Honda has been testing an Autonomous Work Vehicle (AWV) at a solar construction site, to see how the prototype vehicle completes its tasks across a massive 1,000 acre site. The vehicle has been developed in collaboration with Black & Veatch, and is designed to tow trailers and carry construction materials around the site.
According to the press release, the testing period is seeing several AWVs working at the site in New Mexico, USA, with each vehicle running for around eight hours on a single battery charge even in the hot temperatures of the state.
The point of the vehicles is to free up workers on the site, who have to spend a significant portion of the work day transporting materials and gear around the site. While each AWV can only travel for approximately 28 miles at full load, it does still help free employees to be able to spend their time completing other tasks.
"With our test partner, Black & Veatch, Honda was able to demonstrate the performance of our rugged all-electric Autonomous Work Vehicle prototype in a large-scale construction environment," said Kenton Williams, U.S. project lead for the Honda AWV. "We believe the Honda AWV has the potential to bring greater efficiencies, higher levels of safety and better environmental performance to the construction industry, and to other industries seeking an autonomous off-road solution."
Honda has yet to announce any commercial plans for the AWV, but assuming the prototype test concludes in a positive sense, we can probably expect a more widely manufactured version of the vehicle to be on the cards.