HIGH PROFILE
AUTONOMOUS LIGHT VEHICLES
LIGHT VEHICLE ASSIST
AUTONOMOUS WATERCARTS
WATERCART ASSIST
SHADOW TRIALS
COLLSION AVOIDANCE
AUTONOMOUS
FUELING
COLLSION WARNING
GRADER ASSIST
AUTONOMOUS HAULAGE
THE TRAINER
HAULAGE ASSIST autonomy can be complex and difficult to achieve a fully integrated autonomous system , especially one that links broad elements such as drilling , blasting , loading and haulage . Many autonomy projects simply focus on a single isolated operation such as teleop , creating “ isolated islands of automation .”
The truth is that few mines in the world today , with a handful of well-known exceptions , have the appetite or capability to roll out a fully integrated , autonomous mine . The initial capital costs are a factor in this , as well as the change management aspect and the potential short term disruption to mine operations . With not many greenfield mines being built , brownfield sites , if they do opt for autonomy , tend to limit deployments to isolated haulage circuits or autonomous drilling on isolated drill benches . In addition , while the big miners may have the depth of resources to implement full autonomy ,
FATIGUE
AUTONOMOUS GRADERS
MONITORING
MOBIUS CORE
CHOREOGRAPHER
Autonomous Mining Modules
FMS INTEGRATION
AUTONOMOUS SPOTTING
OPTIMIZE
AUTONOMOUS
DRILL
BLASTING ASSIST
DOZER ASSIST
LOADER ASSIST
SPOT
ASSIST
SEMI-AUTO
LOADER
AUTONOMOUS
BLASTING
AUTONOMOUS DOZING
SEMI-AUTO DOZING
AUTONOMOUS LOADER
ASI ’ s Pathway to Autonomy info graphic is designed to be an interactive tool to help illustrate the concept of their graduated approach to integrating autonomy in a mine operation . You can find the interactive version on ASI ’ s website : www . asirobots . com / mining /# pathway-to-autonomy
juniors and mid-tiers often do not , even though they do have the appetite for the potential benefits .
OEMs or independent suppliers of autonomy solutions such as ASI need to offer mines a less daunting and more practical way to roll out autonomy – getting them to where they want to be in a staged , pragmatic fashion . This is where ASI ’ s new conceptual model comes in . At its most basic level , it is a large integrated and concentric pie chart that represents all the elements of full autonomy across an operation , divided into different parts of the mine in production terms but also in steps from initial elements of automation to full automation and every increment along the way . Since the vast majority of mines can ’ t retrofit automation across the board in a single step , the idea is that they can use the model as a tool to help decide which automation roadmap to take . ASI told IM : “ The model consists of a set of modules and
tools that represent a highly configurable automation pathway implemented over a period of time ; to allow them to deploy automation in a step by step way , based on their needs and where they aim to be .” The customer can start small , but working with ASI they can ensure that the right hardware and software is in place to allow for a scalable automation pathway . ASI ’ s Mobius Command and Control platform is at the core of this along with the associated Fleet Management Systems .
ASI argues that when autonomy is introduced in such an incremental way , initial steps will have less of a value proposition but that cost per tonne will come down relatively quickly as the automation elements are introduced . “ Each new piece of autonomy adds value in turn , and the mine saves more and more as they graduate up the autonomy chain .” ASI argues that the market really needs a tool like the conceptual model to help customers move along the pathway in a more orderly and practical way . One pathway might be that the customer starts with ASI ’ s Mobius , then initially looks at partial automation of the haulage fleet using Operator Assist functions such as collision warning , fatigue monitoring , or auto spotting . Even the Operator Assist process can be done in small steps . The same applies to drilling , where the customer could start with teleoperation and work from there . Aside from the Mobius platform itself , key initial components include portable locators and a sufficient RF network . Mobius itself is not a huge investment at the foundation level but provides the mine with maximum flexibility later on .
Mobius functions as a fleet management system in its own right and if necessary , can integrate with an existing fleet management system . Crucially , however , unlike those systems , Mobius is OEM agnostic and more interoperable . This means that as fleets and equipment at a mine changes over time , Mobius can easily cope with the new machine types . Mobius as a platform is also readily available to other technology providers if they adopt the right protocols and they could plug their systems into it . ASI accepts that its goal is to add ASI autonomy solutions along the pathway to full automation across all mine operations . Mobius has the capability to integrate with other autonomous solutions such as autonomous drills or blasting vehicles . The
MAY 2017 | International Mining