A 26-tonne wheel loader that moves bulk material – evenly and with perfect timing. And it does all of this without a driver. In Bischofshofen (Austria), at the Group’s competence centre for wheel loaders, a research and development team has started the future of autonomous working. In future, this should also benefit small and medium-­sized companies and their employees in particular.

It is a grey December day. By midday, the sun has already retreated behind the peaks of the Salzburg Alps. At the foot of these mountains stands Liebherr-­Werk Bischofshofen (Austria), the competence centre for wheel loaders. But that does not bother the bright yellow wheel loader. Undaunted, it picks up grey gravel from the covered storage area and piles it into a large heap 30 metres away. Shovel after shovel, always in the same rhythm. Why it is doing this is not the question here. How it is doing this, however, is revolutionary. This is because the large L 576 XPower from Liebherr works fully autonomously. There is no operator in the cab. A white attachment is mounted on the cab roof with all kinds of state-of-the-art sensors.

On the sidelines, Manuel Bös stands on the balcony of the visitor centre, wrapped up in thick winter gear. He looks at his open laptop and takes a deep breath. ‘Seeing a machine weighing more than 20 tonnes in action without a driver gives you goose-bumps,’ he admits.

An autonomous XPower wheel loader will make its first major international appearance at Bauma 2025 in Munich (Germany). In parallel to this, largescale field tests are being carried out at customer sites to further prove the robustness and reliability of the technology under reallife conditions. Manuel Bös and his team fully believe in the technology. ‘We are in an evolutionary process with the autonomous wheel loader and are already developing the fifth genera­tion with a high degree of maturity,’ says Bös.

This way of thinking and acting over the long term is entirely in line with the Liebherr philosophy: ‘nobody in our family-run company questions the idea of working on autonomous machine operation for ten years. Quite the opposite, in fact. All divisions work closely together: the earthmoving division with its plants in Bischofshofen ­(Austria) and Telfs, Kirchdorf (Germany) and Colmar (France), electronics development from Nenzing (Austria) and Lindau (Germany) or the Liebherr Digital Development Centre in Ulm (Germany). We are all in constant dialogue, helping and complementing each other,’ says Bös.

Together, they have managed the complex technology in such a way that the wheel loaders now function as simply as vacuum robots in the home. ‘They just do exactly what you ask them to,’ states Manuel Bös. And he is already thinking ahead. The next step will be to network fleets of autonomous machines in such a way that they work together with swarm intelligence and while constantly learning. ‘We have made a start – and now it’s getting really exciting.’

A detailed definition of the working environment and the prevailing conditions forms the basis for autonomous operation of wheel loaders. To achieve this, three 360-degree laser scanners designed for robust construction site and off-road use capture the surroundings and create an exact map when first entering the construction site. With the help of a special evaluation algorithm, the system recognises all passable routes and possible obstacles. ‘What matters here is not the beauty and depth of detail of the maps, but localisation to the nearest centimetre based on the smallest possible amount of data,’ explains Bös. GPS is not necessarily required here. ‘The machines can therefore move reliably and methodically at all times, even in shielded environments such as halls or tunnels.’

This also shows there are many possible applications for autonomous wheel loaders. The Liebherr team is particularly focused on medium-sized companies that operate quarries, gravel pits or material handling facilities with a small workforce, for example. Wherever relatively simple, constantly repetitive material handling work is carried out, the developers believe that automated processes could reduce the strain on employees and enable companies to remain productive in a plannable way, even when there is a shortage of skilled labour.

In addition, it has been shown that autonomous systems can work much more precisely than a human in continuous operation. ‘Once programmed to the working environment and ‘taught in’, an autonomous wheel loader achieves optimum, even loading of the bucket without major energy and friction losses caused by dragging over the ground. This saves maintenance costs and keeps the resale value high for longer. In combination with wear-optimised driving, this results in a considerable increase in efficiency, which has a particularly positive effect in 24/7 operation,’ Manuel Bös explains.

In addition to efficiency and depth of added value, the developers have placed great emphasis on making the system as simple and intuitive to use as possible. ‘All the operator needs is a web browser and an internet connection. A company does not need to set up its own IT department for this, employees can concentrate fully on their core tasks,’ adds Bös. ‘And it works regardless of the type of drive. A diesel wheel loader can be equipped with this in just the same way as a future electric or hydrogen wheel loader from Liebherr.’

It has been a long and rewarding journey. With the support of other Liebherr companies in France, Germany and Austria, the vision of the autonomous wheel loader has become increasingly tangible since 2015. In 2017, the first test drives with wheel loaders from the XPower class, from L 576, took place. Since 2021, more and more size classes have been added. ‘The task arose from our customers’ requirements,’ reports Bös. ‘The autonomous wheel loader should be capable of multifunctional use – sometimes with, sometimes without a driver. Whether manually controlled, with radio remote control, via teleoperation over greater distances, or even fully autonomous.’ The first prototypes of an autonomy kit were developed, equipped with laser scanners, cameras, sensors and lots of electronics. The wheel loader is controlled via an integrated computer unit, ‘with centimetre precision, reliably and safely,’ as the chief developer emphasises.