Mine safety sensors: Test results in a simulated test stope

Abstract

The South African mining industry is plagued by accidents, the most common of which are rock falls. In order to carry out its mandate of improving the quality of life of South African citizens, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is undertaking research into how these accidents can be mitigated. One such method is the use of sensor equipped robotic platforms. The CSIR's mine safety platform is a robotic system for inspecting the working area of hard-rock mines to determine areas of rock fall risk. The mine safety platform uses two sensors to locate unstable areas of the hanging-wall, the 3D-thermal sensor and the wall stability assessor. The robot and its safety sensors have been tested in the CSIR's re-configurable stope test facility that enables the testing of mine equipment and machinery in a variety of simulated mine environments without the arduous and costly trips underground to various locations to encounter the various scenarios that the equipment needs to deal with.