The diesel-electric tracked work platform, built to be autonomous. A tracked carrier whose engine charges one bus, whose running gear and power module bolt off, and whose operator commands it from off the machine.
KAOS is one architecture in three sizes. The figures here are KAOS Core's, the size the engineering is drawn to.
The structure, the energy path, the command path and the safety chain are laid out for a machine worked from off board, not adapted to it afterwards.
A 180 kWe generator and a 160 kWh battery share one high-voltage bus, and the tracks, the tool circuit and the deck all draw on it.
Each track cartridge lands on a machined face and is held in friction, and the power module lifts out as one unit. The same assemblies serve KAOS Light, Core and Heavy.
Nine services cross the deck interface, and a module the machine cannot identify gets no energy and no hydraulics. The standardization is in the connection, so the module can be built for one job.
Grouped the way an integration engineer reads a work platform: the machine, its envelope, how it moves and stops, where its power comes from, what it hands the deck, and how it is kept safe and kept working.
The platformDimensions, mass and footprintMobility and brakingPower and energyTool hydraulics and coolingStructure, handling and recoveryCommand, safety and sensingMission deck interfaceSustainment and environment
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes | KAOS Light · KAOS Core · KAOS Heavy | three sizes of one architecture; track frames, power module, cab and deck interface interchange across all three |
| Size drawn to figures | KAOS Core CS-270 | every figure on this sheet is Core's |
| Drivetrain | Series diesel-electric, battery-buffered | no mechanical path from the engine to the tracks |
| Command path | Optical fibre tether from a stand-off station | nothing on the command path goes over the air |
| Deck arrangement | Power pack above the deck behind the cab, or between the track frames | chosen per configuration |
| Control type | Driving controls, or a seat and no driving controls | chosen per configuration |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Overall length | 5.40 m | design value, the CAD control envelope |
| Gross vehicle mass, design maximum | 15,000 kg | design value; the mass the structural load cases and the brake are calculated at |
| Track gauge | 1.95 m | design value |
| Shoe width | 550 mm standard; ≥650 mm low-ground-pressure option | design value, the envelopes the running gear is packaged to |
| Track contact length | 3.1 m per side | design value |
| Track footprint | 3.41 m² | calculated: two 550 mm shoes over 3.1 m of contact |
| Ground pressure | 43.15 kPa | calculated nominal static average at 15,000 kg on 550 mm shoes; the pressure under each roller is higher |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed | 20 km/h | design value |
| Working speed | 12 km/h | design value |
| Traction power, both tracks | 190 kW continuous · 300 kW peak | design value |
| Traction power, each track | ~95 kW continuous · ~150 kW peak | design value, one motor and one inverter per side |
| Steering | Each track driven and commanded on its own | no differential and no cross-shaft; the machine turns on the difference in track speed |
| Brakes | Spring-applied at each final drive, held off by power | fail-safe; brake state monitored against brake command |
| Braking deceleration | 0.35 g | design value, the stop the brake is sized for |
| Stop from 20 km/h | ~4.50 m in ~1.62 s | calculated at 0.35 g, ideal, without reaction or lag |
| Regenerative braking | The motors slow the machine as generators | not counted as a brake; the spring brake is sized for the full mechanical stop |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Generator output | 180 kWe net at the DC bus | design value, a diesel prime mover at generator duty |
| Battery | 160 kWh installed, four packs | design value, low-mounted in the tub |
| High-voltage bus | 800 V class; 740 V nominal | design value; 740 V is the nominal point the bus is modelled at |
| Bus voltage window | 666–814 V | calculated: two packs in series |
| Fuel | 320 L | design value |
| Engine-off operation | Standby and a short creep on the battery | the engine stops while the machine watches or moves a short distance |
| High-voltage protection | Interlock loop, insulation monitoring, contactor weld detection, verified discharge | on every build |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Tool hydraulics | 160 L/min at 300 bar | design value |
| Hydraulic power | 80 kW | calculated: 160 L/min at 300 bar |
| Pump drive | An electric motor of its own on the bus | tool flow follows the tool, with the tracks stopped or the engine off |
| Hydraulic reservoir | 120 L | design value |
| Cooling | Separate loops for the battery, the drive and generator, the hydraulic oil, and the engine and charge air | each held at its own temperature |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Centre tub | Fabricated HSLA steel box, 350 MPa yield class | design value, the primary structure |
| Running gear | Two bolted track cartridges on machined faces | each comes off as one assembly |
| Cartridge joint | Preloaded friction joint | friction across the clamped faces carries the load; the bolts do not work in shear |
| Power module | Bolt-in unit, lifted out upward or rearward on defined points | changed on the ground |
| Recovery load | 150 kN | design value, front and rear recovery points |
| Recovery proof case | 225 kN | design value: 150 kN × 1.5 dynamic factor |
| Lifting and transport | 2.0 g vertical | design value, the lift and tie-down case |
| Load paths | Recovery, lifting and tie-down loads end in the longitudinal structure | never in panels, guards or bodywork |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Operator command · independent safety · vehicle control · planning and perception | planning reaches neither the torque nor the brakes |
| Stop stations | Front and rear on the machine, and a stop at the operator's station | torque inhibited and brakes applied; a person clears a stop at the machine |
| Safety functions | Brake-state agreement, safe torque enable, overspeed, roll and pitch, isolation fault, contactor weld, module interlock, protective zones, watchdog | held by an independent safety controller; protective zones where a safety scanner is fitted |
| Loss of control power | Brakes close and the safe outputs de-energize | the safe state needs no message to arrive |
| Loss of command | The machine goes to a state defined before the work starts | set per authority mode |
| Perception | A 360° lidar and eight cameras | design value; every module is checked against the field of view |
| Software and records | Secure boot, signed software and configuration, role-based service access, protected event logs | required on every machine |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Services across the interface | Nine: structure, high voltage, low voltage, export, hydraulics, Ethernet, CAN, cooling, safety handshake | the interface is standardized so the module need not be |
| Module power path | The carrier's generator, or the module's own source | specified per job |
| Deck hydraulics | Pressure, return and case drain on flat-face couplers | a contamination-controlled coupler family |
| Module restraint | 0.8 g longitudinal · 0.8 g lateral | design value, through the hard-point grid |
| Module identity | Type, serial, hardware revision, mass and centre of gravity, speed cap, hydraulic and electrical limits | an unknown or invalid identity disables the mission outputs |
| Payload isolation | A module cannot enable torque, release a brake or reach the safety network | enforced in the wiring and at the network boundary |
| Parameter | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Field-changed assemblies | Track cartridge, power module, battery packs on trays | each on a designed removal path with its own fixture |
| Service state | Keyed disconnect; traction inhibited | zero-energy state confirmed at the points to be touched |
| Diagnostics | Identity, software version and health from every major unit; coded faults, with a frozen frame on motion-critical faults | some safety faults clear only at the machine |
| Cold operation | Battery preheated, heaters in the loops, heated fuel filtration | designed in at component level |
| Daily checks | Filters and fill and bleed points grouped, reachable from the ground | cooling cores swing or slide out for cleaning |
KAOS is a carrier drawn around a deck, built in three sizes from the same assemblies, and specified on five axes rather than chosen from a list.
KAOS is Canadian Shield's heavy tracked work platform. It takes standardized mission modules, goes onto ground a person should be kept off, and lifts, carries, tows, recovers and powers what is bolted to its deck.
The line comes in three sizes, KAOS Light, KAOS Core and KAOS Heavy, and they are one architecture at three scales rather than three designs. Track frames, power module, cab and deck interface interchange across all three, so a fleet holds one set of assemblies instead of three. Core carries the designation CS-270 and is the size the engineering is drawn to; every figure on this sheet is Core's.
| The axis | The choice | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | How the machine reaches the job, is carried, set down and set up | Lifting and tie-down points, and what comes off for the move |
| Work | What it does once there, from the four kinds it recognizes | The module on the deck, and the limits the machine adopts with it |
| Power path | Whether the module draws its auxiliaries from the carrier or brings its own | What the module carries, and what its builder can leave out |
| Deck arrangement | Whether the power pack stands above the deck or sits between the track frames | Where the heavy mass sits, and how much of the deck is clear |
| Control type | Whether the cab has driving controls or a seat and none | Who drives it, and what it does under command |
A diesel engine turns a generator onto one high-voltage bus, a battery on the same bus takes the surges, and a motor at each track draws what it needs from the pair.
Nothing mechanical runs from the engine to the ground. The engine's one job is to turn a generator delivering 180 kWe net at the DC bus, so it can be held where it burns fuel best while the load moves. The battery, 160 kWh in four low-mounted packs on the same 800 V class bus, covers a track biting or a tool stalling, takes back the surplus when the load falls away, and lets the machine stand by or creep a short distance with the engine off.
The generator is sized for what an hour of work asks rather than for the hardest second inside it. Off the road that earns more than it does on it: the duty is peaky, the ambient is cold, and much of a work platform's life is spent with the tracks stopped while a tool runs or power goes to the deck.
| Way of working | The engine | The battery |
|---|---|---|
| Standby | Off | Runs the sensing and the controllers on a protected reserve |
| Quiet creep | Off | Moves the machine a short distance on its own |
| Normal transit | Follows the average load | Absorbs and returns the difference |
| Heavy mobility | Runs | Adds the peaks on top |
| Engineering work | Runs | Backs the hydraulics; traction holds a reserve |
| Stationary export | Runs | Takes up the slack in the load |
| Recovery | Runs | Pull is limited and speed is cut |
| Battery recovery | Unavailable | Moves the machine clear on its own |
The same bus feeds the electric motor that turns the tool pump and the branch that reaches the deck, so power off the deck is part of the architecture rather than an accessory added to it.
Each side is a complete drive of its own, and stopping is given to a mechanical brake that power holds off and a spring applies.
Each track has its own motor, inverter, reduction and brake, rated at ~95 kW continuous and ~150 kW peak, for 190 kW continuous and 300 kW peak across the machine. There is no differential and no cross-shaft: the machine turns by driving one track faster than the other, and each side's torque is a value a controller sets. Top speed is 20 km/h and the working speed 12 km/h.
In normal driving the motors slow the machine as generators and return the energy to the battery. That is not counted as braking, because it works only while the electronics are alive and the battery can take the charge. The brake at each final drive is spring-applied and held off by power, and it is sized for the full mechanical stop at 0.35 g, an ideal stop from 20 km/h of ~4.50 m in ~1.62 s.
The centre tub is the machine: a fabricated high-strength low-alloy steel box between the tracks that carries the deck, the running gear and every recovery, lifting and tie-down load.
The tub ties the two track cartridges together against the twist between them, carries the deck and whatever the customer puts on it, and takes recovery loads into its own longitudinal members. The battery bays sit in its low centre, so the heaviest single mass is carried inside the structure rather than hung beneath it, behind guards that unbolt and are thrown away.
Each side's running gear is one complete cartridge bolted to a machined face on the tub, exchanged as an assembly rather than rebuilt where the machine stands.
A cartridge is the frame, rollers, idler, tensioner and recoil, chain, shoes and final drive, landing on a machined, indexed face under a ring of large structural bolts. The bolts clamp the faces together so friction carries the load across the joint; a bolt working in shear against track shock frets and loosens, and a clamped joint does not move.
Flotation is a specification. Two 550 mm shoes over 3.1 m of contact give a 3.41 m² footprint and a nominal static average of 43.15 kPa at 15,000 kg. The ground under each roller carries more than that average, and a module moves the load fore and aft, so the shoe is chosen against the highest pressure under the machine.
The shoe for work that asks the tracks for traction on broken ground.
For pavement and finished ground, where the machine drives to the job before it leaves the road.
A wider shoe floats better, turns harder and widens the machine, so a change of shoe re-checks turning effort and transport width.
The tool circuit is fed by a pump turned by its own electric motor on the bus, so full flow is there with the machine standing still, and the machine's heat is carried in separate loops.
Tools stay hydraulic, because hydraulics remain the right answer for a digging, lifting or cutting implement working into an unpredictable load. What changes is what turns the pump: an electric motor of its own on the bus, so tool flow follows the tool rather than the engine. Full flow is available with the tracks stopped, and on the battery with the engine off. Pressure, return and case drain reach the deck through a valved panel and flat-face couplers, and cleanliness is held as a controlled characteristic.
Cooling is several problems held apart rather than one system. The battery wants a narrow band well below everything else, the drive and generator electronics another, the hydraulic oil its own, and the engine and charge air the hottest. The hard case is working slowly or standing still, with none of the airflow motion would give, so the fans vary in speed and reverse, the cores swing or slide out to be cleaned where the machine stands, and cold is designed in: the battery preheated before power is drawn, heaters in the loops and heated fuel filtration.
A person commands the machine from a stand-off station over an optical fibre, and a safety controller that does nothing else holds the final say over hazardous motion.
Four things have a say in what the machine does, and they are built apart. The operator at the station is the command source. Independent safety holds the veto over hazardous motion and can only take authority away. Vehicle control runs torque, energy and the working hydraulics inside the permission safety grants. Planning and perception reach neither the torque nor the brakes, and a machine handed a bounded task carries it out while the operator watches.
