Episode summary: Unlike the field of self-driving cars, the fields of construction, mining, agriculture, and other classes of "heavy industry" involve a huge variety of equipment and use-cases that go beyond traveling from A to B. The heavy industry leaders of today are no farther behind automakers in their understanding that AI and automation will be essential for the future of their companies. In this episode, guest Dr. Sam Kherat discusses the applications of AI in heavy industry, including: What type of capabilities and functions are automate-able, and at what level? Dr. Kherat also shines a light on how AI might affect the future of the industry within the next 2-3 years, and in what ways we can expect large equipment to become more autonomous. We'd like to thank RE-WORK for introducing us to Dr. Kherat at their autonomous vehicles conference in San Francisco. Dr. Kherat has expertise in the fields of robotics, autonomous excavation, and mining systems.