Plantforce talk about adopting K Dive remote control from Kobelco at Bauma

Peter Haddock caught up with Sam Mercer and Chris Matthew at Bauma to find out and get their first impressions and practical thoughts on the solution that includes 3D machine control from Leica Geosystems and 3D collision avoidance from Xwatch.

Sam: “We’re the biggest user of Kobelco excavators in the UK, and this is the next stage in driving innovation for our customers.

“I actually got to operate machines from Bauma remotely in Denmark and Japan and it’s more responsive and easier than expected, there’s barely any lag.”

“But more importantly when you have safety systems that you are used to operated plant like collision avoidance it removes fears around remote working as it creates a safe space.

“And you can jump between machines which tackles utilisation challenges we face in the UK.”

Talking about the practicalities of using K-Dive in the UK Chris Matthew added: “Using Starlink connectivity and familiar 3D machine control makes this practical and cost-effective. We’ve tested it today and it genuinely feels like operating the machine in person.”

“The tech can be removed and reinstalled in new machines making it flexible and scalable which fits our operational model.” Sam concluded: “If you’re going to see one of these in the UK, it’s going to be on a Plantforce machine first.”