Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/933470
January 2018 | EquipmentWorld.com 24 Untitled-31 1 12/14/17 9:13 AM 2017 YEAR IN REVIEW And now for 2018... Don McLoud: The Trump administration's $1 trillion infrastruc- ture plan will face a protracted funding battle in Congress, where members will have little interest in a fuel tax increase after just passing tax reform. Gridlock will prevent passage in 2018. Tom Jackson: Use of GPS/GNSS and telematics technology will see strong growth in 2018 as OEMs and software companies make their products more intuitive and easy to use. 2D and 3D automated digging with excavators will be the big winner. Marcia Doyle: The Internet of Things has exploded this year with tool makers Hilti and Milwaukee adding Wi-Fi capa- bilities to track tools and manage use. And now De- Walt is offering Wi-Fi boosters to create Wi-Fi ability beyond the jobsite trailer. As the information demands of jobsites increase, and as 5G comes on board, look for more companies to piggyback their jobsite presence – be it a toolbox, hand tool or ma- chine – with more interconnectivity features. Wayne Grayson: Volvo, Komatsu and Caterpillar have all unveiled autonomous haul trucks, with Cat planning a major expansion of its global fleet. But the real sign of mo- mentum behind autonomous construction machines came with the unveiling of an autonomous compact track loader from Built Robotics. This robotic CTL uses LiDAR to navigate the jobsite along with GPS sensors and machine control technology for follow- ing site plans without an operator. Look for 2018 to bring more big moves toward au- tonomous equipment. As Denise Johnson, Caterpillar Resource Industries group president, put it in Septem- ber, "Autonomy is no longer an experiment." Here are some quick takes on what our editors see ahead: