MINE RESCUE & SAFETY
Search & rescue teams can attach gas sensors to the ExynAero and ExynAI platforms to overlay atmospheric information directly onto a 3D point cloud for peak situational awareness for first responders
monitoring , they could add a gas sensor to the Aero in an emergency and send it on a search & rescue missions for more situational awareness .”
During a previous search and rescue operation , Exyn was able to exhibit the platform ’ s ability to carry out 3D volumetric exploration in “ unstructured , GPS-denied environments ” through its high level of autonomy . This saw the drone fly more than 60 m down a drift before it even approached the cavity the operation wanted to explore .
“ In this example , the mine rescue team was unable to approach this berm , so they had no idea what the cavity even looked like ,” Jabrayan
said . “ With an ExynAero powered by AL4 , they could simply place a fly-to waypoint at the end of the drift and draw a large 3D box around where they thought the cavity ( area of interest ) was .
“ If they were equipped with an autonomous drone powered by a lower level of autonomy , they would have to send multiple waypointbased missions with their best guess for where the cavity might be . It leaves room for human error .”
Additionally , since Exyn ’ s autonomy software is platform-agnostic , users could perform a similar search & rescue operation using the groundbased Spot to search a room & pillar mine , for example .
Smartsense sets record in South Africa
Becker Mining South Africa ’ s range of safety and communications systems encompass the
high-accuracy Becker Varis Smartsense gas monitoring system , which has been designed for use in industries where the presence of gases may pose a safety or health risk to employees and the environment .
The company recently deployed a mine-wide environmental monitoring system at one of the leading platinum miners ’ sites , consisting of 38 Smartsense controllers , ensuring real-time monitoring of the working environment for personnel safety .
“ In these environments , it is important to monitor gases emitted into the atmosphere in real time and have a reliable system to take immediate , automatic action to eliminate the possibility of poisonous environments , as well as explosions ,” Becker says .
The platinum mine installation consisted of a combination of gas Smartsense controllers , monitoring oxygen , carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide , methane , hydrogen sulphide and nitrogen dioxide . In addition to monitoring the specific gas concentrations , all the Smartsense controllers have integrated ambient temperature , humidity and
Becker recently completed a record-setting Smartsense gas monitoring system installation at a platinum mine in South Africa
OCTOBER 2023 | International Mining 53