This year’s Consumer Electronics Show wasn’t just about big screens and big AI. It was also about big bulldozers—that can operate underwater.
Komatsu, a century-old global manufacturer of heavy equipment (and principal sponsor of Formula 1‘s Williams Racing team), unveiled its next-generation amphibious bulldozer at the tech show held last week in Las Vegas. Marking the company’s first-ever appearance at CES, the debut product wasn’t a mere concept either but a fully functional, all-electric autonomous prototype.
According to Interesting Engineering, the underwater electric bulldozer has a battery capacity of 450 kWh and a four-hour charging time. However, the battery pack can potentially be increased to 500 kWh, which would give the underwater EV a running time of up to six hours. Right now, the amphibious bulldozer can dive only to a depth of seven meters (about 23 feet) because of GPS limitations. However, Komatsu plans to increase its operational depth to 50 m (164 ft).
Last I checked, though, Atlantis wasn’t looking to rebuild. So, what’s the point of bulldozing underwater? Is there a need for such equipment? For the last 50-plus years, the answer has been yes. Komatsu actually introduced its first underwater bulldozer in 1970. The following year, the D155W went into mass production as the world’s first amphibious bulldozer, and has since been utilized at more than 1,200 project sites throughout Japan.
Beyond everyday construction needs, such as coastal build projects to mitigate storm surge damage, the underwater bulldozer has been deployed to maintain rivers and coastlines. This includes river dredging to support harbor navigation and minimize flooding, as well as assisting in ecosystem restoration efforts.
“[To take] a bulldozer that was used on land and using it underwater, in a sense, it was an extraordinary challenge,” said Shuu Komatsu, team manager of the Komatsu Hydraulic Excavator-Bulldozer Development Group. “I think it is amazing that our predecessors at Komatsu developed this more than 50 years ago, and it is still in service. I don’t think there is any other construction equipment like it.”
Komatsu and Asunaro Aoki Construction will showcase the next-gen underwater bulldozer again at the upcoming Expo 2025. The global exhibition will be held in Osaka starting in April and running through October.