An "Innovative Autonomous Haulage Vehicle" with an entirely new concept that has never been seen before was exhibited at the mining equipment trade fair, "MINExpo INTERNATIONAL® 2016," held in Las Vegas, USA.

Unlike conventional dump trucks (930E/830E-AT) based on manned vehicles, this vehicle is being developed anew as a vehicle exclusively for autonomous drives, in order to maximize the benefits of autonomous operation at the mining work sites. It is planned to launch into the market in the near future.

By eliminating the cab and using a four-wheel drive, four-wheel retarder, and four-wheel steering system to distribute the load equally between the four wheels, whether empty or loaded, it has been made possible to run shuttle with high driving performance, regardless of the direction, forward or backwards. There is no need to switch back at the loading and unloading sites at all. In particular, it would be feasible to use these vehicles in work sites that are difficult for the existing autonomous dump trucks to operate in due to restrictions, including sites slippery with heavy rain or snow, and narrow loading sites. The vehicle is expected to significantly improve the productivity of work sites.

In 2008, Komatsu has made the world's first practical autonomous dump truck haulage system (AHS), and has so far accumulated over 1 billion tons of hauling experience in large-scale mines, including locations in Chile and Australia.