MINING DRONES
trials of a solution using a network of mobile and static Hovermap systems to monitor an underground environment with the objective of enabling the remote operation of a complex system .
Dr Kendoul expanded on this : “ The objective of the project is to develop and deploy a ‘ system of systems ’ that can digitise an operational area of an underground mine in real time and then use insights from that data to automate some mining equipment . This will allow the removal of people from these hazardous environments , and also to automate some operations , resulting in increased productivity .”
After some on-board processing , the data obtained in such a setup will be sent to a server on the surface where the data can be merged and processed further , he explained . Specialised machine-learning algorithms will be applied to the data to infer some insights , which are then used for decision making and automation .
“ All of this is done automatically , including the operation of the different Hovermap systems , data processing and upload , data merging and analytics .
“ This is a significant step towards the development of the Emesent digitalisation platform , where payloads such as Hovermaps , robots , analytics and data platforms are forming and acting as one autonomous system that is delivering actionable insights on demand .”
More details about this solution – being developed by Emesent , a mining company and another partner – are expected following a successful deployment of a commercial system .
Emesent ’ s automation focus goes beyond data collection and analysis , with Dr Kendoul saying the company is working on developing an autonomous digitalisation platform that can streamline all the workflows related to Hovermap and deliver the insights relevant to customers .
The company is already supporting this effort through the provision of software that processes the data efficiently and turns it into accurate 3D point clouds in a standard format that can be ingested by most mining software , in addition to offering on-board data processing for quick access to the data in different resolutions , he said .
It has also directly partnered with key software providers such as Deswik and Maptek to streamline the workflows and make it straightforward for mines to , the company says , extract the maximum value from Hovermap data .
“ In the last two years , we have been augmenting our software to include more capabilities and features dedicated to processing , storing and managing , analysing , visualising , and sharing dense and rich 4D data from Hovermap ,” Dr Kendoul said , adding that some of these new products and features will be released soon .
Within the autonomous digitalisation platform itself , there are two main subsystems : n Robots that collect multi-modal data autonomously ; and n A centralised data platform ingesting all the data from robots and sensors , processing and fusing it into one source of truth ( eg a digital twin ), then running different analytics on it and visualising or sharing the information with other systems . “ The two subsystems will work in a closedloop fashion to form a highly autonomous system capable of delivering insights with ‘ a single click ’,” Dr Kendoul claimed .
This is all towards delivering the company ’ s vision of the mine of the future , which will be autonomous in the sense it will be selfmanaging , self-learning and acting as one integrated system with sense , plan and act capabilities .
“ At Emesent , we are redefining what an autonomous system is , especially in the context of underground mining ,” Dr Kendoul said . “ To us , an autonomous system is not just a drone or robot that is collecting data autonomously ; it is the system that delivers the final actionable insight autonomously including the collection of data by autonomous robots , the processing , management , analysis , etc without any human intervention in that workflow .” IM
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