AUTONOMY SENSORS
performance of its digital LiDAR over time in line with Moore ’ s Law as costs continue to fall , ultimately enabling LiDAR ubiquity so that many more applications beyond autonomous mining equipment can be brought to market to improve safety , efficiency , and quality of life .”
Quanergy partners with Agia for mining markets in Latin America
Quanergy Systems Inc , a leading provider of OPA-based solid state LiDAR sensors and smart 3D solutions for automotive and IoT , has announced a partnership with Agia Solutions , a technology system integrator serving Peru , Argentina , Chile , and Uruguay .
Headquartered in Peru , Agia Solutions was established in 2007 as a technology system integrator focusing on digital transformation for traditional sectors to optimise the production process , improving occupational health and safety , and increasing quality of work and urban life .
“ LiDAR is a powerful IoT solution that is rapidly expanding into new markets , providing immense value for a wide variety of applications across many different industries . For example , in the mining industry , LiDAR plays a broad range of versatile roles - from providing unmatched accuracy and reliability for perimeter protection and access control to precisely monitoring bulk materials , accurately surveying topography , enabling collision avoidance for mining vehicles , and much more ,” said Frederico Argerich , General Manager of Agia Solutions . “ We are thrilled to partner with Quanergy to add LiDAR to our existing technology portfolio and bring this advanced technology to our customers for the first time .”
Quanergy is the first LiDAR solution provider to partner with Agia . In addition to providing smart 3D LiDAR , Quanergy also brings to the partnership a proven record and expertise in security , industrial automation , and mapping . Agia will now offer Quanergy ’ s high-performance LiDAR platform , along with its proprietary perception software , QORTEX™ , to improve safety and security , increase productivity , and optimise efficiency for their customers . Both companies are Milestone partners and Quanergy ’ s LiDAR solutions are Milestone approved , enabling easy integration across Agia ’ s technology portfolio .
“ As Quanergy expands into new markets , it is crucial for us to seek partners that are excited to harness new technologies and innovation to solve their customers ’ challenges ,” said Tony Rigoni , Director of Industrial Market Development & Alliances . “ Quanergy ’ s partnership with Agia brings the power of LiDAR into new use cases in security and industrial markets , which optimise safety and efficiency .”
The unstoppable rise of radar
Sam Wood , Business Development Manager at Navtech Radar told IM that in the mid-2000s when autonomous mining fleets were being developed , sensors for autonomy were fairly limited . Radars that were available at the time were generally simple 24 GHz radars from the automotive industry that measured only onedimensional distances . The performance of these early sensors limited the extent to which radar could be applied to autonomous mining fleets ; they were mostly used for simple obstacle detection .
“ Now with the evolution of 77 GHz radar and advances made by industry leading companies like Navtech Radar , the full potential of radar for autonomy has been unlocked . New generations
Navtech Radar says new generations of radar are rich data sources providing far more quality detail about the world around them
of radar are rich data sources providing far more quality detail about the world around them .” Wood says that with this increase in available data , sophisticated solutions can be developed such as Terran360 by Navtech Radar that provides answers to fundamental questions for autonomous systems , such as ‘ Where I am I ?’ ( localisation ) and ‘ How I am I moving ?’ ( odometry ). “ These valuable functionalities unlock the full potential of autonomous operations and elevate radar sensors to become
indispensable for autonomous mining fleets .”
Radar ’ s longer wavelength is unaffected by rain , fog , dust or dirt giving the sensor a very large operating window . “ Radar ’ s reliable performance in adverse weather conditions is what makes it the ideal sensor for outdoor robotics such as autonomous mining fleets . Dust is a huge problem within both surface and underground mining , so it is essential that autonomous systems are designed to be robust and able to provide unrivalled availability such to avoid any downtime generated when waiting for dust to settle or cleaning camera and laser lens . Camera and lasers whilst excellent at certain tasks are not suited to perform in these challenging conditions ."
Wood argues that autonomous systems that
60 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2021