TRAINING & SIMS
AHS truck pathways to the shovel on an Immersive Technologies simulator
in the oil sands that trucks following the exact same paths with precision and accuracy repeatedly can be a problem due to the soft road conditions ( especially in summer ), the trucks taking the exact same paths every time could result in digging themselves into a deeper and deeper rut . By working with the OEMs , these mines addressed this challenge by creating multi-trajectory paths that allows the trucks to slightly alter their routes depending upon conditions . Another difference is in the loading tools themselves . The Pilbara is dominated by large hydraulic excavators . In other big mines set to use autonomous fleets , especially in Latin America , large electric rope shovels are the norm . Immersive has adapted each machine ’ s simulation solution to allow for this which takes significant effort as it has to incorporate all the nuances of the different machines .
The market is also still evolving fast . Most of the Tier 1 miners have started autonomous fleet deployments or are set to – now it is the turn of the Tier 2 miners . Development is also underway on AHS solutions for smaller mining trucks and ADTs , plus some of the big mining contractors are getting into the mix in terms of taking taking on autonomous fleet responsibility . So , the training package for all these types of customers will be different . Immersive is still the only company to have any depth of experience in autonomous haulage system training ; and of course it is now wholly owned by Komatsu , though Komatsu is only one of the options when it comes to autonomous haulage solutions . Immersive has continued to supply autonomous training simulator solutions for Caterpillar fleets even after the Komatsu takeover , for example .
But in the same way as Immersive supplies solutions for all the major OEM brands for conventional mines , this is not an issue for customers . “ Our customers know our experience of working with all OEM machines . Our multi-OEM strategy is a strength as most mines have mixed fleets and miners want synthesis in their training solutions rather than a fragmented approach . When it comes to autonomous mining , the market knows Immersive Technologies is the ideal partner because of our experience and capability .”
The next big machine evolution is the coming of
teleremote mining shovels . Things are still at a very early stage . Hitachi has announced its project will start in April 2021 , while Komatsu , Caterpillar and Liebherr are known to be working on solutions and Komatsu Ltd mentioned a project on “ remote controlled loaders ” for mining in a recent set of results .
Sukumaran used the example of Immersive ’ s experience with training underground Caterpillar LHD teleremote operators at PT Freeport Indonesia ’ s Grasberg mine . “ While this project was related to underground teleremote machines and was conducted over several years , it highlights some of the relevant issues & challenges to remotely operating surface shovels . This includes the lack of tactile and motion feedback to the operator such as feeling the machine and bucket response as the LHD rides up into the muckpile and reverses . As the operators were no longer in a cabin , they also had a tendency to exhibit more risky behaviour with the machine as they themselves are not at risk . This meant the LHDs were seeing more damage .”
As might be expected the experienced operators who transitioned from the in-cab LHD operation to teleremote found the lack of tactile feedback more difficult , and were initially less productive as a result , whereas new “ green ” operators had nothing to compare the simulator or teleremote experience with and found it less of an issue . The real OEM teleremote stations did not include a motion base as one of the aims was to avoid tiring the body during long shifts by
RESULTS
MEAN IMPROVEMENTS
Results-driven solutions for surface and underground mines
54 % CORRECT EMERGENCY RESPONSE 47 % TRAFFIC INCIDENTS 65 % BRAKE ABUSE 62 % ENGINE OVERSPEED 54 % TRAINING HOURS ON EQUIPMENT 20 % TIRE LIFE 15 % SPOT TIME 14 % PAYLOADS
Immersive Technologies works closely with mining operations and equipment manufacturers to solve real mining industry problems in areas of safety , productivity , reactive maintenance and the availability of skilled equipment operators .
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