Zyfra operationalises unmanned truck-tractor to carry goods

Moscow, Nov 12 (IANS) Finnish-Russian digital solutions provider Zyfra said on Tuesday that jointly with the Nazarbayev University of Kazakhstan and KAMAZ, the company has completed a major international project aimed at developing an autonomous truck-tractor based on the KAMAZ-5490 Neo.

According to a company statement here, the development of robots for the load carrying class of vehicles will allow them to be used for the transportation of goods within industrial facilities, and will facilitate the implementation of complex programs on digitalisation.

With the project being divided into two stages, “Zyfra partially reequipped a motor vehicle and enabled it to move autonomously. For safety purposes and to ensure that it could scan the environment, the vehicle was equipped with lidars, radars and positioning systems.”

During the second stage, specialists from Nazarbayev University joined to further develop the unmanned truck on the testing site in Kazakhstan.

“Developers from the University added a computer vision system to the vehicle’s functionality, which enables the truck to recognize various objects – people, animals, guard railings, road markings – and independently change the route when it comes into contact with such obstacles,” it said.

In September, Zyfra deployed its first two autonomous mining dump trucks – BELAZ-7513R – with a lifting capacity of 130 tons in the mines at Khakassia in Eastern Siberia.

Zyfra has cumulatively earned more than $26 million from India-related deals and will offer technology and expertise to India’s state-run Modern Coach Factory (MCF) to help execute a Rs 150 crore contract to build international standard coaches for metro trains.