Professional operator and host of The Dirt Bryan Furnace recently got a Cat Command Station trailer brought to his home to test out.
During his trial with the station, he ran a Cat excavator, dozer and compact wheel loader positioned 2,000 miles away in North Carolina.
On this episode of The Dirt, he reveals his experience operating the equipment from so far away, the pros and cons, and what the future holds for this type of remote operation.
Caterpillar first revealed the station at ConExpo 2020 and since then has added equipment that can be operated remotely with it.
With a Starlink satellite setup, operators can run equipment on a jobsite from anywhere in the world. It comes with an operator’s seat, controls, touchscreen monitors and a large screen providing camera views around the equipment being operated. Users can control up to five different machines from the same or different locations. Standard machine technologies such as Grade Assist, Swing Assist and E-Fence can be used.
Caterpillar touts the following benefits of the Cat Command Station:
- Operator safety for work in dangerous conditions.
- Increased productivity – Operators can move from one machine or one jobsite to the next with the touch of a button.
- Solving skilled-labor shortage – Operators with physical limitations can comfortably run a machine from a station.
So to find out what it’s like to operate from a Cat Command Station and learn more about this exciting technology that Bryan believes could one day change how contractors think about their businesses, check out the latest episode of The Dirt.
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In This Episode:
- 00:00 – Cat Command Review
- 00:43 – Setup Time
- 01:28 – Trailer Comfort
- 01:56 – Screen Layout
- 03:40 – Operation
- 04:23 – Spatial Awareness
- 06:31 – Machine Vibrations
- 07:40 – Video Resolution
- 08:30 – Operator Assist Features
- 11:57 – Learning Time Needed to Use the Cat Command
- 12:11 – The Future of Cat Command
- 13:05 – Using a Global Workforce
- 18:00 – Final Thoughts
