Shuanglin’s autonomous, distributed drive, battery multi-axle mining truck
There have been some high profile multi-axle mining truck projects over the years – including the 220 t WTW220E from China Space Sanjiang Group (CSSG) in Wuhan, Hubei Province, with 16 wheels grouped into 8 pairs of which two are thought to have been built; and the 218 t class European Truck Factory (ETF) MT-240 – of which one unit was built in Maribor, Slovenia – it had five steerable axles and 10 wheels.
Now there is a new model out, built under the same principle of deploying multiple modular and independent wheel units but this time in the form of so-called distributed battery electric drive-by-wire corner modules. Built by Shuanglin Technology in Qingpu District, Shanghai, the 158 t class multi-axle autonomous ‘K7’ was unveiled on April 18.
The ceremony was presided over by Qian Xueming, General Manager of Shuanglin Technology, with guests from mining engineering and construction group China Railway 19th Bureau, Ordos High-Tech Zone, Ninghai County Government, Tsinghua University, Northeastern University and others. Additional company executives included Wu Jianbin, Chairman of Shuanglin Group and Zhang Zisheng, Chairman of Shuanglin Technology.
Zisheng also discussed the strategic plan of mining card business. He pointed out that the corner module intelligent chassis used on the truck elevate it to a native wire-controlled, distributed intelligence, and independently moving wheeled robot, marking a change from functional vehicle to an autonomous thinking robot. The intelligent chassis Shuanglin says offers exceptional manoeuvrability – allowing the K7 to move sideways and pivot on the spot, allowing it to operate in narrow pits and across complex, sloped roadways. Some have even likened the sideways movement to the truck walking like a crab.
Each wheel has its own compact unit for driving, steering and braking. These modules are controlled electronically rather than mechanically, allowing for better control. The design and the redundancy also allows the vehicle to maintain up to 70% of its hauling capacity even if part of the system failed. It can also recover up to 85% of its kinetic energy through regenerative braking.
Shuanglin says it intends to create a full range of unmanned mining trucks from 128 t to the 248 t class, “and is committed to becoming the world’s leading provider of intelligent transmission drive solutions, reconstructing the future of heavy-duty equipment and mine transportation with extreme intelligence, efficiency, safety and cost reduction.” It says the truck’s major advantages include a full-wire chassis, L4-level unmanned driving system and five-minute ultra-fast battery swapping.
Professor Huang Jin of Tsinghua University also talked about the distributed drive angle module core technology used, while Professor Pan Ji’an of Northeastern University shared the latest on autonomous driving and cloud-controlled intelligent decision-making technology in mining trucks.
Shuanglin Technology also completed a strategic signing with Luoyang Yu’an Blasting Engineering Co Ltd and Beijing Fengqi Technology Co Ltd, and said it will carry out in-depth technology and business collaboration in the fields of all electric unmanned mining trucks, smart mine unmanned transportation systems, and heavy-duty intelligent equipment.
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