Autonomous Solutions
Upgrading a mining site to autonomous transport can sound like a big step. For many customers, the first questions are practical ones. Can this work at my site? What would it require? Is it commercially viable?
At Volvo Autonomous Solutions, questions like these are addressed through a site assessment for Autona / earth, our mining and quarrying transport solution. It is the first step in assessing whether a site is suitable for autonomous transport and how a solution can be designed around the customer’s operation.
Marcus Kreku is a Specialist Commissioning Engineer at Volvo Autonomous Solutions.
What is Autona / earth?
Volvo Autonomous Solutions offers two distinct services for customers. The first is Autona / freight which offers long-haul autonomous trucking on highways. The second, which is the focus of this article, is Autona / earth.
This is a complete transport solution for customers in the mining and quarry segment. Structured as a transport-as-a-service model, customers pay per goods transported while Volvo handles the rest. This allows customers to transition to autonomy without managing all the complexities.
Customers focus on their core operations, while Volvo implements and runs the autonomous haulage. And all of this begins with a site assessment.
Beginning with the basics
The process starts with a simple question: can this site be a good fit for autonomous transport?
One of the clearest early criteria is whether the site is confined. Autonomous transport solutions like Autona / earth are particularly well suited to controlled environments where the operating area can be clearly defined. In these areas, autonomy can create more predictable transport flows and reduce the need for people to work in potentially hazardous areas.
But that does not mean the site has to be completely isolated. Many industrial environments include mixed traffic with loaders, intersections, and other types of activity. While those conditions can be managed, the operation still needs to take place within a confined area.
The initial fit matters because it helps focus effort where autonomy can create real value. If those conditions are in place, the next step is to create a solution proposal to understand how it could work in practice.
Assessment from three angles
The assessment of a site is not limited to the environment in which it operates. A site is evaluated from three connected perspectives: technical, operational, and commercial.
The technical side looks at whether Volvo’s autonomous haulage system can perform the transport task in the environment in question. That includes the type of haulage, the characteristics of the site, and whether the conditions fall within the system’s verified operational design domain. But it’s not simply a pass or fail. If a site does not match the current solution, the site assessment helps identify what would need to be added, adapted or developed to make the operation work. That could involve introducing supporting measures in the site infrastructure or adding parts to the wider service setup. Such as developing the capabilities of the autonomous driving system or expanding the ODD based on the customer’s needs. The purpose is not to create complexity for the customer, but to understand what it would take to deliver the requested volumes reliably and in line with the customer’s timeline and commercial goals.
The operational side is different. It looks at how the solution would work in practice. That means understanding the fleet size, shift structure, maintenance needs, and how the autonomous operation would fit into the customer’s wider production flow. A technically possible solution still has to work in the reality of a full operation where factors such as road maintenance, shift changes, and weather can affect performance. For example, a route may be technically feasible, but if it is regularly disrupted by traffic or requires regular maintenance, the operation may need to be designed differently.
The commercial side looks at how that solution should be packaged as an offering to the customer. It defines the scope of delivery and the basis for an offer that meets the customer’s volumes, timeframe, and production needs. This is particularly important as Volvo offers autonomous hauling as a transport service. The result is a solution that is not only workable on site, but also clear and viable from a business perspective.
From first screening to site visit
The process of carrying out the assessment is cross-functional from the beginning. It often starts with an initial screening by the sales team, who look at the use case at a high level and determine whether it is a good opportunity to move forward at that time. If the opportunity looks relevant, a project team is formed inside the organization to carry out the assessment work.
A site visit usually follows. It provides the opportunity to understand the operation in its real setting and gather the information needed for further analysis. The team looks at route conditions, loading and unloading points, site traffic, production flows, and the broader operating environment. Simple road improvements such as wider sections can make a meaningful impact in how easily and effectively an autonomous solution can be implemented. By reducing unnecessary braking, accelerating and waiting time, these changes can help lower cycle times, reduce fuel consumption, and improve overall cost of transport.
A site assessent also tries to understand how the site will evolve over time. In quarrying and mining operations, the environment is not static. Routes change, load points move, and the production plan develops over months and years. Volvo therefore looks beyond the current snapshot and tries to understand whether the proposed solution can support the operation in a way that is robust over time.
Simulation shapes the solution
After the site visit, the work shifts into analysis and design. A key part of this phase is simulation, which helps turn site observations into a concrete and tested solution proposal.
Using simulation tools, we can model a complete transport operation, including all the trucks, routes, shift breaks and maintenance. This creates a digital representation of the site and its production flow, making it possible to test how different choices would affect performance before anything is implemented.
This gives a clearer basis for making decisions. The team can estimate productivity, evaluate fleet size and compare route alternatives to ensure the overall efficiency of the operation. In that way, simulation is not only used to validate a concept, but to design a better operation from the start.
Safety
At the assessment stage, the focus is usually not on performing a full detailed risk assessment. That work belongs later in the process. But safety considerations are still part of the early evaluation. Experience from previous applications, together with input from internal safety experts, helps identify how specific site features such as crossings, mixed environments or interactions with other equipment can be handled in a safe way.
A clear path forward
The result of a site assessment is a clearer picture of how an autonomous transport solution could work at the customer’s site. This typically includes a proposed solution and provides a bridge between interest and a practical decision.
Perhaps most importantly, the process makes autonomy tangible. There is often a perception that autonomous transport requires dramatic changes to an operation. Although some changes may be needed, especially around connectivity and confinement, the site assessment often shows that the path forward is more practical than many first assume and can match the realities of a customer’s operations.
At the same time, the adoption of autonomy is about more than the site and technology. It also depends on a readiness and willingness to adopt a new way of working. The most effective projects are often those where there is openness to learning, collaboration and adapting parts of the operation over time.
Contact us to find out if autonomy could work at your site: https://www.volvoautonomoussolutions.com/en-en/contact-us.html
