Tomahawk Construction deploys Teleo's autonomous technology on an active job site

Tomahawk Construction will become the first to deploy Teleo's autonomous technologies on an active job site. Teleo builds autonomous technology for heavy construction equipment. Tomahawk Construction's articulated dump trucks will be able to use autonomous functions to move material to build a residential community in Naples, Florida, starting in December.

Teleo has also made deals with eight new contractors, including Florida-based Ajax Paving Industries of FL. Collectively, the deals account for 42 machines ordered. Teleo has also added Ozark Laser, Murphy Tractor, and Position Partners to its global dealer partner network, establishing its dealer footprint across seven states in the American Midwest, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.

"Construction companies are facing historic labour shortages and incurring significant costs as their machines sit idle," said Vinay Shet, co-founder and CEO of Teleo. "We are seeing an unprecedented number of customer orders which demonstrates Teleo's powerful value proposition."

Launch of autonomous capabilities

The initial autonomous capability being launched by Teleo is tramming, or the autonomous hauling of materials from one point to another. Tomahawk Construction will use its Teleo-equipped articulated dump trucks for autonomous tramming across a Naples, Florida, job site where they will move material to build a residential community. The autonomous feature introduction will begin on three machines and roll out to 12 machines over the course of a few months. Operators driving dump trucks spend the majority of their time tramming from one point to another. By automating the tramming portion, one operator can run multiple machines simultaneously. The physical dumping of materials will be handled remotely by one operator controlling multiple machines from a comfortable command center.

"Teleo's technology has the potential to completely transform our operations," said Scott Lyons, managing member at Tomahawk Construction. "With Teleo, two of our dump trucks that have been idle will be put back into service to haul dirt across the site autonomously, allowing our remote operators to do more. This will help us to run a more efficient operation."

To date, Teleo has been testing the autonomous capabilities on two John Deere 333G compact track loader skid steers at its Pleasanton, California, proving grounds, and on a Komatsu WA500 wheel loader moving dirt at the Ouluzone race track property in Finland, which is affiliated with the University of Oulu.

Teleo's new orders

Contractors will deploy the 42 new Teleo-enabled machines on 17 job sites across eight U.S. states and Europe. Teleo will retrofit machines from brands such as Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, and Volvo for remote and autonomous operations and these machines will range in model year from 2005 to 2022. Teleo plans to have 20 machines on job sites by the end of 2023.

Ajax Paving Industries of FL will outfit two new Caterpillar wheel loaders with Teleo's technology. These loaders will be stationed at two of the company's asphalt manufacturing plants to load the bins at the plant. The plants are roughly 80 miles apart.

"The asphalt industry operates on tight schedules," said Andy DeCraene, vice president of Ajax Paving. "When our customers require asphalt, we must deliver promptly, making it imperative for our machines and operators to remain available. Allowing one operator to control machines at multiple sites is a significant advantage. If an operator is unavailable at one site, another can operate the machine remotely. This is a genuine game changer for our business."

Ajax Paving's collaboration with Teleo was facilitated by one of Teleo's dealers, Dobbs Positioning Solutions. Teleo says that Ajax Paving is the first company to introduce remote operation technology from among approximately 3,500 asphalt manufacturing plants across the United States.

Supervised autonomous operations

Teleo Supervised Autonomy, which enables remote and semi-autonomous operations of any make and model of heavy construction equipment, was demonstrated at the UP.Summit, an event put on by UP.Partners from October 4 to 6, 2023. Attendees witnessed machines operating at both Teleo's Pleasanton, California, proving ground and the Ouluzone race track worksite in Finland.

This event also marks the first time that remote operators can operate up to three Teleo-equipped machines.

Teleo's expanded dealer network

Teleo launched its global dealer partner network earlier in 2023 and is further expanding its list to include Ozark Laser, Murphy Tractor, and Position Partners.

Ozark Laser

Based in Springfield, Missouri, Ozark Laser offers technology to increase productivity, efficiency, and safety on heavy construction projects. Ozark Laser will support Teleo's users across Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

Murphy Tractor

Murphy Tractor is among the largest John Deere North American construction equipment dealer organizations. Headquartered in Park City, Kansas, Murphy Tractor has locations throughout the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio. Each location has a full complement of service technicians, field service capabilities, equipment, and parts inventories provided by John Deere, Wirtgen, Kleemann, Hamm, Vogele, Topcon, and now Teleo.

Position Partners

Position Partners is a provider of intelligent positioning solutions which sources and supports technology across the civil, building, mining, and geospatial sectors. The dealer agreement with Position Partners marks Teleo's entry into Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. With decades of experience fitting advanced machine control technology to every make and model of earthmoving equipment, Position Partners has partnered with Teleo to provide the company's advanced automation and remote-operated solutions to contractors.