Maybe the single biggest factor in the growth of drones from a controversial and expensive hobby into a mundane example of consumer electronics is the incredible rate at which these flying cameras became easier to operate.
Within just a couple years, we went from seeing countless examples on YouTube of $1,000 Christmas drones being crashed or lost to bodies of water, to new models that fold up in the palm of your hand with smartphone apps that made piloting them as easy as playing a video game or pressing a single on-screen button.
Similarly, remote control heavy equipment operation is not a new concept. Machines of all sizes have been remote operable, but they’ve mostly required complicated, expensive controllers so enormous and heavy that they require a neck strap. Until the introduction of Bobcat’s MaxControl, that is.
Bobcat is bringing the same easy touchscreen-friendly remote operation that drones benefitted from to its skid-steer and compact track loaders. Dubbed MaxControl, the new platform allows operators to open up an app on their iPhone or iPad and take control of a nearby compact loader within seconds.
Bobcat says the new remote control system can be equipped on new loaders and retrofitted on all loaders M2-Series and later that are equipped with Selectable Joystick Control. MaxControl allows operators to command machine functions and operate attachments from up to 300 feet away, Bobcat says. At launch, the app will be available only on Apple’s iOS devices, though Bobcat said an Android version was a possibility in the future.
