CAS & FATIGUE
aware that is has to be and remain fully OEM agnostic and therefore it is marketed for customers’ whole fleets of multiple brands not just for Epiroc machines. At the same time, it would seem to make sense, especially for greenfield customers, to have Titan CAS factory fitted for new Epiroc machines if the site is looking at having fleetwide CAS anyway. This is not as easy as it sounds, as there are differences in requirements for different customers plus the approach is slightly distinct for different machine types.
This is already happening, however, for blasthole drills with Pit Vipers beginning to be fitted as standard with the Titan CAS system, with testing now well advanced at Epiroc’ s Garland location in the US after which the first drills equipped with the technology will head to minesites. Van Rensburg:“ This is a first step in that in the factory fit direction. It’ s not a simple machine, but it the way in which it is used and its types of interactions are very well understood meaning we also understand the risks very well. It’ s V2V interactions are not that high – but it has a lot of V2P interactions – and issuing those people with tags is a relatively easy exercise because they are almost all blasthole crew or maintenance staff.”
Looking at its development roadmap, ultimately, Epiroc wants to also achieve a CAS system that no longer requires tags. One step on this road is to leverage other rapidly evolving technologies like AI-enabled cameras – these could be factory fitted as well as installed on other machines. It doesn’ t require additional tags or infrastructure plus you could just have them deployed on the primary mining fleet and not on utility type machines. It would be an added layer of sensing and safety that is there from the word go but would not replace Titan CAS – it would act as one sensor in the suite of sensors the CAS is using whose data is all going to the onboard control unit.
Van Rensburg:“ There are a number of scenarios where a camera alone is just not good enough – it cannot see around corners plus oncoming vehicles can create a lot of glare. As things stand today, a tag will outperform a camera, but AI-cameras have a role and that role is going to increase. For mines without the full Titan CAS, it is still covering 70-80 % of interactions.”
What about the push to have mixed autonomous and non-autonomous machines?“ It is certainly something major miners are asking for- we’ ve got a customer in South Africa that’ s been wanting to have an automated machine run in normal nongated operation where there are people and other machines. So we’ ve been approached for that and we’ ve done quite a bit of work on that, but there are still huge challenges to overcome, not least the autonomous machine’ s predetermined path and how it reacts to obstacles – but from a practical point of view it is plausible. However, it will require a lot more flexibility from the autonomous system – in our case Deep Automation – to work in a productive sense.”
He adds:“ We are actively looking at how Titan CAS can be used in our automation offering going forward as part of that because at the end of the day they are both based on sensing technology. But there are also safety certification and regulation implications – in South Africa for example we would have to convince the DMR that autonomous machines not working in isolation is safe to do. Mixed autonomous and manned fleets is not something that is going to happen in the short term but it will come in the medium to long term – when you talk about three to five years- and we as a leading supplier have to engage with the customers wanting to push the envelope to try and get it done. It remains the case that there a lot of large mines out there, with long mine lives – which using the current systems will never be able to fully automate – so they will need some kind of hybrid system, there is no doubt about that.”
What are the differentiators of Titan CAS, especially in its current Generation 4? Van Rensburg:“ I really think we have grown and evolved a lot as a company first a Mernok and now under Epiroc. Since the acquisition we now have a real presence in the global market and I would say our main differentiator is that Titan CAS is built on different layers of sensing for different applications. We always knew its potential but initially only had our local market references – now we see its potential internationally. We have seen some incidents with systems that only use time of flight and if low frequency had been available on that system, you could have completely avoided that accident. So, we definitely bring a lot of value in the different sensing technologies and sensor fusion that we offer.”
The nature of its multiple sensor system also means Epiroc can scale Titan CAS’ s capabilities, such as bringing in cameras and GPS which means the system can operate equally well on surface or underground:“ This means we have applicability when large open pits transition to underground – and there is a big demand for CAS that can do that globally. Most of our competitors are focused on one or the other but we can seamlessly handle it with our system and we are doing at a major South African minesite.” Globally, examples of Titan CAS use include at Rajo Sur, the surface operations of Codelco El Teniente; with trials set to start at Chuquicamata Underground. It has also been used underground by Hindustan Zinc at one site in India with potential expansion to others.
Finally, where are the synergies between Titan CAS and other parts of Epiroc with relevance in this space including in areas such as agnostic autonomy and vehicle intervention? Van Rensburg:“ Within Epiroc, CAS is playing a big role including its combination with Onboard as already discussed. And we can already supply CAS that is able to interface to any ISO21815 compliant machine interface controller.”
He adds:“ As a company we are looking also at what synergies will bring the greatest benefits for customers and also maximise revenues in the shortest time period. For Titan CAS, we also want to make sure that we make the best use of Epiroc’ s global footprint, so that we are able to bring the technology to all the customers that want to use it. And where we make functionality advances in particular projects, making sure we make them available to others as well.”
Wenco, SmartCap and multimodal system safety
Wenco International Mining Systems acquired SmartCap in 2021, bringing the only EEG-based fatigue monitoring technology in mining into the Hitachi Construction Machinery ecosystem. Now part of HCM( soon to be renamed LANDCROS Corporation), SmartCap joins a comprehensive mining technology portfolio that spans fleet management systems, asset performance management through LANDCROS Insights Connect, and autonomy capabilities via both HCM’ s AHS and the open Solution Linkage initiative. HCM has made strategic investments in companies like LiDAR specialist Baraja, environmental intelligence developer Envirosuite, and AI-powered maintenance analytics provider Rithmik Solutions. The ecosystem also includes physical components through Bradken’ s ground engaging tools and wear solutions, and aftermarket support via H-E Parts.
This breadth creates unique integration opportunities for SmartCap that standalone fatigue monitoring systems cannot replicate. As Dr Emily Tetzlaff, Wenco Principal Scientist, EHS, explained to IM, the combination of operator alertness data with fleet management, asset health monitoring, and other ecosystem elements enables a truly multimodal approach to mine safety and productivity.
Tetzlaff added that bringing collision avoidance into this ecosystem was also a natural progression, and that Wenco has recently opted to partner with an Australian company which offers CAS solutions- currently there are a couple of pilot projects running which are combining Wenco FMS with the third-party CAS. Adding SmartCap to this has the potential to be able to cross
80 International Mining | JANUARY 2026