11 November 2026 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI), worldwide leader of industrial vehicle automation and creator of Mobius®, the platform that defined Industrial Autonomous Fleet Orchestration (IAFO), and RDO Equipment Co. will present “The Autonomous Fleet Is Here. Are You Ready for What’s Next?” at AEMP EQShift 2026 in New Orleans, November 16-18. The ASI and RDO general session takes place Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. and brings insights from large, real-world autonomous deployments to the fleet and equipment managers who run machines in the field every day.
Adam Gilbertson, Senior Vice President of Field Technology and Mountain Construction of RDO, will ask the questions he believes fleet managers would ask if they were standing next to Mel Torrie, ASI’s CEO, on the jobsite. The one-hour session is designed to be educational, focusing on what worked, what took longer than expected, and what the team would do differently.
The discussion is organized around three pillars of readiness: preparing the jobsite, preparing the organization, and preparing the ecosystem. Attendees will hear how site readiness, digital site models, connectivity, and safety planning shape a successful deployment; how operator and technician roles evolve, how to bring crews along, and how maintenance shifts toward a coordinated “pit stop” model; and why integration and interoperability across mixed fleets will define the industry’s next chapter.
“Autonomy isn’t a science project anymore. It’s an operating decision, and the machine isn’t the hard part,” shares Mel Torrie. “What ASI has learned is that success depends on the readiness of the site, the people, and the technology ecosystem around the equipment. Fleet managers know their sites and their operators better than anyone, and that experience is exactly what autonomy needs. This session is an honest, practical conversation about what it takes to get ready, and we’re grateful to AEMP and RDO for creating the space to have it.”
“Our customers’ questions about autonomy have shifted from ‘someday’ to ‘how soon?’” shares Adam Gilbertson. “Dealers see the day-to-day realities of putting these machines to work, from site preparation and connectivity to service and field support. We wanted to sit down with ASI and share what we learned so equipment and fleet managers can walk away with practical steps they can use on their own jobsites.”
Attendees will leave with insights from a large-scale deployment, lessons learned and best practices, a clearer view of how autonomy affects equipment management, workforce strategy, and project delivery, and practical steps to begin preparing for the next wave of autonomy, including five questions every equipment leader should ask before committing to autonomy.
