Caterpillar CommandTrack

Cat's autonomy program, built on the MineStar Command platform, has run autonomous haul trucks like the Cat 793 in commercial mines for over a decade. Remote-operation stations and semi-autonomous features have also spread to dozers, loaders, and drilling equipment.

Not necessarily — remote stations let an operator run the machine from off-site, which is the main safety benefit for hazardous areas like unstable slopes or active blast zones. The system pairs that with onboard guidance data so the machine holds grade and patterns more consistently than manual operation.

Komatsu is the pioneer, having run its FrontRunner autonomous haulage system commercially since 2008, beginning at Codelco's Gabriela Mistral copper mine in Chile. Hitachi and, increasingly, Chinese manufacturers offer rival autonomous hauling systems in mining.

Caterpillar has reported that its autonomous fleet has hauled well over a billion tonnes of material at customer sites. The trucks use GPS, perception sensors, and geofenced zones to detect obstacles and stop automatically, which is why mines adopt them around the clock without operators aboard.