Publications / 2013 Proceedings of the 30th ISARC, Montréal, Canada

A Remotely Operated Robotic Rock Breaker with Collision Avoidance for the Mining Industry

A. Boeing
Pages 875-884 (2013 Proceedings of the 30th ISARC, Montréal, Canada, ISBN 978-1-62993-294-1, ISSN 2413-5844)
Abstract:

Rock-breaker automation and remote operation improves the safety and efficiency of mining operations. This article presents an overview of the Rocklogic rock-breaker automation system architecture that provides collision avoidance, automated parking, and remote operation functionality. The system consists of a distributed computer control system that interfaces with sensors attached to the rock-breaker, the rock-breaker hydraulics, and the site infrastructure. We present results of an automated Transmin rockbreaker installed in a production environment at an underground Australian mine site. The system has been in production use for over 900 days during which there have been no reported collisions, and 100% adoption of the remote operation technology. As a result, Rocklogic has significantly improved the safety of rock-breaking operations and reduced the rock-breaking cycle time, thereby improving the sites overall throughput.

Keywords: Rock-breaker, Mining, Robot, Tele-operation, Collision Avoidance, Automation, Remote Operation, Manipulator, Boom