AUTONOMOUS SURFACE MINING
typically puts out on average two software updates for its Command for hauling system every year – ensuring that its mining customers have access to the best that autonomy can offer .
On a recent visit to the TPG , IM had a unique insight into the depth of R & D that goes into Command for hauling . It included discussions with Michael Vance , Engineering Manager ; Jag Samaraweera , Command for hauling Commercial ; and Joe Forcash , Electronic Engineering Manager , Autonomy & Automation .
One of the areas Samaraweera talked about the importance of autonomy in Caterpillar ’ s journey towards zero emissions mining trucks – with the first battery trucks planned for rollout at multiple customer sites before 2030 . “ Command will play a key role in managing battery trucks . With diesel trucks , MineStar can assign the truck to the fuel bay , ‘ once you ’ re at 20 % fuel level you need to go to the fuel bay .’ With battery trucks you will need to know the battery level , and at a set point send the truck to charge or adjust its route to charge its battery so it always has enough power to complete its haul cycle . Autonomy is a crucial part of the journey of getting to battery electric – in many ways the best route will be to start with a good foundation of running autonomy as is , then the transition to battery will be a lot easier . It will also make the change management a lot smoother . As many operations migrate toward autonomy and fleet
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electrification we believe the combination of autonomy , connectivity , and electrification , when knit together , provides customers the safest and Autonomous Caterpillar 794 AC trucks at Anglo American ' s Quellaveco copper minemost productive sites .”
Vance talked about the industry desire for a ‘ lighter weight ’ autonomy solution for some mine sites . “ At one end of the spectrum , you have Command for hauling that is tech heavy , with high-end sensors like LiDAR . At the other end you have smaller sites which require a less tech heavy solution to get similar functionality on sites with less infrastructure , for example , relying more on cameras and being able to bring in the latest technology from automotive . The two will converge somewhat and the solution will really depend on the individual customer site – based on the need and the application . Command for hauling didn ’ t get where it is by accident – the big mines need the extra functionality and capability that it has – but other mines may not .”
What about other new Command for hauling functionalities that are being developed ? Vance states : “ We are working to add more automation to the process to make the trucks smarter . Today we are in the final testing stages of technology that is camera based – the camera allows the operations team to see what the obstacle is so if it is something like a contractor vehicle that happens to not be MineStar connected and shouldn ’ t be in that area , then they can intervene . The technical challenge is merging the camera image with the LiDAR image , but we have done this .”
On the largest Command for hauling sites , there are over 70 autonomous trucks and over 300 other vehicles including light vehicles , water trucks , graders , dozers , wheel loaders and even other nonautonomous rigid trucks . All those vehicles are on MineStar and have a radio transmitter , high-precision GPS and a display . The operators of those vehicles must know where the autonomous trucks are – on an autonomous site , the autonomous trucks have the right of way and the manned machine operators can
see where they are . Blue lanes denote active autonomous truck routes where those trucks own that lane . Green is just a lane that exists in the mine model , and yellow means the autonomous truck has been assigned there but doesn ’ t yet have permission . These colour codings are very useful at intersections so manned vehicle operators know if they can go or wait for the autonomous truck to go past .
But the market for application of autonomy onto quarry class and smaller mining class machines is also a space where Caterpillar also has big plans and Forcash gave some insight into this project .
In June 2020 , Caterpillar acquired select assets and hired employees from Marble Robot , Inc ., a San Francisco , California based robot and autonomy technology solutions company . The acquisition was part of the company ’ s automation and autonomy strategy to meet the needs of smaller mines as well as the construction and quarrying , plus industrial and waste industries . The first machine to be equipped with the new autonomy system is a Cat 299D3 Compact Track Loader ( CTL ), based on a first customer in solar power . The CTL delivers solar panels into position . At a typical solar farm during the construction phase , there are solar modules and other components that need delivering across a large area .
Caterpillar takes the customer site design files and develops available routes for autonomy , which are then integrated with a tablet which is in wireless communication with the CTL . Using remote control , the operator can pick up a pallet then tell the CTL where it wants it delivered on the map , switching to autonomous mode in which the CTL can deliver and return with no interaction and no further network input needed as it has all the necessary information onboard . With this technology , one operator can manage up to four CTLs at the solar farm site .
Forcash stated : “ It ’ s a nice introduction to a smaller machine – and is applicable to ancillary machines in mining but right now is focussed on a semi-autonomous , remote control solution for a solar farm site which is very isolated , where you have no network access . Over time we intend to integrate the technology into MineStar so you would have the ability to control it via a Command station . It is similar to what we have today with our semi-autonomous tractor system for our crawler dozers plus Command suite solutions for small wheel loaders and excavators that are already being used in port material handling .”
What about its evolution up into larger wheel loaders , articulated dump trucks and other nonmining-class equipment ? “ Right now we are supporting customers at two ends of the spectrum – we have light construction , exemplified by the CTL , and Command for
64 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2022