Cat validates Rajant Mesh connectivity

Working toward improved synergies between its autonomous equipment in the complex hive that makes up mine sites and the connectivity that will be consistent enough to keep all the bees informed of each other, Caterpillar Inc. has completed an in-house validation for Rajant Corp.'s BreadCrumbs LX5 CA radios, which will enable field trials with Rajant's product and Cat's MineStar Command for hauling.

"This validation is a key step to provide additional options for our mining customers when deploying Command for hauling," said Sean McGinnis, vice president and general manager of technology and global sales support at Caterpillar. "We greatly appreciate the support from the Rajant team throughout the validation process."

Well known for its networking technology, Rajant provides cutting-edge systems through its Kinetic Mesh, a class of networking that utilizes fully autonomous nodes to achieve high performance under the ever-changing conditions of a busy work site.

When combined with its patented InstaMesh routing technology, Rajant networks provide dynamic connections in a mobile environment, routing digital traffic along the best for optimal signal fidelity.

Kinetic Mesh and InstaMesh are assisted through its various mobile nodes, called BreadCrumbs, that are installed on mining equipment and key fixed locations. This provides a stable, robust, and self-correcting high-speed industrial network needed for autonomous and semi-autonomous trucks, loaders, drills, and other mining equipment.

Cat's MineStar Command is a flexible and customizable technology that enables potential customers to choose the degree of automation they would prefer for their equipment.

As no two operations are alike, MineStar Command facilitates the capability to adapt what works for one company to suit the site-specific needs of another – from autonomous drilling and underground mining to hauling or dozing.

Rajant's wireless nodes have multiple radios operating at different frequencies and route traffic through mobile nodes to improve connectivity and throughput in dynamic environments.

This approach creates more available radio paths, delivering uninterrupted communications where other solutions have failed. Caterpillar says its next step is to validate the solution with Command for hauling in production at a mine site to confirm performance and scalability.

"Achieving Caterpillar validation has always been a critical requirement for Rajant, since our dealer/integrator network frequently gets asked about supporting autonomy," said Geoff Smith, executive vice president of global sales and marketing at Rajant. "We are very thankful to the entire Caterpillar team for all of their support during this process and look forward to driving new business worldwide for all of our global customers."