SURFACE AUTOMATION
does not, then the machine will take control
from the human.”
When applied to safety, Hexagon calls these
systems Vehicle Intervention Systems (VIS), and
the company plans on announcing the release of
VIS 1.0 at MINExpo. VIS extends Collision
Avoidance System (CAS) capabilities by
interfacing with the truck and preventing
movement, reducing propulsion, or proactively
applying the brake when the operator does not
heed the alarms/warnings of the CAS system, or
does not follow established business rules
regarding ramp speeds, following distances,
etc.
Also key to future autonomous solutions is
being able to understand how new machines
designed specifically for autonomy, rather than
modified manned machines, will behave in the
field, before they are actually built. Dassault
Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, and
world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital
Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM) solutions, recently announced that
Caterpillar is deploying the 3DEXPERIENCE
platform, statin g: “With the ‘Single Source for
Speed’ industry solution experience, Caterpillar
can virtually evaluate the performance, quality
and durability of future products before
committing to physical prototypes. ‘Single
Source for Speed’ leverages SIMULIA
applications to virtually predict real-world
behaviour of component parts, large scale
structures, and complete systems before
manufacture and start-up. With a deeper
understanding of a product’s function earlier in
the design cycle, heavy equipment
manufacturers can quickly detect and resolve
design issues, explore design alternatives and
better comply with requirements, without
physical testing.”
“Heavy mobile machinery and equipment
manufacturers design some of the most complex
products in the world under highly competitive
market conditions,” said Philippe Bartissol, Vice
President, Industrial Equipment Industry,
RCT ControlMaster® Line-of-Sight was installed on two
Cat dozers at Alliance Resources Partners’ River View
coal mine in Uniontown, Kentucky
Dassault Systèmes. “Although simulation plays
a central role in testing and validating, it is often
performed late in the design cycle using a
variety of niche tools. The 3DEXPERIENCE
platform helps companies like Caterpillar reduce
development costs and satisfy their customers
with robust product performance.”
Small and mid-sized mines benefit
Fully autonomous machinery and operation are
certainly part of commercial mining now, and
feasibility studies are completed with this in
mind. But the product has to be able to
integrate seamlessly into the production cycle of
the operation immediately on deployment. The
benefit to junior and mid-size miners in using
semi-autonomous machines is that they can
automate certain sections of their operation, at
for a fraction of the cost of rolling out full
automation across the fleet. Again, this has
already seen in underground automation. RCT’s
Cullen states: “Certain operations of a machine
may be required to be automated such as the
tram cycle of a loader, but not necessarily the
dig/dump portion; this gives the customer the
increased benefits of a faster tram, with less
chance of machine damage, without the
additional cost of providing an auto-dig feature
which may not be utilised due to varying
factors.” But this point is applicable to surface
mining tasks too. Semi-autonomous machines
can be more adaptable to change and having
the processing unit on board the machine can
be advantageous in navigating changing terrain
and conditions, with an operator being able to
take control if the machine can’t move past a
certain section in the mine. Issues on the
machine may be able to be rectified faster as
there is less componentry in the system to fail.
RCT’s ControlMaster® Line-of-Sight was
installed to two Caterpillar dozers in order to
adhere to America’s Mine Safety and Health
Administration’s new regulations to remove
operators from dozers pushing coarse refuse
into a tailings pond at Alliance Resources
Partners’ River View coal mine in Uniontown,
Kentucky. Allowing the operator to control the
dozer from a safe distance, has increased safety
as well as efficiency by reducing downtime
during shift swaps (eliminating the need to stop
the machine for a prolonged period of time to
swap operators) and enabling operators to shift
the coarse refuse further into the tailings pond,
more quickly and easily.
RCT says it is comfortable providing the
autonomous technology required for most
aspects of the mobile machinery fleet: “Our
adaptability to install on a variety of machinery
makes and models without being brand specific
leads us into filling the niche where some of our
SEPTEMBER 2016 | International Mining