Following successful tests conducted at the end of May, Chinese construction machinery manufacturer XCMG has unveiled its autonomous Road Roller, which it developed in collaboration with the Sichuan Railway Investment Group and Tsinghua University.

The autonomous Road Roller made its debut along the Panda Expressway, which is currently under construction between Panzhihua, Sichuan Province and Dali, Yunnan Province.

“Over 81% of Panda Expressway consists of bridges and tunnels, making it one of China's key smart transportation infrastructure projects,” says Cui Jisheng, general manager of XCMG Road Machinery.

“Enhancing road quality and safety through efficient construction and reduced cost were key priorities in our collaboration to develop an autonomous road roller. Our success here shows great promise for the technology's industrialization, and will accelerate the development of smart transport infrastructure.”

Before testing began, the optimal route and process were identified by a remote monitoring data center. Afterwards, instructions were transmitted to the onboard control system, which allowed the road roller to operate autonomously under complex conditions with a precision of two to three centimeters.

The road roller is equipped with several safety measures, as well as a real-time monitoring system capable of sounding warnings, conducting an emergency stop, entering and exiting sites automatically and avoiding obstacles.  

In an effort to deepen their cooperation in the field of autonomous road construction, XCMG signed a strategic agreement with the Sichuan Railway Investment Group and Tsinghua University in 2018. Since that time, the three parties have applied for nine domestic patents—three for inventions and six for utility models and technology.

The parties will continue working together and will focus on research and development, as well as the implementation of smart transportation development strategies and the development of mobile 5G communications base stations.