Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems – IRIS
Robotics for safer mining
The image of workers descending deep into underground mines to toil away
to bring up precious natural resources may soon be a thing of the past thanks
to a new technology being developed by a Canadian company.
Established two years ago as a spin-off company from the Institute for
Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS), Intrignia Solutions Inc. is currently
developing a software for a telerobotic management system (TMS) that could
eventually replace human miners with robotic ones. Although the technology
is still in development, Jamie King, Intrignia's president, says the concept
of "plug and play" robotics is a big selling point for companies
concerned with the safety and economic issues surrounding deep-earth mining.
How does TMS work? In essence, the system will be designed so that any
underground mining vehicles or "robots" from any manufacturer
that is enabled by TMS can join a network of vehicles – with very
little integration effort required. It's the same technology currently
used when networking printers. As soon as a machine is turned on, it will
connect to the system and a mission control operator will be able to assign
it tasks remotely.
Lost productivity, safety concerns, cost controls, and gaps in existing
technologies are all issues that Intrignia Solutions Inc. hopes to tackle
with the introduction of its fully automated underground mining system,
or Intelligent Central Control System (ICCS). "One obvious problem
is a safety problem, an underground mine is very dangerous," says
King.
The goal is to enable underground mining operations to advance further.
King says many mining companies are automating vehicles so that people
will no longer have to risk their lives by descending into mines. "Ultimately,
I think the goal is to be able to run a mine remotely, from some centralized
location. Maybe even a big city somewhere. You'd keep limited resources
at the site just for maintenance and to make sure everything is running,"
he says.
In addition, robotics in mines makes sense from an economic standpoint.
King says safety and logistic limitations make certain resources difficult
– and expensive – to mine because the mine is either too deep
or its location too remote. Part of the expense comes from adhering to
government occupational health and safety regulations that require mine
shafts to be 1.5 metres wider than the largest vehicle, to prevent workers
from becoming trapped. As well, escape tunnels and ventilation systems
must be installed for workers in order to limit exposure to diesel fumes.
These factors, says King, make it very costly to put people underground.
King started Intrignia Solutions as an extension of the work he was
doing to co-ordinate series of robots specifically geared to underground
mining. He began his graduate work at IRIS – one of Canada's 20
federal Networks of Centres of Excellence – where he received the
training necessary to make an impact in the robotics world.
Although robotics in mining is Intrignia's specialty, the foundation
technologies for the ICCS can be applied to a number of different issues.
"We hope to transfer our technology to other sectors. For example,
the handling of wares, oil and gas, and other industries where human safety
and cost are issues," says King.
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