FAR EAST: JAPAN REPORT
Hitachi Construction Machinery says it will release a medium-sized hydraulic excavator that can be operated remotely during fiscal 2023. Workers will be able to remotely operate the excavator without getting on the machine during construction of housing sites and rivers. Demand is expected to increase due to labor shortages at construction sites, and the company will introduce the medium-sized models, which are widely used.
The main target is hydraulic excavators with a body weight of 10 to 30 tons. Hitachi Construction Machinery will prepare a body that can be remotely controlled and will install the necessary remote-control controller and video system in consultation with the customer.
Until now, there have been cases of major general contractors modifying hydraulic excavators to enable remote control on their own. Hitachi Construction Machinery will make it easier to provide after-sales service by making its own remote-controlled excavators. In the future, Hitachi Construction Machinery plans to release a hydraulic excavator of the same class that is compatible with automation in addition to remote operation.
Source: The Nikkei
PSR Analysis: I visited CONEXPO2023, the world’s largest construction equipment exhibition, where many remote-control systems, including Trimble, were on display. The system consists of multiple large monitors, a cockpit, and joysticks to operate construction equipment from a remote location via the Internet. It is my impression that many of these systems were developed by telecommunications giants and aimed at construction equipment manufacturers.
Hitachi Construction Machinery is now offering this system as its own service to its customers. In the midst of a serious labor shortage, such labor-saving systems are in high demand. Unmanned operation is the ultimate goal of the construction machinery industry, but the first step would be to operate multiple job sites from a single location using such a remote-control system. PSR
Akihiro Komuro is Research Analyst, Far East and Southeast Asia, for Power Systems Research
