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Innovation should help customers

Bobcat’s Innovation department has presented some futuristic concepts of new machines in recent years, such as the autonomous and all-electric RogueX1 and RogueX2, the all-electric T7X compact track loader and S7X skid-steer loader and the AT450X electric and autonomous articulating tractor. These prototypes were primarily intended as visions of the future, but they are also platforms for testing new technology, which is now gradually finding its way into the new models. “Our innovation approach is mainly focused on practical developments that help users do their jobs faster and better,” says Joel Honeyman, vice president of Global Innovation at Bobcat.

Honeyman has been with Bobcat for 28 years. He studied mechanical engineering and has a master’s degree in agricultural economics. Before taking on responsibility for product development and innovation, he spent 10 years in sales. This was a valuable experience for him. “In sales, I often came into contact with questions from customers and prospects about new technology, functionality and applications. That automatically makes you think about product development.” Since 2014, he has led a dedicated full-time team of employees who focus on innovation. The team is in close contact with customers and dealers to gain insight into the everyday problems and challenges that users face.

He said: “We come up with solutions, develop them and ultimately apply them to our machines. We see technology as a tool that helps customers do their work more efficiently. You don’t necessarily need earth-shattering innovations or super-advanced technology for this. The greatest added value is often in the basic things that make machines easier to use and deliver better performance. We introduce our customers to innovations as quickly and as extensively as possible in order to optimize them based on their experiences. 

For Joel Honeyman, the development of concept machines such as the RogueX1 and RogueX2, the T7X compact track loader and the AT450X articulating tractor is therefore not an end in itself. “We are focusing on the jobsite of the future, in which autonomous machine operation, enhanced safety, sustainability and connectivity play a key role. Certain technologies are inevitable for this. It is important to explore new ways of working and new machine designs based on this development direction.

“This leads to concept machines. It is not certain that these exact machines will actually come onto the market in this form, but they do provide a platform on which we can test new technology. If you build an autonomous machine, you no longer have an operator and therefore no cabin. You can see that with the RogueX. The T7X is fully electric, and in the design, we have therefore replaced the traditional hydraulic system that typically operates the lift arms with electric actuators, which are controlled by special software.”

Bobcat is a pioneer when it comes to sustainability. The E10e was one of the first electric excavators to be produced in series and various additional battery electric or all-electric machines have already been introduced, such as the T7X, the S7X, the AT450X and the recently presented TL25.60e telehandler. At the LogiMat trade fair earlier this year, Bobcat showed a forklift with a hydrogen fuel cell.

In addition, Bobcat works closely with other companies when applying new technology. There are partnerships with companies such as Ainstein, which develops high-resolution radar technology; Greenzie, which develops industry-leading autonomous software for commercial lawn mowers and outdoor power equipment; Agtonomy, an agtech software company; and Trimble, which deals with 3D scanning and virtual reality. Bobcat itself is mainly involved in the engineering of the machines and the underlying software platform, which connects and controls all the new technology.

The main priority of Bobcat's innovation strategy is to develop new technology and applications so that customers can do their work faster, more efficiently, more safely and more sustainably. "But the starting points for innovation can be very different," Honeyman explains. “Look at automating work. Mowing is very different from digging or moving loads on a busy construction site. Mowing is a fairly simple activity in principle, where the machine does little more than drive in straight lines and fixed patterns over a terrain, while avoiding obstacles. A loader or excavator on a construction site is in a much more dynamic and even unpredictable environment.

There are trees, pipes, buildings and water features; there are other machines at work and people walking around. In addition, every job is unique. The environment, logistics, surface and driving behaviour vary. This makes innovation and automation a major challenge, for which multiple technological solutions can be used.”

Bobcat has developed many practical innovations and technology for the machines and their users. This varies from compact track loaders developed for driving on difficult terrain, the Bob-Tach® system that allows customers to easily mount attachments on their machines and MaxControl for the remote operation of Bobcat loaders. But also small adjustments, such as simple buttons for automatically performing standard actions such as lifting the bucket can result in enormous efficiency and time savings.

“We now have access to enormous amounts of data that are important for the execution of the work, but the construction site itself also generates enormous amounts of data. In our view, information about the work area and object detection are extremely important,” emphasises Honeyman.

“This data not only makes manoeuvring with (autonomous) machines easier, but also enhances safety. We use GPS equipment, among other things, because it is very accurate and can map all static objects in a terrain perfectly. This can be done using real-life images, but also with virtual reality, which you can project onto a display in the cabin or wearables such as VR glasses. Incidentally, you can also use it to show non-visible objects such as underground pipes or provide work instructions.

“With the help of OLED technology, images can be integrated into the windows of machines, so that the windows themselves can function as a transparent display to enhance operator productivity and bring efficiency to the task at hand. For moving objects and people, technology such as smart cameras, radar and sensors can improve operators’ jobsite awareness. With technology like Bobcat’s concept collision warning and avoidance system, operators can receive an audible alert or enable the machine to automatically stop upon detecting an object in its path.  We also expect that drones in construction will play an important role in mapping the terrain and the objects present on it.”

He continued: “In addition, there are now also huge amounts of data available about the machines themselves. We have introduced Bobcat Machine IQ, which allows owners and users to remotely monitor all relevant data about the machines: their location, whether they are stationary or working, fuel consumption and technical condition. Based on this data, you can, for example, improve the deployability of machines, optimise consumption or schedule maintenance and repairs. This helps operators get the most out of their machine, while also protecting their investment.

“And that brings us to the costs and benefits of innovation. Every innovation must provide added value but must also be affordable. We conduct research into this and regularly ask our customers what they are prepared to pay. We want to make innovation accessible to customers. That is why we not only introduce innovations as an update on new models, but also offer tech enhancements as a retrofit on existing machines, so that you can also benefit from new technology without necessarily having to purchase the very latest machines. In this way, innovations are not only reserved for early adopters, but customers with a fifteen-year-old machine can also benefit from innovation.”

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