Pronto.ai has launched two new autonomous haulage system (AHS) editions, creating what the company calls the industry’s first tiered autonomy architecture. The new Pronto AHS VLR and Pronto AHS VLR 360 join the existing Vision-Only system under a unified portfolio called Pronto Editions. The lineup targets operations ranging from regional quarries to Tier 1 ultra-class mining sites.
The announcement follows a recent milestone at Heidelberg Materials’ Lake Bridgeport quarry. There, Pronto’s Vision-Only AHS hauled over two million tons of material in a mixed-fleet environment in under eight months.
Highlights
- Tiered portfolio: Pronto Editions offers three AHS configurations matched to specific mining physics and economics.
- VLR editions: New systems fuse camera, lidar, and radar for zero-visibility mining conditions.
- Operational milestone: Vision-Only AHS exceeded two million tons hauled at a Texas quarry in eight months.
- OEM-agnostic retrofit: VLR editions fit any haul truck platform, including ultra-class haulers like the Komatsu 980 and Caterpillar 798.
Physics-Driven Sensor Strategy
The expansion addresses the physics of heavy haulage at scale. Computer vision delivers strong semantic understanding for quarry-class trucks. However, 400-ton ultra-class haulers generate kinetic energy that demands detection ranges beyond vision alone. Round-the-clock mining also requires perception systems that work through dense fog, dust, and snow.
“Autonomy is not a one-size-fits-all proposition,” said Anthony Levandowski, CEO of Pronto. “The physics of stopping a 100-ton truck in a Texas quarry are radically different from stopping a 400-ton hauler in a Chilean blizzard.”
Levandowski added that VLR and VLR 360 bring the company’s AI-first intelligence to demanding mining operations. These editions add active sensing designed to maintain uptime in zero-visibility conditions.
The Pronto Editions Portfolio
Each edition targets a specific Operational Design Domain (ODD) and cost structure:
- Pronto AHS Vision: Uses HDR cameras and AI-first design for quarries and aggregate producers. Pronto positions it as a rapid-deployment, low-cost entry point to autonomy. It is optimized for labor savings and retrofit simplicity.
- Pronto AHS VLR (Vision + Lidar + Radar): Fuses camera semantics with long-range lidar precision and radar’s weather-penetrating capability. The system is designed to maintain production through dust, fog, and precipitation.
- Pronto AHS VLR 360: Features a full 360-degree sensor array that digitizes the entire vehicle perimeter. It enables complex maneuvering in congested, mixed-traffic zones for the largest haulers.
“With the launch of Pronto Editions, we are declaring the end of the ‘sensor wars,'” Levandowski said. “We don’t use Lidar because we can’t do Vision; we use Lidar where it’s the right physics to solve specific customer problems.”
Availability and Compatibility
Pronto AHS VLR 360 deployments are already underway in production mining environments. The VLR editions maintain Pronto’s OEM-agnostic approach. They can retrofit any haul truck platform, including ultra-class haulers such as the Komatsu 980 and Caterpillar 798.
Learn more at www.pronto.ai.
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