Liebherr tests autonomous excavators in France

Liebherr France SAS has commissioned a new test bench for crawler excavators at its development and production site in Colmar, France. Image:

The company said the investment, worth nearly €2.5 million (US$2.85 million), will help speed up the development and validation of crawler excavator structures by allowing engineers to reproduce construction site conditions under controlled conditions.

The facility can simulate accelerated ageing of excavator structures, with one hour of testing corresponding to 17 hours of work on a construction site.

Liebherr said the test bench is designed to identify potential structural weaknesses earlier in the development process and reduce the time between finding a problem and implementing a solution.

The system reproduces site stresses including vibrations, torsional forces, impacts and bending. Test procedures are based on data gathered during real-world operations at customer sites and across a range of applications.

The test bench includes a test track and trench inside an enclosed hall. A concrete wall with 6m-high noise barriers has also been installed to meet noise protection requirements at the industrial site.

The facility will also support Liebherr’s work on autonomous machines. Excavators used on the test bench are equipped to operate autonomously, with test procedures controlled and monitored remotely from an external control room.

A camera system gives technicians continuous visual monitoring of the machines, while safety systems include secured areas, gate systems, sensors, door contacts, laser sensors and GPS tracking to prevent machines leaving the test area without authorisation.

Liebherr said the location of the test bench at its Colmar development site would allow engineering teams to carry out faster improvement cycles during the design and validation of new crawler excavators.