Independent safety takes authority away without consulting anything that thinks, and loss of command sends the machine to a state settled before the work began.
| Safety function | What triggers it | What the machine does |
|---|---|---|
| Stop | A stop pressed at the front or rear of the machine, or at the operator's station | Traction torque inhibited and the brakes applied |
| Brake safe state | Control power lost, or the safety controller no longer executing | The safe outputs de-energize and the brakes close |
| Permission for traction | Brake state, contactor feedback or the interlock loop disagreeing with the command | Torque is not permitted |
| Overspeed | Speed past the envelope for the work, checked against an independent estimate | Traction inhibited and the brakes applied |
| Tilt | Roll or pitch outside the envelope set for the ground and the module | Hazardous motion removed and the machine held |
| High-voltage fault | An insulation fault, or a main contactor detected welded | Energization blocked or isolated; a welded contactor blocks re-enable |
| Protective zones | A person inside a protective field around the machine, where a safety scanner is fitted | The machine holds, then goes to a safe stop |
| Module interlock | A fitted module's interlock open, or its identity unknown | Mission outputs disabled |
The deck is a keyed grid of hard points with one controlled connection, and a module declares what it is before the machine gives it energy, oil or a working mode.
| Service | What the interface controls | What the module brings |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | A keyed hard-point grid, each point with a drawn coordinate and a load envelope | A mounting that lands on the grid, with no cutting into the chassis |
| High voltage | A dedicated protected branch; module connectors join the interlock loop | Its own contactor and fuse ahead of all it powers |
| Low voltage | A fused branch sized to the module | A declared running load and its start-up surge |
| Export | An alternating-current package specific to the module, earthed to the jurisdiction's scheme | Distribution and protection on its own side of the outlet |
| Hydraulics | Pressure, return and case drain through flat-face couplers | Couplers of that family, and a circuit taken to zero before it is broken |
| Ethernet | A managed connection through the machine's own switch, segmented from the safety network | Traffic that stays inside the class it was given |
| CAN | A controlled connection, with ownership defined message by message | Only the messages it owns |
| Cooling | A low-temperature loop for module electronics, where one is needed | Its own heat path if it does not take the loop |
| Safety | A safe-state handshake: interlock, stop path, enable and fault | A wired answer on all four, and a defined state when it stops |
A module is restrained through the hard points against 0.8 g forward and 0.8 g sideways, and it is released against a mass and centre-of-gravity envelope rather than a tonnage painted on the deck. Its identity carries its type, serial, hardware revision, mass and centre of gravity, the speed cap it imposes, and its hydraulic and electrical limits; an unknown or invalid identity disables the mission outputs. Every module is checked against the machine's sensor field of view before its configuration is released.
A module can draw its auxiliaries from the carrier's generator or carry its own source. Either way the standard sits in the connection rather than the box, so a shop can build the working end of a job without building a powertrain under it.
The parts that wear or fail come off as assemblies on their own fixtures, and the machine is treated as energized until a person has proved otherwise.
Each side leaves as one assembly on its own fixture and lands back on a machined face, so an exchange carries no uncontrolled alignment drift.
Engine, generator and their cooling lift out upward or rearward on defined points behind service doors.
The packs come out on trays with a fixture, and nothing is cut to replace one.
A KAOS is specified rather than picked from a shelf. These are the choices that name one, and none of them is a number.
The hull, the track cartridges, the power module and the deck interface are engineered at this size.
Track frames, power module, cab and deck interface interchange across the three sizes. Light and Heavy carry no figures of their own on this sheet.
Above the deck behind the cab, for service at standing height; or between the track frames at or below axle height, where only the cab stands above the frame line and the whole deck is payload.
One cab has driving controls for transit, yard work and any job a person drives. The other has a seat and none, for work the machine does under command while a person rides.
A module draws its auxiliaries from the carrier's generator, or carries a source of its own and takes only structure, data, cooling and the safety handshake across the deck.
Four kinds of work, read from a module's electronic identity before the machine feeds it energy or oil.
A KAOS carrying a fifth wheel pulls a standard road semi-trailer untouched; a tracked drawbar trailer and a tracked lowbed follow onto ground a wheel cannot cross.
Steel grouser where grip decides the day, rubber or road pads on surfaces that must not be marked, and a wide low-ground-pressure shoe for snow and soft ground. A wider shoe floats better, turns harder and widens the machine.
The lines that hold on every KAOS configuration, for every customer.
The page this sheet specifies, and the sheets beside it in the line.
The page this sheet specifies, with the pictures and the reasoning.
The KAOS Heavy carrier configured for mechanical land clearance.
Every product and platform on one sheet each, on the web and as a PDF.
A first conversation needs the ground the machine must cross and work, the job the module does, how the machine reaches the site, and the module's mass and centre of gravity in every state it will carry.
Not an offer. Enquiries are screened, international transfer is subject to Canadian government permits taken per shipment, and all designs, systems and technologies shown are patent pending.
