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Fri March 29 2024

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Bouygues teams up for remote operation of plant

12 Nov 20 Bouygues Construction has signed a three-year cooperation agreement with Lextan, a specialist in remote driving systems.

The two will work together to carry out research & development on remote and assisted driving of construction site machines.

In parallel with the agreement, Lextan is raising seed capital through bodies including Construction Venture, Bouygues Construction’s investment vehicle for start-ups. The capital will enable it to increase its equity and reinforce its R&D team.

Earlier cooperation with Bouygues has already resulted in the development of a project for operating a crane from the ground, which forms part of a Bouygues Construction R&D programme led by Bouygues Construction Matériel.

The initiative seeks to offer crane drivers video assistance, augmented reality and even a degree of automation. Lextan proved that its technology makes remote operation possible during an initial experimental phase and a demonstrator will be brought into service on a construction site during 2021.

The solution will also feature driving assistance with video object recognition and an interactive dashboard.

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Patrick N’Kodia, director of Bouygues Construction Matériel, said: “While thinking about the alternatives to the crane lift, compulsory for all cranes above thirty metres since January 2019, we worked with Lextan on operating the crane from the ground. As we were exploring this subject, we realised there were many other advantages.”

The functions of this system are designed to control construction site machines in a different way from today by simplifying the work of drivers in complete safety and increasing their abilities through new functions.

Marc Lambert, founder and CEO of Lextan, said: “We are delighted to support, and to have the support of, Bouygues Construction, its R&D and its subsidiaries in the technological evolution of their tools and working methods and more generally to contribute to the modernisation and digital transformation of the construction sector.”

The aim of the cooperation between Lextan and Bouygues Construction is to implement the new remote driving systems over the next three years.

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