Three autonomous water trucks will join Gudai-Darri’s fleet of autonomous haul trucks.

Developed through a successful collaboration with leading equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar, three water trucks will join Gudai-Darri’s fleet of Caterpillar heavy mobile equipment including autonomous haul trucks and production drills. The vehicle’s intelligent on-board system detects dry and dusty conditions on site, triggering the application of water to roads to keep them in good condition.

The refilling process is also completely automated with the water trucks recognizing when it is time to refill, prompting them to self-drive to the water stand, park and top-up before returning to the field. They boast a 160,000-liter tank capacity, a 33% increase on Rio Tinto’s largest water truck, which has a tank capacity of 120,000 liters.

Once deployed, the water trucks will be integrated into Rio Tinto’s existing Autonomous Haulage System. “We have worked closely with Caterpillar to safely and successfully deploy the world’s first fully autonomous water truck,” Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Simon Trott said. “Water spraying is a vital part of mining operations and this new technology will improve productivity and reduce water usage across our operations.

Caterpillar Resource Industries Group President Denise Johnson added, “Rio Tinto continues to pioneer technology advancements and the water truck, working in conjunction with the autonomous hauling trucks and drills. This is another important step in our continual journey in autonomous solutions for our customers.”