Autonomous Underground Mining Vehicles Are a Thing Now

Depending on how tests of below-ground and above-ground equipment progress, multiple technologies could be incorporated into single vehicles to make them maximally adaptable to operator needs.

Mining 24 Hours a Day with Robots

Tom Simonite for MIT Technology Review:  Each of these trucks is the size of a small two-story house. None has a driver or anyone else on board. Mining company Rio Tinto has 73 of these titans hauling iron ore 24 hours a day at four mines in Australia’s Mars-red northwest corner. At this one, known as West Angelas, the vehicles work alongside robotic rock drilling rigs. The company is also upgrading the locomotives that haul ore hundreds of miles to port—the upgrades will allow the trains to drive themselves, and be loaded and unloaded automatically. Rio Tinto intends its automated operations in Australia to preview a more efficient future for all of its mines—one that will also reduce the need for human miners. The rising capabilities and falling costs of robotics technology are allowing mining and oil companies to reimagine the dirty, dangerous business of getting resources out of the ground.  Cont'd...

Gemini-Scout Mine Rescue Robot

Reliability, ability to travel across varied terrains, and accurate operation are essential elements for the drive system and camera controls on mining rescue robots.

Robots Explore Dangerous Mines with Novel Sensor Fusion Technology

The 3D Riegl scanning laser range finder and an Acumine 2D scanning millimeter wave radar were transported on Husky and used to record video footage and densely sampled data sets. The data is being submitted to the International Journal of Robotics Research to ensure that this insight and information is available to the robotics community.

Records 1 to 4 of 4

Featured Product

NVIDIA RTX PRO BLACKWELL DESKTOP GPUs

NVIDIA RTX PRO BLACKWELL DESKTOP GPUs

NVIDIA RTX PRO - Built for Professionals - NVIDIA RTX PRO Blackwell Desktop GPUs feature the latest breakthroughs in AI, ray tracing, and neural rendering technology to power the most innovative workflows in design, engineering, and beyond.

Robotics and Automation - Featured Company

FAULHABER MICROMO

FAULHABER MICROMO

Since 1961, FAULHABER MICROMO has partnered with OEMs to deliver high precision, high performance, custom micro motion system solutions to markets such as medical, robotics and automation in North America. FAULHABER MICROMO's tradition of innovation started decades ago in Germany. The groundbreaking invention of the FAULHABER coreless winding started it all for a market that produces millions of motors today. How can the FAULHABER MICROMO team help you deliver your next innovation to market first? Learn more about MICROMO's solutions for the most demanding applications, our diverse motion products and technologies, online ordering, Engineering and R&D teams, Clean Room Assembly, Machining Center and other services at our Clearwater, FL facility at https://www.faulhaber.com.