Watch: 8 past concept machines of the future

Futuristic technologies aren't always just flying cars and time machines - manufacturers also have visions of futuristic construction equipment. Some of these imaginative innovations include kneeling cabs, colour changing windows, new track designs, and an elevating platform to lift operators straight into the cab. Check out these eight videos of futuristic equipment concepts from the past - are they still in our future?

While showing up to work in a blue spandex suit doesn't qualify as proper PPE, Volvo CE's SFINX  concept excavator does get some things right. Four tracks achieve a much higher contact area with the ground on rough-terrain. Each track has a separate wheel motor, which can brake, accelerate and even turn - in a virtual environment that looks more like Mars than a jobsite.

Are you sick and tired of climbing into your wheel loader? Doosan sure is, if its concept design is any indication. Why not simply get on an elevating platform which will lift you straight to the cab?

The ZEUX concept wheel loader was developed by Volvo CE, LEGO Technic designers, and children. The result is the company's take on the future of electro mobility, with the proposed wheel loader now available as a LEGO Technic building kit.

On its concept model wheel loader, Hyundai aims to increase maneuverability and safety while exploring new functions for future jobsites. This eco-friendly hybrid's expandable bucket comes in handy to increase productivity and production.

Doosan's concept excavator comes disco-ready with colour control windows that can be changed to suit your mood, as well as a glass tint that changes depending on the external lighting conditions to optimize visibility for the operator.

Over a decade ago, Volvo CE introduced CENTAUR, a futuristic articulated hauler concept. Complete with a kneeling cab for easy operator entry, solar panels, and independent motors within each wheel, it's guaranteed to fulfill the dreams of ADT operators everywhere. 

Hyundai's concept model has a surprise hidden in the stick - the breaker is built in and extends from behind the bucket with no need to change hypothetical attachments.

Volvo CE designed FENIX as part of the company's vision of the evolution of asphalt pavers. Unlike traditional pavers that depend on the sometimes sporadic arrival of asphalt trucks, Volvo's fully integrated highway paving system uses a pod method where asphalt-filled pods are laid out in front of the machine at predetermined intervals.