Bobcat RogueX Concept Is Not Only Electric and Autonomous but Also a Little Bad-Ass

This news should be about the world’s first all-electric skid-steer loader. Its name is Bobcat S7X, and it was unveiled at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. It’s the little brother of last year’s T7X and is powered by a 60.5 kWh lithium-ion battery.

It can operate for up to eight hours between charges, and it takes ten hours to fully charge its battery. The electric drive motors’ torque is as much as three times greater than traditional loaders, outperforming its diesel-powered equivalents.

Right, that should sum it up, nice to see you S7X, goodbye. Now let’s focus on the other Bobcat showcased on “the largest construction show in North America!” Because this concept should have been a star at SEMA Show.

First of all, it’s named RogueX. I don’t think that Rogue from ‘X-Men’ would have been interested in such machinery. But, as far as the construction sector is concerned, this concept is really wild. Because it’s an autonomous vehicle, it doesn’t need an operator cab.

This has tremendous implications at the design level. Compared to similar vehicles, the RogueX is very low, so it can go places where other vehicles can’t. Just think about the recent earthquakes in Turkey and how helpful such machinery could be.

It could also be used in environments that pose a high hazard to human health, like chemical or radioactive sites. Because it’s very compact and its tracks make it capable on any type of terrain, it could pave the way for other vehicles.

But mostly, it was conceived to “break all the rules” and “with consideration for the worksite of the future.” So, it’s a glimpse into the future of remote operation jobs in construction. One scenario is a human operator can accomplish more using several autonomous machines.

But we’re not here to start a “they want to steal our jobs!” debate. The Bobcat RogueX concept is interesting because it’s said to not use any hydraulics. There’s no technical detail, but at least we can tell you it’s using “advanced kinematics.” Whatever that means.

Another advantage of dropping the operator cab is that RogueX combines both vertical-path and radial-path lift capabilities, a unique functionality that places this utilitarian concept in a category all its own. I know, it doesn’t sound exciting like “less than 2 seconds to 60 mph”, but that will do.

The guys from Bobcat state that RogueX is just the beginning of what they call “a framework for what is possible.” It means in the near future we’ll get to see other iterations of this concept. Until then, we urge filmmakers to cast it as the sidekick of the next Terminator. Because RogueX looks up to the task.