SafeAI releases operating system for autonomous heavy equipment

SafeAI, a developer of software for autonomous heavy equipment, has released its SafeAI Autonomous Framework, which the company claims is “the first operating system built specifically for autonomous heavy equipment”.

The company says that, with the SafeAI Autonomous Framework (SAF), companies can use both SafeAI’s infrastructure and industry expertise to accelerate their autonomous application development and create safer, more productive job sites faster than ever.

Off-road heavy industries know they need to deploy autonomous solutions to remain competitive. However, many do not have the time, resources or in-house expertise to build the solutions they need from the ground up.

SafeAI says its new operating system, the SAF, enables companies across the heavy industry sector to overcome these challenges, providing proven, production-ready infrastructure to help companies fast-track their application development and accelerate their transition to autonomy.

The SAF is said to be the world’s first comprehensive, safety-certifiable operating system purpose-built for heavy industry applications of autonomy.

Written in accordance with both MISRA (C:2021 and C++:2008) and AutoSar coding standards, the SAF can easily support various compilers and OS, and can be utilised in embedded and real-time environments.

“We’ve proven the impact autonomous solutions can have for industries like construction and mining, and we know this is the direction the industry is heading,” said Bibhrajit Halder, founder and CEO of SafeAI. “But not every company has the resources, bandwidth and expertise to deploy autonomy as quickly as they’d like — and that’s where the SAF comes in.

“In the same way that operating systems have propelled development in industries like on-road autonomy and unmanned aviation, SAF will shave years off development timelines to move this industry forward in a meaningful way.”

SafeAI hopes the release of the SAF will further advance the adoption of autonomy across off-road industries like construction and mining.

These sectors have long navigated labour shortages and rampant project delays; and while autonomy is poised to help alleviate these challenges, companies face high, and often prohibitive, cost and technical barriers to entry.

The release of the SAF platform follows a year of significant growth for SafeAI as the company continues its mission of accelerating off-road deployment of autonomous technology. Earlier this year, SafeAI announced its expansion into Australia and Canada, two of the world’s largest mining markets.

This year, the company also announced $21 million in Series A funding to accelerate its research and development efforts and spur global growth.