New advancements in skid loaders could be on the market soon. At the World Ag Expo in Tulare, Cooper Gray Robotics demonstrated its new remote-controlled skid loader. The machine is only about 5 feet tall and is the first robotic electric skid.
CTO Justin Gray says the machine runs on rechargeable batteries that can charge in an hour and a half and can be switched out in 15 minutes. When they fine tune the model to hit the market there will be even less downtime. Gray says the real advantage of electric is no breathing requirements or exhaust and with no driver on the machine, operating it in hazardous conditions is not a problem. That fully contained system allows for easy upkeep, and the machine can save an owner a lot of money on maintenance and physical wear and tear on an operator.