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    "story_id": "mp-2026-09-25-010",
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    "headline": "The Excavator Lifted 6.52 Kilograms Per Cycle",
    "slug": "the-excavator-lifted-6-52-kilograms-per-cycle",
    "dek": "A scaled hydraulic machine combined LiDAR target selection with learned approach, digging and lifting policies.",
    "summary": "A scaled hydraulic machine combined LiDAR target selection with learned approach, digging and lifting policies.",
    "body_text": "A learning-based excavation stack selected targets from LiDAR elevation maps, used reinforcement learning for approach and loaded transport, and used imitation learning for vision-based digging and lifting. On a scaled hydraulic excavator, the learned digging policy averaged 6.52 kilograms per completed cycle versus 2.68 kilograms for a fixed-dig baseline. Three five-scoop runs demonstrated consecutive operation as the pile changed, but the evidence remains a scaled experimental system rather than full-size field deployment.",
    "why_it_matters": "A scaled hydraulic machine combined LiDAR target selection with learned approach, digging and lifting policies.",
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    "first_published_at": "2026-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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    "tags": [
      "autonomous excavation",
      "LiDAR",
      "reinforcement learning"
    ],
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-09-25-010",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2609.29750",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
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      "published_at": "2026-09-24T09:01:26.000-04:00",
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    "title": "The Excavator Lifted 6.52 Kilograms Per Cycle",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
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