Concepts for Development of Autonomous Coal Mine Shuttle Cars

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17 Scopus citations

Abstract

During the last few decades, the mining industry has increasingly turned to autonomous systems in its efforts to modernize and advance mining methods and techniques. Vehicle automation in such complex working environments can play a critical role in improving worker safety and mine productivity. Moreover, as the global demand for minerals continues to increase, such technologies will enable access to deeper and more difficult to mine orebodies. The research reported in this article seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of autonomous batch haulage vehicles in the underground coal mining production cycle. By introducing autonomous shuttle cars, the operator can be removed from dusty, noisy, and potentially dangerous conditions and be placed in a relatively safe location, while supervising the machine rather than operating it. This article presents an overview of the approach taken, a description of a lab-scale model and mock mine environment, and preliminary results for autonomous navigation of the prototype shuttle car.

Original languageEnglish
Article number8989833
Pages (from-to)3272-3280
Number of pages9
JournalIEEE Transactions on Industry Applications
Volume56
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 1972-2012 IEEE.

Keywords

  • Autonomous navigation
  • coal mining
  • mining industry
  • room and pillar mining
  • shuttle car

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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