In our annual feature on remote controlled demolition robots, there doesn’t seem much new to talk about  this year. Given that there are only barely three months left until the bauma fair in Germany, manufacturers seem to be waiting until then to unveil any news or developments.

Several manufacturers but only two dominate

One thing that we as an industry can be sure of is that, even if the news is not forthcoming right now, we can count on the products that are there doing their job exceptionally well. It should also be added that there are not that many manufacturers of these products with global sales and distribution. In fact, they are easy to count: Brokk and Husqvarna. But there are a number of other players who possess strong local presence in certain markets.

Amongst these manufacturers is TopTec Spezialmaschinen from Germany. TopTec has been active in the field of demolition robots for almost as long as Brokk, which was founded in the early 1970s. Over the years there have been a number of other small manufacturers such as Demec, Thordab who produced the ‘DMX’ robot and Finmac from Finland. In recent years, some other brands have appeared outside of Scandinavia. The German manufacturer Kiesel formed the company K-TEG and launched the KMD-RD22 in 2017. More or less at the same time, the American company Alpine Cutter launched the ‘Alpine Robot RDC’. Spanish company Euro Implementos launched its RDC 15.10 in 2018. ES Robotics in the UK released a number of models in 2019 under the ‘Akula’ brand. Also worth mentioning is Hong Kong based HD Engineering’s ‘HD’ range of demolition robots, with the company once being the Hong Kong distributor of Brokk robots. 

In addition, there are also a number of demolition robot manufacturers in mainland China, and for a while there was at least one Norwegian manufacturer as well. In last year’s feature, we mentioned the Russian robot brand Azurrus and also the Polish brand Elgo Plus, which should probably be considered more like a mini excavator with a hydraulic hammer, and which does not work in the demolition context. But there is a manufacturer of remote controlled demolition robots, also from Poland, that might raise some eyebrows.

Hybrid robots from ARE

Advanced Robotic Engineering SP. Z O.O. is located in the city of Wrocław in Poland, with its robots trading under the ARE name. The manufacturer currently has three models in its range: ARE 1.0, ARE 2.0 and ARE 3.0. The smallest model, ARE 1.0, weighs 1.1t and has a boom reach of 3.7m horizontally. The pump capacity is 54l/min with a maximum pressure of 180bar and is powered by a 15kW electric motor. There is no technical data on the company’s website regarding the two larger models, ARE 2.0 and ARE 3.0, but the range of the ARE 2.0 is 4.4m horizontally. The largest model, ARE 3.0, for slightly heavier demolition tasks, has a reach of nearly six meters horizontally.

What sets ARE’s products apart from other demolition robot brands is that they are the first to consist of a hybrid powered demolition robot. The models’ hybrid drive system enables the machines to run on battery power for up to 20min without having to connect to an external power source. The system is an asset, for example, when transporting the machine, with the machines own power source making it useful in really tight spaces. Battery operation in various types of demolition activities is certainly something that we will see more of in the future, especially as battery technology further develops.

Worth mentioning is that ARE now are targeting the growing Indian market and is planning to set up their own assembly in India for the Indian and Asian markets.

www.arerobot.com