go below a set depth) and is more cost effective and safer, as trench checking and staking are eliminated. I first saw the system in action at Intermat in Paris last year.

With the ever increasing skills shortage as older operators retire or leave the industry for other reasons, taking with them many years of experience, these systems will play an important role in getting the job done by those who have grown up around computers and computer games consoles and who, unlike the older generation, have not been blessed with exposure to the machines from a young age gaining invaluable hands on experience in their formative years.

Over the coming years its clear we are going to start seeing a lot more of this kind of technology on a whole variety of machines and from a lot of different manufacturers. I need to start getting my head around it all for sure. Here’s a good video presentation from Komatsu that explains a bit more about the concept. [youtube width="725" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRrAdvHnR7U[/youtube]

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