Look, no operator: JTC, Kajima pilot Singapore's first autonomous heavy construction equipment

In a corner of Jurong West, 'Optimus Prime and his friends' are proving that construction equipment can work without anyone behind the controls.

This isn't a Transformers movie set or that the Autobots have come to earth and chose Singapore.

Instead, JTC Corporation and Japanese construction firm Kajima Corporation are putting autonomous heavy construction equipment through its paces at Bulim Autonomous Yard.

Announcing this in a joint news release on Thursday (Sept 17), JTC and Kajima said the pilot will test how these machines can ease Singapore’s construction manpower constraints and improve safety.

This will be the first pilot project to explore the use of autonomous heavy construction equipment in Singapore, said the statement.

Working together with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the Public Sector Science and Technology Policy and Plans Office (S&TPPO), this is part of JTC's sandbox for validating autonomous construction equipment under real site conditions.

Building faster and safer

Under the trial, existing machines are retrofitted, including with sensors and artificial intelligence, to carry out tasks set within virtual geographic boundaries — also known as geofencing.

The activities are then monitored remotely by staff who will intervene whenever an issue occurs.

Meanwhile, these autonomous machines, if deployed following successful trials, can help reduce workers' exposure to some onsite safety hazards by decreasing the need for personnel to operate machinery or work in close proximity to moving equipment.

The Ministry of National Development (MND) had earlier said that it will continue to "build more and build faster" to ensure an adequate supply of new flats to meet the expected increase in demand for Build-To-Order flats and executive condominiums.

This would, in turn, allow the Government to meet the more diverse housing aspirations of Singaporeans.

And building faster — safely and smartly — are the objectives of this trial.

Assistant chief executive officer for engineering and operations at JTC, Calvin Chung, highlighted in the statement that adding more manpower is not a sustainable way to meet Singapore's future construction needs.

"JTC has a pipeline of at least 800 hectares of earthworks projects over the next five years. If the pilot succeeds, we will deploy autonomous heavy construction equipment across suitable projects in our pipeline and support wider industry adoption," he said.

Autonomous bulldozers and dump trucks

JTC also said that it is working with the Ministry of Manpower to develop operating guidelines and safeguards to support industry-wide deployment while prioritising human safety.

Beyond single-machine autonomous operations, JTC and Kashima are also exploring how to extend the trial to autonomous bulldozers and dump trucks next year.

They intend to create a coordinate fleet of machines, with autonomous excavators digging and removing soil or rock, followed by an autonomous dump truck transporting these materials to the required location.

Next, an autonomous bulldozer will spread and level the soil to the required height and shape before compactors move in to stabilise the ground for subsequent building works.

To do these, Kajima said it is working with local contractor Kok Tong Construction and equipment provider Tractors Singapore Limited to retrofit conventional equipment with autonomous capabilities, train Singapore-based operators and engineers, and document lessons from the pilot for wider industry adoption.

在裕廊西的一角，“擎天柱和他的朋友们”正在证明，建筑设备无需人工操控也能运转。

这里不是《变形金刚》电影片场，也不是汽车人来到地球并选择了新加坡。

相反，裕廊集团和日本建筑公司鹿岛建设正在布林自动化场地对自主重型建筑设备进行测试。

裕廊集团和鹿岛建设于周四（9月17日）联合发布新闻稿宣布，该试点项目将测试这些机器如何缓解新加坡建筑业人力短缺问题并提高安全性。

声明称，这将是新加坡首个探索使用自主重型建筑设备的试点项目。

这是裕廊集团与建屋发展局 (HDB) 和公共部门科技政策及规划办公室 (S&TPPO) 合作开展的项目，旨在验证自主施工设备在真实工地条件下的性能。

建造速度更快、更安全

根据这项试验，现有机器将被改造，包括加装传感器和人工智能，以执行在虚拟地理边界（也称为地理围栏）内设定的任务。

之后，工作人员会对这些活动进行远程监控，并在出现问题时进行干预。

同时，如果这些自主机器在成功试验后得以部署，它们可以减少人员操作机器或在移动设备附近工作的需要，从而帮助减少工人接触一些现场安全隐患的机会。

国家发展部（MND）此前曾表示，将继续“建造更多、建造更快”以确保有足够的新公寓供应，以满足预期中对预购公寓和执行共管公寓的需求增长。

这将使政府能够满足新加坡人更加多样化的住房需求。

而更快、更安全、更智能地建造房屋正是本次试验的目标。

裕廊集团工程及运营助理首席执行官钟嘉文在声明中强调，增加人手并不是满足新加坡未来建设需求的可持续方式。

“裕廊集团未来五年至少有800公顷的土方工程项目在建。如果试点成功，我们将在合适的在建项目中部署自主重型施工设备，并支持更广泛的行业采用，”他说道。

自动推土机和自卸卡车

裕廊集团还表示，正在与人力部合作制定操作指南和保障措施，以支持全行业的部署，同时优先考虑人身安全。

除了单机自主操作外，JTC 和鹿岛汽车还在探索明年如何将试验扩展到自主推土机和自卸卡车。

他们计划打造一支协调的机械车队，由自主挖掘机挖掘和移除土壤或岩石，然后由自主倾卸卡车将这些材料运送到所需地点。

接下来，一台自动推土机将把土壤摊平到所需的高度和形状，然后压实机将进入地面，为后续的建筑工程稳定地面。

为了实现这些目标，鹿岛表示，它正与当地承包商 Kok Tong Construction 和设备供应商 Tractors Singapore Limited 合作，对传统设备进行改造，使其具备自主功能，培训新加坡的操作人员和工程师，并记录试点项目的经验教训，以便更广泛的行业采用。