Danfoss Power Solutions, the provider of electric and hydraulic energy solutions, has made significant investments in the autonomous machinery sector. According to the head of their autonomous vehicles division, Peter Bleday, this move is paying off.

Discussing the increasing autonomy in the construction industry, ConstructionTechology, the specialized publication, began by asking what this means for operators as smart machines become increasingly capable of handling construction applications on their own. Bleday said, "It's not about replacing the workforce. That's not our goal.

"Rising autonomy makes individual workers more valuable and productive.

"Recently, there was a debate with six different general contractors discussing the technologies they are pursuing to make people and machines more productive and capable of doing the job with greater precision.

"Also, maybe five or six years ago when much of this technology was still in proof-of-concept, we're starting to see it expand into multiple levels of production and manufacturing capabilities.

"There are still limitations for use cases, but where it is used, it certainly addresses the skilled labor shortage."

Levels of Autonomy

One of the big questions for autonomy in the construction arena is the vast variety of applications that construction machinery must undertake, as well as the range of environments in which they operate. So, are the current levels of autonomy making these tasks more efficient? And how much will construction companies need to adapt their working practices to accommodate these new technologies?

Bleday says, "Construction is kind of a broad river to ford in terms of different applications and different things that can be done.

"I think what we're already seeing is applications like trenching, such as building foundations for wind turbines, those that are relatively repetitive and cookie-cutter, even some residential construction applications, is that robotics and autonomy can add a lot of value.

"For example, you can have a soil compactor working overnight, and when you come in the next day, it's already done. It can be as simple as being more productive when you shut down a road at night. Yes, you have to adapt to different workflows, and it must be seen as part of the process from the beginning; considered directly in the project."

Investments in Technology

One challenge for companies operating in this field is knowing how hard and fast to push research and development, especially considering the historically traditional nature of construction and the sometimes lengthy legislative processes for new technologies.

Bleday appears relaxed on this front, saying, "We've invested significantly in this capability. Just from the size of a team, we're now ten times larger, and we're really focused on how we create value for our OEM customers.

"First and foremost, it's about software tools - building these tools and analyzing the core capabilities the vehicles have to locate and navigate them.

"This is relatively similar whether it's in the construction industry or agriculture. It's about available GPS, not available GPS, how we deal with that."

On the Road to Autonomy

As for where Danfoss stands in the autonomy space, he says, "Not every OEM has autonomous software engineering services in-house.

"Even if they have the resources to build an internal team or to acquire an autonomous software company, they're starting from scratch. They're maybe three to five years behind everyone else.

"We can come and support them, either in building their application or even taking it to one of our application development centers and carrying out proof of concept for them.

"This is a team [Danfoss Autonomous Custom Engineering Services] we launched earlier this year, and we've already had good traction, and we're building it.

"And the last piece is Danfoss' core business. As we look at not just the software needed and the services required for autonomy to take place but also the hardware required, whether it's more advanced displays, remote controls, electronics, right down to drive-by-wire, valve control, pumps, and everything in between.

"Our overall portfolio has grown to be more technologically capable and more electronically controllable.

"This technological push will be crucial. Whether you're the smallest construction equipment OEM or the largest, you'll have to start incorporating more and more of these capabilities."