Imperial Oil has successfully deployed the largest autonomous haul truck in the world.
As part of an ongoing pilot project, the 400-ton truck was put to the test in June where it was used in a productive operating environment at Imperial’s Kearl oil sands project.
Imperial entered into a joint development agreement with Caterpillar and Finning to test the use of autonomous haul trucks in a segregated area and plans to have a fleet of seven autonomous trucks by year-end.
While this would mean a longer-term reduction in the number of required haul truck drivers, Jon Harding, Imperial public affairs advisor said it would also increase a number of other required roles across the mine.
