Robotization of Infrastructure Work in Underground Mines

Currently there exist large initiatives towards digitization and automation of the mining industry. Fewer operators in the production areas increase safety and efficiency, and if routine work in the mine can be automated, it can lead to completely new ways to design and operate underground mines. The commercial focus today is on automation and tele-operation of mining vehicles in the production cycle: drilling, charging, loading, and transporting the ore. Very limited efforts have been placed on the work related to installing, repairing, moving, and removing infrastructure in the mine, which is currently done by heavy manual work. ROBOBUILDER aims to develop a robotic platform towards that objective, firstly by developing a prototype - extending the payload of an Unmanned Ground Vehicle with sensors and manipulators, capable of performing technology demonstrations of end-user selected infrastructure tasks. Technological innovation is accelerated when developers and end-users share a common vision, and field demonstrations in real environments at a high TRL can be the trigger to align commercial players towards new technologies and use-cases. The project will also evaluate how experimental 5G infrastructure can support tele-operation of robotic manipulators through QoS, data prioritization, and real-time sensor data. Moreover the project will develop intelligent autonomy and AI towards the automation of infrastructure tasks in underground mines - evaluated in real environments.

Robobuilder’s concept image