Portable intelligence for construction machinery
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Roof X is a cost-effective virtual assistant designed to bring advanced automation capabilities to different construction vehicles across a fleet. Though not yet in production, it has already won a prestigious innovation award.
Roof X is a high-tech operator assistant that can be easily attached to the roof of any vehicle manufactured by CASE Construction Equipment. The technology can then connect to the vehicle’s controls to support tasks such as steering, braking, speed, leveling, digging, shoveling and more. Because it’s roof-mounted, it doesn’t take up the limited space within a cab. “We’ve finally decoupled the technology from the machine, opening up the possibility of retrofitting one machine or even entire fleets. We’ve done this by making intelligence portable, which means customers can stay up-to-date with new tech developments and innovations without having to buy the entire vehicle again,” says Antonio Venezia, Head of Advanced Digital Engineering at CNH.
It’s just the technology you’re upgrading, not the machine
A cost-effective and dynamic solution
Venezia works closely with Andrea Gravili, Technical Lead at CNH’s Advanced Electronics, AI and Robotics center in Lecce, Italy. Together they designed Roof X to enable construction companies to adopt new technology and automate tasks without having to renew or overhaul their entire fleets.
“The cost of modifying or replacing a machine every time you want to introduce a new technology is high and the speed that technology is advancing makes this uneconomic,” explains Venezia. “We also realized our machines are not always ready to host new technology.”
Roof X overcomes these challenges by enabling a machine owner to upgrade the technology as required at a far lower cost. “It’s just the technology you’re upgrading, not the machine,” he says.
Digital visualization of how the RoofX portable intelligence works.
Multiple benefits
Roof X has telescopic legs so it can be fitted to the roof of all CASE machines, no matter their size. This enables owners to attach it to specific machines as required rather than having to upgrade all the vehicles in a fleet.
This new technology also helps companies overcome the shortage of experienced operators in the construction sector.
“Roof X has an assistance function to help inexperienced operators or even an automation function if there are no operators available,” explains Gravili.
“Safety is increasingly important, particularly when it comes to complying with regulations,” he adds. “Roof X can calibrate so many aspects of how a machine operates that we expect it could help reduce accidents. This also plays to how contractors are awarded contracts. Today, they’re often scored on safety capabilities within the vehicles they use.”
Developed in record time
Roof X is quite a leap for CASE — even for a team that has already developed more than a hundred patented innovations. Indeed, it marks the first time the Company has developed something without wheels or a rotating superstructure from which a digger is hung.
The team has taken a modular approach to its development, sourcing and repurposing technology already within the CNH stable. This includes a camera and lidar systems capable of monitoring the environment and ensure safety operations. It also connects to the radio frequency receiver, guidance control, sensors and the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) antenna to give precise machine positioning. As a result, Roof X is being designed as a plug-and-play solution across CNH’s brands.
“Beyond what we have in-house, we are cherry-picking some technologies or specific functionalities externally. One example is a locking system for the legs to prevent them being tampered with or removed,” says Venezia.
“This approach means we have been able to develop Roof X in record time.” It has also allowed the team to stay small — just Gravili, Venezia and three others.
The idea behind Roof X came to the two innovators in 2023 and they began designing the housing of the technology and shrinking it to fit just a year ago.
“We had to think about how it would work and overcome lots of challenges before we eventually presented it to the Company. But when we did, they thought it was a great idea and gave us the green light to develop a prototype,” says Gravili.
The team has taken a modular approach to its development, sourcing and repurposing technology already within the CNH stable. This includes a camera and lidar systems capable of monitoring the environment and ensure safety operations.
Digital visualization of how the RoofX portable intelligence works.
Gearing up to go to market
The prototype was unveiled at the SaMoTer Verona construction equipment trade fair in May 2026, where it won the Innovation Award. Potential customers and competitors queued to see it.
The planned path to market is to test the prototype, which is designed to work with CASE’s autonomous wheel loader, and have it ready for commercial evaluation in November this year. Assuming all goes well, production is planned in 2028, according to Venezia. Down the line, and with the relevant commercial agreements, it could be configured to work with other manufacturers’ machines too.
For those wishing to get a closer look before its commercial launch, Roof X will be shown at several exhibitions. CNH has confirmed it will be at Brazil’s major road and highway infrastructure fair Paving Expo in September this year, and other shows are being lined up.
Disrupting the market
“We’re really looking forward to all the feedback, and we think Roof X will shake up the construction market’s operating model,” says Venezia.
“What we’re doing is developing a virtual operator. The concept has completely changed. We no longer have to modify a vehicle to make it autonomous. We can give you a virtual assistant. This means the return on investment should not be calculated on the machine, but on how many operators or unskilled laborers it can help.”
He says many owners want to buy the most advanced machines they can afford and sell their less up-to-date models. But with Roof X, they will be able to keep older machines and still reap the advantages of new technology. “It’s a huge change,” he says.
Venezia also thinks it could open the door to new business models that will allow construction companies to lease or rent Roof X as needed.
“This is a very ambitious innovation. No one else has decoupled the technology so it can sit on a roof. Yes, I think we will have a lot of challenges in the next two years as we continue to develop and improve it. But we have our eyes wide open to the opportunity and will solve these challenges,” he promises.
Venezia believes demand will be strong because he and his team have only just begun to explore possible use cases. Roof X could have many applications beyond the construction sector, he explains. It could sit on a boat, a car, or possibly even a machine on the moon to help build a future base there.
This is a very ambitious innovation. No one else has decoupled the technology so it can sit on a roof.
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