But Roads & Bridges was focused on Caterpillar’s technology, which was on display in the Performance Center next to the stadium. Caterpillar’s Performance Center featured updates on its latest technology, including VisionLinkTM and Collision Mitigation, as well as productivity innovations and uptime tools.
At the Performance Center, Roads & Bridges spoke with Olivier Garnier, leader of artificial intelligence research and development at Caterpillar. Garnier explained Caterpillar’s AI assistant, which gives operators a digital expert in the palm of their hands.
Roads & Bridges also spoke to Geoff Pirro, application specialist for Command at Caterpillar, about autonomous and semi-autonomous equipment. Cat Command is a system that enables remote operation, and that keeps operators safe by removing them from hazardous, dusty or noisy environments.
The system’s options include an over-the-shoulder console, or a remote operator station, which can be located on-site or miles away.
About the Author
Gavin Jenkins, Head of Content
Head of Content
Gavin Jenkins is an award-winning journalist based in Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, VICE, Narrative.ly, Prevention, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Beijing Review.
In 2020, two stories he wrote for Pitt Med Magazine earned three Golden Quill Awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “Surviving Survival” won Excellence in Corporate, Marketing and Promotional Communications – Written, Medical/Health, while “Oct. 27, 2018: Pittsburgh’s Darkest Day, and the Mass Casualty Response” won Excellence in Written Journalism, Magazines – Medical/Health, as well as the Ray Sprigle Memorial Award: Magazines, a Best in Show award.
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in 2003, he covered sports for the Bedford Gazette, in Bedford, Pa., and the Martinsville Bulletin, in Martinsville, Va. In 2006, he returned to Pittsburgh to write for Trib Total Media. Based out of the Kittanning Leader Times, he worked for the Trib for two years, and then he moved to Shenzhen, China, to teach English and freelance. After two years in China, he earned an MFA in nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh.
When he's not at work, he's usually playing with his border-collie mix, Bob.