Rugged tablets in excavators: The gateway to enhanced productivity in earthmoving

The seamless integration of Smart Construction 3D Machine Guidance and rugged computers

Challenge

Find an easy-to-use rugged computer that can reliably run GNSS-enabled 3D Machine Guidance software in a tough excavator cabin environment.

Solution

Implement Handheld’s rugged tablets providing screen clarity, interoperability, and the toughness machine operators need.

Result

A complete 3D machine guidance solution, affordable even for small construction companies to their older excavators improving efficiency, safety, and, accuracy.

“I like how flexible the tablet is. I can take the tablet out of the machine during troubleshooting or training sessions, preventing any unnecessary crowd around the machine.”

– Tomas Walsh, Operator of Tower Civil Engineering

Affordable 3D guidance with rugged tablets

Folks in the earthmoving and quarry businesses are used to hearing about the wonders of digital transformation. However, many business owners find these promises hard to believe. Each supposed productivity boost seems to require hefty investments of time, money, and the right people to implement the technology – resources that are often scarce.

Recognizing this sentiment, Komatsu, a leading manufacturer and supplier of construction industry equipment, technologies, and services, launched the Smart Construction 3D Machine Guidance (3DMG) – a truly accessible and user-friendly GNSS system. The 3DMG kit can be tailored to suit different operations and is compatible with crawlers and wheeled excavators from 13 to 120 t, regardless of the manufacturer or generation.

The kit includes Handheld’s rugged Android tablet, making it accessible even to operators with mixed levels of experience with in-cab technology.

Komatsu, known for its superior customer support in both hardware and technology, offers the same level of service to customers using the 3DMG system.

Installers attach two global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antennas to each machine — one on each side of the body. They place four exterior inertial measuring units (IMUs) at various points along the body, boom, and bucket. Based on customer requirements, more sensors can be fitted depending on the machine configuration such as an extra boom sensor for a 2-piece boom machine or a tilt sensor for the tilt bucket. If the optional payload monitor is equipped, they affix two additional payload sensors to the boom cylinder’s hydraulic piping.

Then they move inside the cab, where they hook up the Wi-Fi router and the hard-wired vehicle dock. Mounting the rugged Android tablet is the final step.

Endurance in challenging excavator cab environments

This seems like an appropriate place to point out that excavator cab environments are not exactly compatible with equipment made of tiny moving parts, electrical wires, and glass. Especially not if you’re expecting that equipment to provide reliable, centimeter-accurate location information.

For one thing, construction sites can be hot, rainy, and any condition in between. And that’s before the machinery turns on. The 3DMG solution hinges on technology that stays interactive and dependable under stress — responding to touch, updating coordinates in real-time, and displaying sharp imagery.

“The tablet is the primary interface through which customers engage with our system. Our aim is to always provide the best user experience. We want customers to easily visualize their bucket position, empowering them to achieve a significant increase in productivity,” says Richard Clement, Deputy General Manager of Smart Construction Systems by Komatsu.

Rugged computers powering Smart Construction 3D Machine Guidance

Komatsu trialed multiple commercial and rugged tablet computers, and the strength of Handheld’s rugged tablets, their ruggedness, and intuitive operation won out in its grueling test environments. One feature they highlighted was the tablet’s physical button layout: side buttons for power and volume, plus three programmable shortcut buttons. “We like the fact that you can press the physical button without having your finger blocking the design on the screen,” Clement says.

Operators use their Algiz rugged tablets to connect with Pilot, Smart Construction’s proprietary machine guidance app. The app syncs data with company servers via the onboard Wi-Fi router. This allows site engineers to directly send design files in any format via the app, eliminating the need for physical visits to the jobsite just to plug in a USB stick. Operators can instantly receive and view these design files on their tablet, enabling them to immediately start digging towards the design.

The app reads GNSS receiver data as the 3DMG kit sensors detect the machinery’s posture, inclination, and directional orientation. The Pilot app provides side, front, top, and 3D views of the machine’s bucket, and it can display two of these profiles side by side in a split-screen view.

Operators can easily display cross-sectional views of the job site slope and monitor and work according to real-time measurements, such as the bucket’s angle to the slope and its exact distance from the design surface. If the payload sensor is equipped, the tablet keeps track of exactly how much dirt is being moved, so operators can load trucks full without exceeding capacity.

Reliable efficiency and safety in the long-term

So, just by adding a few sensors, antennas, and on-board tools, 3DMG makes digital transformation accessible even for small earthmoving businesses — like a fountain of youth for your digger fleet.

It eliminates personnel inefficiencies such as a site engineer having to travel to a job site, employees recording data manually, or a separate surveyor monitoring the dig. It also cuts down on machine overuse, fuel costs, and equipment maintenance by making sure the right equipment is used for the job and the right amount of time is allotted. It makes job sites significantly safer since design profiles can flag hazards for diggers to avoid.

As Komatsu and Smart Construction advisors have found, great technology and great support are at the crux of a solution’s success: “We haven’t experienced any hardware devices breaking down — the quality of Handheld’s rugged tablets is good.” Clement says. “Plus, the responsiveness and continuous support of the Handheld sales and support team are crucial for us, since we want a long-term partnership.”

Rugged tablets in excavators: The gateway to enhanced productivity in earthmoving

Challenge

Solution

Result

“I like how flexible the tablet is. I can take the tablet out of the machine during troubleshooting or training sessions, preventing any unnecessary crowd around the machine.”

Affordable 3D guidance with rugged tablets

Endurance in challenging excavator cab environments

Rugged computers powering Smart Construction 3D Machine Guidance

Reliable efficiency and safety in the long-term

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