Remote Controlled Demolition Robots Grapple for Attention
Published: 15/1
Our annual feature on remote controlled demolition robots is a rather limited, no surprise as many big manufacturers are likely holding off on making big announcements until Bauma in April 2025. Still, there are some things to talk about.
Several manufacturers, but only two dominate
One thing that the industry can be sure of is that, even if the news is not forthcoming right now, the products already out there are doing their job exceptionally well. While only Brokk and Husqvarna offer products with global sales and distribution, 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. Some other familiar small manufacturers include Demec; Thordab, which produced the DMX robot; and Finmac from Finland.
Recent years have seen other brands emerge. German manufacturer Kiesel formed the company K-TEG and launched the KMD-RD22 in 2017. About same time, Alpine Cutter of the U.S. launched the Alpine Robot RDC. Spanish company Euro Implementos launched its RDC 15.10 in 2018, while ES Robotics in the UK released a number of models the Akula brand the following year. Also worth mentioning is Hong Kong-based HD Engineering’s HD range of demolition robots, with the company once being the local 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
Hybrid robots from ARE
Another Polish manufacturer of remote controlled demolition robots might raise some eyebrows. Advanced Robotic Engineering (ARE) has a three-model line that begins with the 1.1t ARE 1.0, which has a horizontal boom reach of more than 12 ft (3.7m) and is powered by a 20-hp (15kW) motor. The pump capacity is 14.2 gpm (54 lpm) with a maximum pressure of 2,610 psi (180 bar). There is no technical data on the company’s website regarding the two larger models—ARE 2.0 and ARE 3.0—other than the ARE 2.0 has horizontal reach of 14.4 ft (4.4m) and the ARE 3.0, designed for slightly heavier demolition tasks, has a horizontal reach of nearly 20 ft (6m).
What sets ARE’s products apart from other demolition robot brands is that they are the first to utilize a hybrid drive system enables the machines to run on battery power for up to 20 minutes without having to connect to an external power source. The system is an asset when transporting the machine, or when working in very tight spaces. Battery operation in various types of demolition activities is certainly something to expect more of in the future, especially as the storage technology further develops. At the Indian convention and tradeshow Demtech, that was held in New Delhi in December 2024, ARE announced that they are setting up assembly in India for the Indian market.
