Autonomy Advantage
The Real Impact of Autonomy in Mining and Large-Scale Earthworks
The data is in. Autonomous dozers are matching the best human operators and doing it more efficiently.
A new white paper presenting real-world production trial data from active mine sites, benchmarking autonomous ground-engaging equipment against skilled human operators under full operational conditions.
Autonomous haulage has been proven at scale for over a decade. But autonomy for ground-engaging equipment like dozers, excavators, and loaders that actively reshape terrain, has remained a harder problem. Until now.
This paper presents head-to-head trial data from production mine sites using CAT D10T dozers, comparing autonomous system performance against experienced human operators across full dozing cycles.
The results were normalized for push distance, material hardness, and geological conditions to ensure a true apples-to-apples comparison.
What the data shows
- +1.6% productivity (BCY/hr) The autonomous system maintained a slightly higher pace of work than human operators when normalized for conditions — with significantly less variability between sessions.
- -2.2% fuel consumption (gal/hr) Optimized engine RPM management allowed the autonomous system to burn less fuel per operating hour than human operators.
- +4.0% fuel efficiency (BCY/gal) More material moved per gallon of fuel consumed. Higher productivity combined with lower fuel burn creates a compounding efficiency gain.
- Up to $6.1M in projected annual savings Fleet-scale modeling shows that when one operator supervises multiple autonomous machines, cost per yard drops by up to 23% while total throughput increases over 500%.
WHAT'S INSIDE
The white paper covers the current state of autonomous haulage and why ground-engaging autonomy is a harder technical challenge, detailed trial methodology including drone survey validation and metered fuel data, session-by-session performance data normalized for push distance and geological variation, fleet-scale economic modeling across two distinct site profiles, the evolving role of operators in autonomous operations, and practical considerations for scaling beyond individual machines to full site deployments.
17 pages. Real production data. No pitch deck.
About AIM
AIM Intelligent Machines, Inc. (AIM) delivers the maximum safety and productivity level in mining and earthmoving operations. AIM's platform provides a rugged plug-and-play solution for a wide range of heavy equipment fleets in the field today. We take customers from their current mode of operation to autonomous operation with a rigorous 3-step process.
Contact us to enroll today and unlock:
- Maximum duty cycle: Operate across a wide range of weather and environments
- Zero-entry worksites: Dramatically improve ground staff safety, and upskill operators to AI site managers
- High-performance retrofit: Autonomy for a wide range of heavy machinery regardless of manufacturer, age, or size
- AI-optimized site planning: Increase throughput and productivity, massive
- Ultimate optionality: Run your fleet anywhere, even at sites without GPS or internet