November 14, 2026

By Lane Kimble

Park Allison, Sales Director, Aring Equipment Company
Shane Dunbar, Vice President Product Support, American State Equipment

We have come a long way from hydromechanical string line sensors and back up cameras.

Technology in heavy equipment today includes autonomous machines without a human in the cab, sensors that can stop a machine before it backs over a person, and devices that are constantly monitoring major components on a machine so they can warn the user of an impending failure before it occurs.

Here are three sources of information on three technological advances in heavy equipment:

1) Autonomous equipment

One of the next big technological advancements in the construction equipment industry is autonomous equipment operation.

Liebherr and other manufacturers are developing and testing autonomous wheel-loader technology to make repetitive and potentially hazardous jobs safer and more efficient.

Autonomous wheel loaders use sensors and intelligent control systems to independently navigate the work environment, find obstacles, and conduct tasks such as loading and transporting materials without requiring a driver in the cab.

The system is designed to work reliably even in changing conditions and can perform repetitive cycles consistently, potentially reducing an operator’s workload while improving productivity and safety.

2) Collision mitigation systems

Heavy equipment can now be equipped with systems that can stop a machine before it backs over a person.

This is conducted with sensors that detect people when reversing and can automatically apply the brakes before a collision. Kiewit is adopting this technology and more in their equipment fleet.

Here is an article from Kiewit’s “Kieways” magazine from 2024 (see pages 12-13). These collision mitigation systems are now available factory installed from several equipment manufacturers.

3) Predictive maintenance and repair

Would you like your machine to tell you the transmission is going to fail before it actually does? With predictive maintenance and repair it is possible.

Sensors check the speed, vibrations, temperature, sound, and many other parameters of heavy equipment components like engine, transmissions, and hydraulic pumps. When the sensors detect an anomaly, they alert the user that something may be wrong with the component.

This technology has been used in aerospace and other industries for several years. It is starting to make its way into the heavy equipment field. Many companies are offering this technology. One provider is LLumin.

Here is some information on their predictive maintenance offerings.

Interested in learning more? Feel free to contact Park or Shane with questions.