MINING DRONES
Having recently helped DJI ’ s M300 drone fly autonomously underground ( through its Hovermap Autonomy Level 2 ( AL2 ) solution ) and signing an agreement with Deswik to provide surveyors and planners with more accurate data from inaccessible areas , Emesent has been on a roll of late .
IM put some questions to CEO , Dr Stefan Hrabar , to find out more .
IM : If no communications infrastructure is in place , how do Emesent ’ s drones stream a 3D map of the environment back to the operator ’ s tablet ? SH : Hovermap is smartly designed to operate beyond the communication range of the operator . The operator does not always need to see a live map since Hovermap is navigating by itself . The user can place a waypoint beyond the current limits of the map , and beyond line of sight and communication range . Hovermap self-navigates towards the waypoint , avoiding obstacles and building the map as it goes . Once it reaches the waypoint ( or if the waypoint is impossible to reach ), it automatically returns back to the operator . The map data is stored onboard Hovermap and when it returns back to within Wi-Fi range the new map data is uploaded to the tablet . The operator can then see the new areas that were mapped and place a new waypoint in or beyond that map , sending the drone back out again to explore further .
IM : What results have you so far received from using AL2 for Hovermap at mine sites ? Were the results PYBAR got from trials at Dargues and Woodlawn in line with your expectations ? SH : Last year ’ s trials at Dargues and Woodlawn showcased some great outcomes for the PYBAR team , including the ability for Hovermap to capture valuable data using Autonomy Level 1 . The team saw great potential in the technology , leading to the purchase of two systems for their use . Earlier this year , AL2 flights were conducted at Dargues during the final pre-release testing phase . Even the first stope at Dargues that was mapped using AL2 highlighted the benefit of the system over traditional CMS . A large area of overbreak was identified in the Hovermap scan . The same stope had been mapped with a CMS , but this area was not visible from the CMS scan location so the overbreak was not identified .
A number of mines have been using AL2 to map their stopes and other areas beyond line-of-sight . With AL2 , they can send Hovermap into places that previously would have been inaccessible , enabling them to obtain critical data in real-time without risking the machine or personnel .
A beyond line-of-sight flight down an ore pass was also conducted recently , with Hovermap guiding the drone down 120 m and returning safely to produce a very detailed scan .
The high level of autonomy provided by AL2 also allows remote operation of the drone . We recently completed a trans-continental demo , with a customer in South Africa operating a drone in Australia using our AL2 technology and standard remote collaboration tools . The remote operator in South Africa was able to use their laptop to experiment with the technology from the other side of the world , sending Hovermap exploring down a tunnel .
This is a taste of what ’ s to come , with drones underground being operated from the surface or from remote operation centres thousands of kilometres away . This will remove the need for skilled personnel on site , and reduce the time spent underground .
IM : How do you anticipate your partnership with Deswik impacting the mine planning and survey process ? Do you see this reducing the amount of time needed to carry out this work , as well as potentially cutting the costs associated with it ? Have you already carried out work at mine sites that has proven these benefits ? SH : Our commitment is to help mining companies increase safety and production while reducing costs and downtime . We do this by providing surveyors and planners with more accurate data from inaccessible areas , allowing them to derive new insights . Our partnership with Deswik means we ’ re able to provide a more comprehensive end-to-end solution to the industry .
We see this as a very natural partnership that will improve the overall customer experience . Hovermap excels at capturing rich 3D data in all parts of the mine ( whether drone based , hand-held , lowered down a shaft on a cable or vehicle mounted ). Once the data is captured and converted to 3D , customers need to visualise and interrogate the data to derive insights . This is where Deswik and other mining software vendors come into play . They have powerful software tools for planning , survey , drill and blast , geotechnical mapping and a host of other applications . We ’ re partnering with these vendors to ensure seamless integration between Hovermap data and their tools . We ’ re working with them to build automated workflows to import , geo-reference , clean and trim the data , and convert it into formats that are suitable for various tasks .
Surveyors at Evolution Mining ’ s Mungari operation have been using this new process in Deswik . Previously they needed a third software tool to perform part of the workflow manually before importing to Dewik . CAD . The intermediate steps have been eliminated and others have been automated , reducing the time from more than 30 minutes per scan to five minutes per scan .
IM : Since really starting to catch on in the mining sector in the last five years , drones have gone from carrying out simple open-pit surveys and surveillance to drill and blasting reconciliation platforms to reconnaissance solutions carrying out some of the riskiest tasks in underground mining . In the next decade , how do you see them further evolving ? What new tasks could drones carry out to improve safety , cut costs or increase productivity ? SH : Emesent ’ s vision is to drive forward the development of ‘ Sentient Digital Twins ’ of industrial sites to future-proof the world ’ s major industries , from mining to energy and construction . These industries will be able to move to more automated decision-making using high-quality , autonomously collected data across their sites and tapping into thousands of data points to make split-second decisions about potential dangers , opportunities and efficiencies using a centralised decisionmaking platform .
We see our Hovermap technology being a key enabler for this future . Drones and other autonomous systems will become an integral part of the mine of the future . Drones will be permanently stationed underground and operated remotely , ready for routine data collection flights or to be deployed as needed after an incident .
Hovermap is already addressing some of the biggest challenges in mining — including safety and operational downtime . It improves critical safety to mines , keeping workers away from hazardous environments while providing better data to inform safety related decisions such as the level of ground support needed . This then feeds into better efficiency by helping mines to more accurately calculate risks and opportunities , aid decision making and predict situations .
Hovermap can significantly reduce downtime after an incident . For example , it was used to assess the level of damage in LKAB ’ s Kiruna mine after a seismic event ( see Seismic surveys section below ). More than 30 scans were captured covering 1.2 km of underground drives that were not safe to access due to fall of ground . In another case , one of our customers saved around A $ 20 million ($ 14.6 million ) after an incident , as they could use Hovermap to quickly capture the data necessary to make a critical decision .
20 International Mining | OCTOBER 2020