President Imayoshi
Hello. I’m Takuya Imayoshi, President and CEO of Komatsu Ltd.
Until now, the President interview series has served as a platform to share Komatsu’s strengths, outlooks, initiatives under the Strategic Growth Plan, and more.
From now on, the members of our senior management team will directly explain the themes of the Strategic Growth Plan and discuss them in greater detail.
Accordingly, this section will be renamed “Executive insight.”
The theme of this episode is the automation and remote operation of construction and mining equipment. It’s one of our measures to address labor shortages and enhance safety at customer jobsites, a key theme of the Strategic Growth Plan.
[Overview of the Strategic Growth Plan]
Komatsu launched its Strategic Growth Plan－Driving value with ambition, a medium-term management plan for the three years starting in April 2025.
The Plan’s core concept is to create new value to generate a positive cycle of solving social issues and improving profitability, thereby achieving sustainable growth.
Our vision under the new Plan is to become a collaborative partner committed to optimizing safe, productive and clean workplaces. Toward this ideal, we will advance products sophistication and optimization solutions for construction processes at our customer jobsites, pushing ourselves to create new customer value.
We have three pillars of growth strategy to execute the Plan: 1. Create customer value through innovation; 2. Drive growth and profitability; and 3. Transform our business foundation. Initiatives focusing on these pillars are underway.
Automation and remote operation, the topic for this episode, delivers solutions for customers facing labor shortages and safety issues.
[Significance of automation and remote operation]
In construction and civil engineering, there is an increasing need for infrastructure development, the replacement of aging facilities, and recovery from frequent natural disasters.
In mining sector, demand for excavating mineral resources, including essential iron ore and copper, is also increasing due to global population growth and the transition to a digital society.
Meanwhile, lower birth rates and an aging population mean that in construction, civil engineering, and mining, experienced operators are aging and there will be a severe shortage of workforce in the future.
Under such circumstances, customers face a significant challenge in achieving efficient, productive operations while ensuring safety and adapting to the environment.
CTO Kusaba will explain our specific initiatives.
CTO Kusaba
Hello. I’m Taisuke Kusaba, CTO of Komatsu Ltd.
[Komatsu’s R&D structure]
First, I will introduce Komatsu’s R&D structure.
Our R&D structure comprises the Product Marketing Division, the Office of CTO, and the Development Division.
These three divisions collaborate to integrate our proprietary technologies with leading external technologies to advance R&D.
R&D investments have been rising in recent years, with 119 billion yen planned for FY2025.
Under the Strategic Growth Plan, advancing automation and remote operation, as well as carbon neutrality, is a cross-business theme. Developing solutions to this by using applicable machinery and software technology is a key theme.
[Automation roadmap]
There are four steps in Komatsu’s development of automation/remote operation technology: Semi-automation functions; remote control/teleoperation; remote control/teleoperation + semi-automation functions; and autonomous operation.
In Step 1 (semi-automation functions), we developed and released the world’s first semi-automatic ICT bulldozers in 2013 and ICT hydraulic excavators in 2014, respectively. Komatsu also rolled out wheel loaders with automated excavation functions and semi-automatic forklifts with guidance function.
Our latest hydraulic excavator PC200i-12 features standard 3D construction capabilities and semi-automatic loading of excavated soil into dump trucks. We intend to increase the level of operational automation.
[Remote control/teleoperation technology for construction equipment]
Step 2 is to achieve remote control/teleoperation.
In March 2023, Komatsu co-developed Smart Construction Teleoperation with EARTHBRAIN Ltd., a Group company that provides solution services, and released the system to customers.
The system has enabled hydraulic excavators to be operated from a safe, comfortable office away from the construction site.
From a single cockpit, the system can switch between multiple construction machines, helping solve labor shortages and increase productivity.
We also launched a mobility office that incorporates this system. With enhanced agility, the system can also be used effectively for disaster recovery and other emergencies.
[Remote control/teleoperation technology for mining equipment]
Step 3 is combining remote operation/teleoperation and semi-automation functions.
Partnering with Anglo American plc, a major mining company, Komatsu started commercial operation of large ICT bulldozers with remote operation specifications at the Minas-Rio iron mine in southeastern Brazil in 2023.
