Technology development for remote, computer-assisted operation of a continuous mining machine

Conference · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:62424

Schnakenberg, G H ^[1]

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1. Pittsburgh Research Center, PA (United States)

The U.S. Bureau of Mines was created to conduct research to improve the health, safety, and efficiency of the coal and metal mining industries. In 1986, the Bureau embarked on a new, major research effort to develop the technology that would enable the relocation of workers from hazardous areas to areas of relative safety. This effort is in contrast to historical efforts by the Bureau of controlling or reducing the hazardous agent or providing protection to the worker. The technologies associated with automation, robotics, and computer software and hardware systems had progressed to the point that their use to develop computer-assisted operation of mobile mining equipment appeared to be a cost-effective and accomplishable task. At the first International Symposium of Mine Mechanization and Automation, an overview of the Bureau`s computer-assisted mining program for underground coal mining was presented. The elements included providing computer-assisted tele-remote operation of continuous mining machines, haulage systems and roof bolting machines. Areas of research included sensors for machine guidance and for coal interface detection. Additionally, the research included computer hardware and software architectures which are extremely important in developing technology that is transferable to industry and is flexible enough to accommodate the variety of machines used in coal mining today. This paper provides an update of the research under the computer-assisted mining program.

• OSTI ID: 62424
• Report Number(s): CONF-9309416--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
COAL MINING
CONTINUOUS MINERS
HAULAGE EQUIPMENT
MINERAL INDUSTRY
MINING ENGINEERING
MINING EQUIPMENT
PRODUCTIVITY
REMOTE CONTROL
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
UNDERGROUND MINING
US BUREAU OF MINES