They do not get tired and do not make mistakes. Advantages of unmanned cargo trucks were evaluated in Messoyakha

Tests of unmanned cargo trucks were successfully fulfilled in the East-Messoyakhskoye field. The joint project of “Gazprom Neft” and the KAMAZ group of companies was implemented with support from the government of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The main goal of the tests is to confirm potential effectiveness of use of unmanned vehicles, which allow improving safety of cargo transportation and optimizing deliveries to hard-to-reach regions.

The amendments to regulatory documents initiated by the Ministry of industry and trade of the Russian Federation aimed at simplification of the mechanism of allowance of highly automated vehicles to public roads and extension of geography of the experiment on their testing became the legal basis for implementation of the project.

“Yamal is a region where advanced innovative technologies are being introduced. They include unmanned control of cargo trucks. Automated cargo transportation is significantly more efficient - it is safer and faster. Such solutions are the future, and they will inevitably appear in different industries. Those, who are the first to introduce unmanned technologies, will be considerably ahead of their competitors in the coming years”, said Dmitry Artyukhov, the governor of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

During the tests in the East-Messoyakhskoye field the unmanned cars demonstrated full potential of the digital resource: the ability to move along specified routes with high accuracy, to exchange information through duplicated communication systems, to recognize obstacles in a split second and to predict the trajectory of traffic with consideration of the current road situation. Control over movement of the unmanned cargo trucks on the territory of the autonomic oil field and winter roads through the Gydan tundra was fulfilled from the control center equipped in the East-Messoyakhskoye field.

As the participants of the project note, the main advantage of the unmanned vehicles is in unlimited working capacity, as the press service of the governor of Yamal informs. The vehicles equipped with the autonomic control system do not get tired and do not make mistakes even on difficult routes, in conditions of low temperatures, snowstorms and poor visibility. In comparison with its manned analogues, unmanned KAMAZ trucks are 50% safer and allow reducing cargo transportation costs by 10-15%. During the arctic test drive the KAMAZ vehicles covered 2.5 thousand kilometers without an accident. The tests on the Eastern Messoyakha allowed oil workers to fully evaluate potential of the new technologies in real conditions of the Arctic and to receive confirmation of the possibility of uninterrupted operation of the unmanned cargo trucks during typical operations in northern oil fields.

“Arctic projects make up a significant part of our production portfolio. We have learned to overcome challenges associated with extreme climate conditions and remoteness of our assets from developed infrastructure through creation of engineering and technological solutions that are not available anywhere else in the world. We are constantly looking for new opportunities to improve efficiency and safety of oil production. It includes use of unmanned technologies for monitoring of industrial facilities and delivery of cargoes. “Gazprom Neft” implements these innovations together with partners from other industries, creating stimuli for development of many Russian industries”, said Vadim Yakovlev, the deputy director general for exploration and production at “Gazprom Neft”.

According to Irek Gumerov, the deputy director general of KAMAZ for development, despite the fact that unmanned technologies are a relatively new phenomenon in Russia, the demand for KAMAZ unmanned vehicles became obvious already several years ago, and the company has been working in this area for long time.

"Today interest in introduction of unmanned transportation among industrial enterprises is increasing, and the legislative base is gradually being formed, what opens up new opportunities for us. I am sure that with solving of legal issues, which have held back production of autonomic wheeled transport in the country for long time, the topic will receive new development. Having sufficient experience and potential in the sphere of development of innovative transport with unmanned control technology, KAMAZ is ready to offer its high-tech solutions to Russian companies and to assist partners in implementation of their business projects”, said Irek Gumerov.