The bulldozers are used to shape the collected ores and supply them for the next process.
This vital task determines mining productivity and conventionally requires experience and expertise with working on dangerous slopes.
The remote operation function enables this work to be performed from a safer, more comfortable environment.
In addition, by combining Komatsu’s proprietary ICT machine control function with the machine guidance system from Modular Mining Systems Inc., a Group company, the machine can be operated from two kilometers away, even by inexperienced operators.
[Autonomous technology for mining equipment]
Step 4 is autonomous operation.
Komatsu started commercial operation of the world’s first Autonomous Haulage System (AHS) in 2008.
Komatsu is the front-runner in the business sector, having deployed 940 units across 26 mine sites in six countries as of the end of September 2025.
Dump trucks in mines operate around the clock, requiring more than one operator per unit.
Mine sites are often located in harsh environments, such as high altitudes and low temperatures. Experienced operators are in short supply. Enhancing safety and maximizing production volume are common challenges for our customers.
Komatsu’s AHS helps address these issues by enabling significant labor savings and enhancing safety. Optimal operational control also reduces environmental impact.
AHS is the standard today at mine sites of major mining companies.
We are further strengthening AHS product capabilities and developing fleet management solutions for mine sites. Recent projects include developing an autonomous water truck running on AHS and co-developing an autonomous light vehicle with Toyota Motor Corporation.
[Collaborations]
While working to strengthen our proprietary technologies, we proactively collaborate with partners with outstanding technologies through open innovation. We aim to accelerate the development of automation and remote operation, respond to customer needs more swiftly, and reduce time to market.
In September 2025, Komatsu announced two automation collaborations.
[Collaboration with Applied Intuition, Inc.]
One is with Applied Intuition Inc., a U.S.-based company at the forefront of vehicle intelligence. The co-development involves a Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) architecture and an autonomy platform.
By integrating Applied Intuition’s vehicle operating systems, autonomy stacks, and tooling capabilities with Komatsu’s expertise in off-highway autonomy, the companies will co-develop next-generation autonomous mining equipment that thinks, learns, and evolves.
The equipment features an SDV architecture, flexible autonomy capabilities, and embedded machine learning and AI.
The partnership will enable Komatsu to deliver greater customer value, including revolutionary improvements to AHS, exponential productivity growth, and high-precision and efficient operations, setting us apart from competitors.
[Collaboration with TIER IV Inc.]
The other collaboration is with TIER IV Inc., a pioneer in open-source software for autonomous driving. The project aims to enable the practical use of autonomous technology in construction equipment.
EARTHBRAIN Ltd. is also involved in the project.
By integrating TIER IV’s autonomous driving technology, Komatsu’s vehicle engineering for construction equipment, and EARTHBRAIN’s digital construction management expertise, we will develop an autonomous system and a fleet management system.
We will advance the autonomous operation of our articulated and rigid dump trucks, aiming for practical use by FY2027.
[Future of automation and remote operation]
Komatsu is advancing automation and remote operation across a wide range of models and classes, focusing on product advancements and solutions for optimal construction process management at customers’ jobsites.
Applications in underwater and space environments are also within our scope.
In 1971, Komatsu developed a radio-controlled amphibious bulldozer and used it for dredging work in rivers and coastal areas, as well as for disaster recovery.
At Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, which closed in October 2025, we exhibited underwater construction robots as a successor concept model.
Featuring leading-edge ICT functions and automatic control, the underwater electric construction robot can be remotely operated to achieve the desired shape with high precision. We hope to use the robot for disaster prevention and recovery and for creating seaweed beds and tidal flats, delivering a new approach to underwater construction.
Furthermore, we are also conducting research to develop construction equipment for use on the moon’s surface.
The government’s Space Construction Innovation Project is underway to build a base for long-term stays on the moon. Komatsu is tasked with developing construction equipment for the project, paving the way into uncharted territory.
This episode was delivered to you on the theme of automation and remote operation.
In this field and beyond, in collaboration with our customers and partners, we will continue to commit ourselves to Quality and Reliability and create manufacturing and technology innovation to make contributions to solving social issues.
