• OPERATIONS
entirely . This is why Australian Droid + Robot ( ADR ) selected Rajant as the partner of choice to conduct an underground mine inspection . Specialising in the development of drones and robots in underground mining environments , ADR wished to have mission-critical communications with each robot while underground . Rajant Kinetic Mesh enabled the transmission of livestream 4k video and lidar point cloud data .
At the abandoned mine location in Queensland , the mine inspection was needed to determine the bulkhead condition , and ADR was selected by the Department of Natural Resources , Mines and Energy ( DNRME ) to undertake this safer alternative . The challenge faced ADR because its remote control range was out of reach to achieve this successfully . At the Collingwood Tim Mine site in the rainforest south of Cooktown , it had been regarded too hazardous for inspection by humans . This was due to visible water , which was compounded by insufficient ventilation and ground support .
Rajant ’ s innovative technology empowered ADR ’ s robotic mining inspectors to conduct visual inspections , laser survey scanning , gas sensing , and thermal imaging with low latency and high throughput . Affixed with Rajant BreadCrumb ® nodes , the ADR robots successfully overcame the line-of-sight obstacle hurdles .
A landmark global success Continuing its successful collaboration with ADR and PBE Group , Rajant recently achieved landmark success in the United States . At a collapsed limestone mine , Rajant and its partners completed the deepest remote underground mine inspection ever recorded . The Kinetic Mesh network helped restore operations and delivered a mobile infrastructure depth of 1.7 kilometres .
It was declared that no person should enter the mine after the unexpected collapse in the summer of 2021 . It caused an explosion of air carrying dirt and rocks out of all portals , and ventilation raised at speeds of around 120 miles per hour . Thankfully , there were no injuries during the collapse as all workers had been evacuated before it occurred .
With ten ADR Explora XL unmanned robots , a survey was undertaken safely to assess the conditions of the mine . Due to the collapse , the existing two-way radio system that ran over a leaky feeder was out of action . The radio system also did not offer the necessary bandwidth to support the unmanned autonomous equipment .
Rajant ’ s provision of high bandwidth from the portal to an emergency operation centre overseeing the fleet of robots helped ensure the team could return to the mine a week later . With the robots creating three network infrastructure points in the mine along various routes of up to 1.7 kilometers deep , the robots transmitted high-definition video and lidar to create a virtual 3D model of the mine .
Allowing vehicle communications to thrive In Australia , Rajant partnered with Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia for its vehicle-to-vehicle ( V2V ) communication , which enhanced safety and productivity of its autonomous haulage systems in a coal mine . The connected haul trucks were active in production areas and allowed Hitachi to adapt to changing conditions dynamically . The Kinetic Mesh network was rapidly deployed across the mobile and fixed infrastructure to support Hitachi ’ s autonomous operations reliably .
Similarly , in Brazil , SITECH Brazil reached out to Rajant for support regarding its simultaneous teleoperation of 17 dozers , excavators , loaders , and trucks in a high-risk zone for iron ore producers . It was essential that the producer could manage and operate the machinery without human operators needed . Rajant ’ s wireless network connected both operations at the remote operation area and the safe operation zone . Programmed drones were able to carry out a topography survey , which helped collect terrain data and load this onto machines . Access to the remote site could be undertaken from a distance as operators were 23 kilometres away .
By leveraging next-generation technologies , mining operators can realise their full potential and unlock the digitalised mine of tomorrow . With a reliable mesh network offering ubiquitous connectivity for autonomous equipment and vehicles , operators can grow exponentially in the age of IIoT .
Watch this space for more case studies in the Digitalization of Mining arena . •
18 • African Mining • June 2022 www . africanmining . co . za