From AI ambition to jobsite value: Zoomlion’s vision for smarter construction

Zoomlion’s bauma China showcase will connect its AI ambitions with construction equipment, new-energy machines and robotics

The answer to all of these questions is yes. And these are just some of the challenges that have driven Zoomlion’s approach to intelligent machinery.

Ahead of bauma China 2026 in Shanghai, the manufacturer describes a strategy that connects AI with equipment development, manufacturing, construction applications and service support.

Its exhibition theme, “AI Driven. Smarter Future”, will cover 64 products and equipment sets, with new-energy machines accounting for around half of the planned displays. As the first company in the global construction machinery industry to develop embodied intelligent robots with a fully in-house technology stack, Zoomlion will also showcase a range of products, including bipedal humanoid robots, wheeled humanoid robots and robotic dogs.

The scale of Zoomlion’s presence at the exhibition makes a strong platform for its technology ambitions. For equipment users, however, the more significant story is how those technologies could address familiar pressures around operator availability, working complexity and cost.

Making complex equipment easier to operate

Large construction machines place considerable demands on their operators. Long booms, heavy loads and restricted working areas call for careful judgement, while coordinating several machine functions adds another layer of complexity.

Yanbin Liu, Deputy Director with Zoomlion’s Central Research Institute, identifies both operational safety and the difficulty of recruiting and training skilled operators as priorities for intelligent equipment development.

Humanoid robots form part of Zoomlion’s wider development of intelligent machinery

“The purpose of intelligence is to enhance safety and to make the operations simpler and more intuitive,” he says.

That gives AI a practical purpose. Its usefulness depends partly on how effectively it helps people manage the machine and understand the task.

Zoomlion describes a direction in which operators increasingly communicate their intended outcome, with intelligent systems helping translate that intention into machine actions. The potential benefit is reduced operating complexity, particularly where a task requires several movements to work together.

For contractors, this places the operator’s experience at the centre of the technology discussion: how much information must they process, and how easily can they act on it?

Improving awareness around the machine

Visibility is one area where Zoomlion believes intelligent equipment can make an important contribution.

“Our heavy machines have integrated AI vision so that they can detect their surroundings in real time,” says Liu “This equipment is also fitted with radar and can detect the size of surrounding objects.”

The company also describes auxiliary systems that alert operators to unusual conditions.

This is important where you have machinery working close to structures, other equipment or people. Better information about the surrounding environment can support decisions, especially where a machine’s size or configuration makes direct observation difficult.

Also, a long boom can vibrate under certain conditions. Liu says Zoomlion has developed technologies to respond proactively to reduce those vibrations, with operating parameters adjusted to suit different environments.

These applications give intelligence two distinct roles: helping operators perceive a developing situation and helping equipment respond to it.

Building a more intuitive interface

Another part of Zoomlion’s approach concerns the relationship between people and machine controls.

Long booms and coordinated movements illustrate the operating complexity Zoomlion aims to address through intelligent controls

The company says it is integrating large language models and voice recognition into human-machine interaction features, aiming to understand terminology and languages used by customers in different countries.

For an international manufacturer, this connects technology development with accessibility. On today’s complex jobsites, a machine needs to communicate effectively with the people operating it.

Adding functions, however, can create additional demands for operators unless controls and information remain straightforward. Zoomlion’s emphasis on simpler operation suggests usability will be an important measure of its intelligent technologies.

For Bauma China visitors, demonstrations will provide an opportunity to explore that relationship: what the operator asks the machine to do, what assistance it provides and how clearly it communicates its response.

Connecting machines across the working process

At the Shanghai exhibition, Zoomlion aims to show that its ambitions extend well beyond individual machine functions.

Its planned displays include an AI-enabled demonstration linking concrete production, transport, pumping and placement. An earthmoving and mining demonstration area will also present unmanned collaborative construction.

The intention is to show how intelligence can contribute across a working sequence.

Wei Wang, Head of the Marketing Promotion Department of Zoomlion Overseas, says the exhibition will connect technology development with its industrial applications.

“This theme has run through four areas of our exhibition this year,” says Wang. “They are smart manufacturing, smart products, smart applications, and smart services.”

For contractors, the connections matter because one machine’s performance depends partly on the processes around it. A capable excavator, pump or truck can still spend time waiting if the wider operation is poorly coordinated.

Live demonstrations, simulations and videos will give visitors an opportunity to examine how Zoomlion proposes to bring those processes together.

Bringing intelligence and new energy together

Energy costs provide another practical reason to examine the relationship between new power systems and intelligent operation.

Liu says the two developments will complement each other.

“By integrating intelligence, we are essentially making the operations more efficient,” he says. “So, combining new energy and intelligence, we are able to cut operating costs throughout the life cycle of our products at a very large margin while creating substantial customer value.”

Zoomlion says there is the potential for users to see energy-cost reductions of 15 to 30% for its hybrid products and at least 50% for its new-energy products.

The company’s range includes electric, hybrid and plug-in solutions. Planned exhibits at Bauma China include a 73 m electric boom pump truck and a 400-tonne cable-electric excavator, illustrating the breadth of applications being considered.

Adapting technology to local requirements

Global availability also requires attention to local conditions and certification.

Wang says the exhibition will reflect requirements across several overseas markets.

“We are prioritising the demands of customers,” he says, so, at this year’s Bauma, we are exhibiting products specifically for Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. All these products are compliant with local certification requirements.”

Customers will also have opportunities to explore Zoomlion Smart City and its Smart Factory beyond the Shanghai exhibition

Examples discussed include a luffing-jib tower crane for Australia, a right-hand-drive concrete mixer truck and a three-axle, 26-tonne-class concrete pump truck with a 40 m boom.

These details matter because, as Wang says, adoption begins with a machine’s suitability for its market and task.

For contractors considering intelligent equipment, Zoomlion recommends detailed discussions about working scenarios and operational requirements. Those conversations provide the basis for selecting suitable equipment and technologies from its broader portfolio.

Seeing the technology in context

Zoomlion’s Shanghai presence will span two venues. The Shanghai New International Expo Centre (Booth No. A63, A65, A66, A67,A68, B58, B66, B68) will focus on principal machinery displays and AI applications, while the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center (Booth No. H1.277) will feature embodied intelligence and humanoid robots.

Customer exchanges and manufacturing visits are also planned to give overseas visitors a fuller understanding of the company’s capabilities.

“I believe this exhibition is a good opportunity for us to deepen our ties with our customers because they have travelled so far to come to China,” says Wang. “But we also think that it is not enough if they only visit our booth in Shanghai.”

To extend that experience, Zoomlion is arranging dedicated exchanges with its headquarters and product teams, alongside opportunities for some overseas customers to visit its manufacturing facilities. Plans include charter flights from Shanghai to Zoomlion Smart City, with some customers also visiting smart manufacturing lines at its industrial parks.

These visits will give customers an opportunity to explore the manufacturing systems behind the machines on display, extending the discussion from intelligent equipment to how it is produced.

For contractors, useful conversations will start from their own operations: where complexity arises, what support operators need and which costs offer scope for improvement.

From its Shanghai displays to its Smart City and smart factories, Zoomlion aims to give visitors a clearer understanding of how its approach to intelligent machinery could translate into practical value.

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This article was produced by KHL Content Studio, in collaboration with experts from Zoomlion

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All images courtesy of Zoomlion

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