“At Bobcat, we are always pushing the boundaries to explore the next leading advancements that help our customers accomplish more and propel the industry forward,” said Scott Park, Doosan Bobcat CEO and vice chairman. “As an organisation, we are committed to innovating for our customers’ needs first and foremost, so that they can become more efficient, more productive and more successful.”

About the S7X

Like the T7X, the S7X is all electric, being powered by a 60.5kWh, lithium ion battery, features electric drive motors and utilises ball screw actuators for lift and tilt functions. Together, the battery and electrical powertrain have been designed to deliver high performance characteristics, with instantaneous torque that is said by Bobcat to be as much as three times greater than traditional loaders. The loader is said to balance sustainability and performance with zero emissions and is equipped to outperform its diesel powered equivalent.

The loader has been developed to provide operators with a smooth and comfortable experience with minimal vibration and nearly silent operation. It can operate for up to eight hours on a single charge depending on the application, giving most operators more than a full day’s work when breaks and downtime are considered. A full charge takes approximately 10h. “As the inventor of the original skid steer loader, we are excited to take the machine that created the industry and reinvent it all over again,” said Joel Honeyman, Doosan Bobcat vice president of Global Innovation. “The S7X is an incredible product with real world application that can support operators on environmentally sensitive sites, in noise restricted areas and for indoor operation.” At this time, the S7X skid steer loader is being debuted as a prototype machine.

RogueX: concept machine that breaks all the rules

The RogueX has been developed to combine technologically advanced features to make it a ‘one of a kind’ conceptual machine. While most closely resembling a track loader, the machine is said by Bobcat to be in a league of its own. As a research and development project, the machine was built as a proving ground to advance the Bobcat innovation roadmap, evaluate customer perceptions and test the limits of machine functionality. “RogueX was concepted with consideration for the worksite of the future and how a customer’s needs may evolve, with a focus on ease of use, remote operations, autonomous functionality, sustainable operations and features that allow operators to accomplish more with one machine,” said Honeyman.

As jobsites change and operators turn to remote operation, Bobcat stated that it took its concept further by fully eliminating an operator station. The machine explores the idea of operating where humans cannot go to tackle more work in more places than ever from a remote position. By building the loader without a cab and using advanced kinematics, RogueX features next generation functionality including both vertical path and radial path lift capabilities in one machine. The all-electric and autonomous concept machine is said to produce  zero emissions as it features a lithium ion battery, electric drive system and no hydraulics.

“After our successful development of building an all-electric loader (the Bobcat T7X), we wanted to think bigger, broader and take a leap far into the future,” said Matt Sagaser, director of Innovation Accelerated at Bobcat. “Our dedicated innovation team took a bold approach and designed a machine that breaks all of the rules. RogueX sets a framework for what is possible, and our team is just getting started on what is next.” RogueX is currently in the early research and development stage.