Autonomous LiuGong 820TE electric powered loader in action

Autonomous LiuGong 820TE electric powered loader with cabless design in action at its global dealer event.

Peter Haddock caught up with Mark Andrews to look at the second-generation 820TE autonomous wheel loader, designed for hazardous, confined environments and built from the ground up around electric and autonomous architecture.

Mark: “This is a fully electric machine with no hydraulics. That’s key for autonomy, removing variability and keeping performance consistent.

“It doesn’t just detect the environment, it understands it. It can plan routes, react to obstacles and stop or reroute if needed. And you can set it to work by simply swiping your finger on a touch screen laptop or tablet.

“Everything is about safety, precision and efficiency, making sure the machine is working at optimum performance all the time.”

Key features:

• Fully electric drivetrain with electric cylinders (no hydraulics) with six hours of continuous working and less than an hour to fully charge
• Multi-sensor setup including radar, LiDAR and optics for full site mapping
• Autonomous route planning with real-time obstacle detection and avoidance
• Electric wire steering on each wheel for precise movement
• Heavy-duty protected control systems for high compliance environments
• Intelligent loading logic to optimise bucket fill and productivity
• Designed for hazardous environments such as enclosed or dust-heavy sites

Mark: “Compliance and safety are built into everything. It’s not just about meeting standards, it’s about exceeding them. Here we have a cost effective solution that is so simple to programme and very robust.”