Automation is the future!
Recently there has been a drive from the MORTH to adopt machine control technology for national highways
Samip Desai
Director, MOBA Mobile Automation (India)
How do you see the demand for automation & control products evolving in the construction and mining sectors? What key factors are driving the adoption of automation products in heavy equipment?
Recently there has been a drive from the MORTH to adopt machine control technology for national highways, the initiative was chaired by the Union minister himself where he urged the stake holders to adopt the latest technologies available around the world and bring them to use in India. This will create some awareness among the contractors who will now be more open to implement these techniques.
What are the latest advancements in automation & control systems for construction equipment? How are AI, IoT, and machine learning influencing automation in heavy machinery?
It is said that a machine is only as good as its operator, so in order to get the best results from the machine, we need to give the operator the best possible tools which can aid his operation skills resulting in better efficiency from the same machine. This has been our core competence at MOBA, we have been developing and manufacturing such machine control systems which helps to improve the overall performance in achieving the desired parameters with minimal efforts and resources.
How do automation and control products improve the efficiency and productivity of construction equipment?
I can give you a very good recent example where our customer HG Infra has invested in a 3D machine guidance system or excavators, they were facing a challenge in completing the drainage trenching job before they could start concrete lining, with 1 operator 3 helpers and civil staff the maximum they could trench was 150 m / day which is more or less the industry standard, after implementing the 3D solution they could achieve 300m / Day with only 1 operator and 1 civil staff (only for 1 hour) . They were able to achieve great results with the technology.
What are the major challenges faced in implementing automation solutions in construction and mining equipment and How is your company addressing these challenges?
One of the major deterrents is the initial capital investment in the high precision control systems, most of the times this comes to around 50 -80 % of the cost of the equipment, since we have an established manufacturing setup in India since 2004, we are trying to get this cost down considerably by localizing the non-critical components and by doing so we aim to reduce the cost by 20-30%.
How do automation & control systems contribute to safety and sustainability in construction projects? Are there any regulatory or compliance aspects that manufacturers need to consider?
Simple logic is by implementing control systems you reduce the number of people around the machines which directly results in lesser chances of any accidents. The government is planning to introduce some BIS standards in future which will ensure that cheap and un reliable hardware will not be installed on the heavy machinery. We welcome this initiative.
What is your vision for the future of automation in the construction and mining equipment industry and how do you foresee the role of automation evolving in the next 5-10 years?
Automation is the future, we are already nearing the ceiling when It comes to advancement in hydraulics and mechanical designs of machines, so now the core focus is to extract maximum capabilities of the machines and the only way to do this us by using automation and controls.
