Overview
- At CES 2026, Caterpillar detailed an expanded collaboration with NVIDIA using Jetson Thor for on‑machine inference, Riva for speech, and Omniverse for simulation.
- The Cat AI Assistant offers voice-enabled in‑cab help for settings, troubleshooting, safety alerts, and maintenance or parts guidance using Caterpillar’s Helios data, with demos showing power‑line avoidance and people recognition.
- A pilot of the in‑cab system is running on a Cat 306 CR mini excavator built on Jetson Thor and was demonstrated at the show, with the software operating as a fleet of AI agents.
- Caterpillar is piloting digital twins of jobsites and factories on NVIDIA Omniverse and OpenUSD and is applying an NVIDIA-powered AI Factory to forecasting and scheduling.
- The company previewed multiple autonomous construction machines and pledged $25 million over five years for a global innovation prize to advance workforce education.