Tools & Supplies

A Simple Kit to Convert Excavator into a Robot

Installation on an excavator can be done in just a few hours.

Updated on

April 25, 2022

Built Robotics is set to scale up the production of a special kit that converts regular excavators into autonomous robots after it closed a new round of funding.

The San Francisco-based technology start-up has closed $64 million Series C funding led by Tiger Global – pushing total funding to $112 million.

Built Robotics commercially produces Exosystem – a kit that can be installed on an excavator to transform the machine into a fully autonomous trenching robot.

Installation and calibration on an excavator can be done in just a few hours.

Exosystem consists of a liquid-cooled computer, a proximity radar, GPS, several cameras, and an all-weather enclosure with a dashboard that acts as the human-machine interface.

Upon fitting, the kit is turned on by introducing an encrypted USB key and flipping a switch. Using the dashboard, the operator can monitor all the critical functions.

360-degree visibility

Six onboard cameras ensure 360-degree visibility, and Built Robotics claims that obstacles can be spotted in less than a second, in which case the system automatically halts operation until it is cleared to proceed.

Exosystem is designed to fit mid-size to large excavators, and 15- to 60-ton machines.

With new machines, the system works with pure electronics, and on the older machines, the firm will install its manifold to control the pilot hydraulics.

At this time, several excavators fitted with Exosystem have been deployed on one of the largest solar farms in northern California.

According to Noah Ready-Campbell, chief executive of Built Robotics, the company has spent the past few years researching and developing the system, which is now paid off.

“Our rental fleet is fully booked into 2023, and orders keep coming in,” he said, adding that autonomous trenching is the “first step” – with clients now asking for autonomous backfill, compaction, material handling, and loading trucks.

Pre-upgraded excavators

Customers can rent the system as stand-alone units for installation on their equipment or they can lease pre-upgraded excavators from the company.

Built Robotics claims that, depending on utilisation, clients can make cost savings of 20% or more compared to specialists working with regular excavators.

Once set into the geofenced area the upgraded excavator can dig whatever kind of trench is required within that area.

A CSV file with details on depth, grade, and other specifics can be uploaded to the system to tell the excavator what to do. Once this is done, the robot takes over and digging begins – and continues – without anyone in the cab.

“You get the same functions basically, but it’s fully autonomous because you don’t have a person in the cab,” Ready-Campbell said.

The only task available in the system is digging a trench, but additional tasks such as backfilling, compaction, and material handling will be added over the next 12 months.

Exosystem operates via a cloud-based app known as Everest, which allows operators to control the system from a computer anywhere in the world.