Applied Intuition Inc, an industry leader in vehicle intelligence, and Komatsu, a global leader in mining and construction equipment, have announced a multi-year strategic partnership to accelerate the development of next-generation intelligent vehicles for the mining industry.
The partnership is described as the most significant technology investment in Komatsu’s history, signalling a bold step toward a future of increasingly autonomous, software-driven mining operations. “Applied Intuition will help usher in the next chapter for a company that has helped shape the foundation of the global mining industry,” said Qasar Younis, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied Intuition.
He adds: “The mining industry faces a perfect storm: rising costs, safety risks, decarbonisation pressures, labour shortages and an increasing demand for critical minerals as a national security imperative. To stay competitive, companies must build smarter machines that can react independently in real time. With Komatsu, we will unlock productivity in some of the world’s harshest operating environments while keeping workers safe.”
Qasar Younis, Co-Founder and CEO of Applied Intuition (left) and Peter Salditt, President, Komatsu Mining Business Division (right)
Komatsu will harness Applied Intuition’s Vehicle OS to deploy advanced onboard technologies to its
vehicles. The company will also leverage Applied Intuition’s autonomy technology and AI-powered
tooling for haulage and collision avoidance. Access to these solutions will enable Komatsu to optimise
safety and energy efficiency, while increasing overall productivity, accelerating product development, and enabling large-scale decarbonisation.
“This partnership represents a step-change in Komatsu’s ability to deliver autonomous solutions to our mining customers,” said Peter Salditt, President, Komatsu Mining Business Division. “Together with Applied Intuition, we’re combining mining expertise with cutting-edge autonomous software capabilities to accelerate the deployment of intelligent machines. This collaboration aligns with our long-term vision to transform mining through innovation, automation and sustainable technology.”
IM Editorial Director Paul Moore reached out to both companies for comments. When asked if the partnership start by testing some of Applied Intuition’s ‘smarts’ on existing Komatsu autonomous trucks using FrontRunner, a Komatsu spokesperson responded: “This collaboration complements and extends Komatsu’s current autonomy solutions, including FrontRunner. By embedding more intelligence directly onto each vehicle and enabling over-the-air updates, the new SDV platform will enhance capabilities for both autonomous and staffed operations. Customers should experience faster innovation cycles, improved interoperability and more site-specific adaptability.”
IM also asked if the focus will include more AI-driven autonomous haulage where mining trucks for example will be able to make more real time decisions without intervention from a control room – on that Applied Intuition states: “Applied Intuition’s onboard systems for autonomy, perception, planning, and safety process data and make decisions locally, reducing dependence on high-bandwidth networks and continuous GNSS signals. If the network or GNSS connection drops, vehicles keep working. Dynamic path planning also allows vehicles to detect and navigate around obstacles in real time, while AI-enabled collaborative mapping automates site updates and eliminates manual surveys. Additionally, our modern human-machine interface (HMI) delivers clear information, intuitive controls, and actionable alerts to remote operators and supervisors, even when no driver is present in the vehicle. This ensures the right insights reach the control room. It’s similar to how Applied Intuition is providing the onboard vehicle intelligence for Isuzu on-road L4 autonomous trucks. Applied Intuition will take a similar approach to Komatsu mining trucks where more intelligence is moved onto the truck.”
Will it include the development and pursuit of more mixed fleets where autonomous trucks can interact more closely and more freely with collision avoidance equipped ‘other’ machines? The Applied Intuition spokesperson replied: “All mines are essentially a mixed fleet. For example, a Komatsu autonomous haul truck in the Autonomous Operating Zone will have staffed light vehicles and those need to be able to safely interact. In addition to autonomous sites, Applied Intuition will work with Komatsu to provide collision avoidance systems for fully staffed sites as well. Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table (EMESRT) has defined 9 control levels for vehicle interaction with level 8 being warning and level 9 being intervention. Komatsu and Applied Intuition will be developing EMESRT control level 9 collision avoidance systems to improve safety for fully staffed operations as well.”
Finally, what can mining learn or gain from developments in the automotive autonomy sector? Applied Intuition responded: “Mining can gain significantly from autonomy developments pioneered in the automotive industry. Applied Intuition brings a new approach by putting advanced intelligence directly on each vehicle, purpose-built for the realities of modern mining.” It argues that value delivered includes lower total cost of ownership (TCO) with reduced hardware, networking and labour costs; higher productivity with real-time autonomy and AI-driven automated mapping to keep operations moving, regardless of changing site conditions; and improved safety thanks to onboard safety systems and analytics delivering continuous protection and actionable insights, even when vehicles are offline. It adds that it will also mean better sustainability, as optimised controls and electrification-ready systems will help cut fuel use and emissions. Plus it will allow for faster innovation – software-defined vehicles and over-the-air updates will bring new features and improvements to the field quickly.
The company adds: “Traditional mining autonomous haulage systems were designed with the safety case living in the fleet management system. What that means is every vehicle in the Autonomous Operating Zone needs to be connected to the fleet management system at all times. If any vehicle is disconnected for just a few seconds, all autonomous trucks come to a stop. On-road (automotive and trucking) rely on the safety case living on the vehicle with onboard vehicle intelligence. For example, Applied Intuition’s work on Isuzu’s level 4 autonomous truck can’t rely on every vehicle on the road being connected to a central system. The truck needs the onboard intelligence to safely operate onroad. Applied Intuition can leverage the work from automotive, trucking, and defence to develop the next generation autonomous haulage system with Komatsu.”
The partners argue that this cooperation comes at a critical time for the mining industry. “As mining companies look to modernise operations and enhance safety through innovation, this presents an opportunity to introduce intelligent systems that reduce risk and improve efficiency. The strategic partnership between Komatsu and Applied Intuition aims to meet this challenge by driving meaningful progress in autonomous haulage, helping reduce incidents on mine sites, optimise fleet performance, and support a safer, more productive future for the industry.”
Mining remains essential to the automotive sector, with critical minerals powering the backbone of
modern vehicles and securing the future of transportation, and is also increasingly recognised as a
national security priority. Critical minerals support nearly every Department of Defense system, including drones and fighter jets.
By 2027, the global mining market is projected to grow to US$2.78 trillion. As demand for minerals
continues to rise from increasingly complex environments, the mining industry faces a critical
opportunity to transform today’s operations. The mining industry must modernise and build highly
intelligent vehicles – using onboard intelligence, AI-driven mapping and safety validation to reduce
connectivity reliance and prevent costly mine shutdowns. Together, Applied Intuition and Komatsu say they are “propelling the industry into the next-generation of autonomous platforms.”