UAVs in mining

Author:Neville Judd

Imagine a mine where everyday planning software automatically tasks a fleet of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) – completely autonomously – to collect high-resolution coordinate scans, imagery and other remote sensing of the entire mine. Data from highwalls, stockpiles, waste dumps, tailings dams, blasting, and plants is collected by the same software and converted into information for quicker, smarter decision making.

这个场景描述未来很快就会reality. UAVs are already having a profound effect on mining. The regulatory process is catching up with the technology. According to the ADS report UAV Drones Market-Global Forecast to 2022, by 2022, the international UAV market is expected to be worth 19.73 billion Euros, growing at a rate of about 20 per cent annually.

“There have long been many places in a mine where foot traffic is not allowed or is ill-advised,” said Bryan Baker, Leica Geosystems Unmanned Aerial Systems Sales Manager. “These include near the crests and toes of highwalls, under operating machinery, on stockpiles and muck piles, and near blasts."

“在这种情况下，使用测量棒，总站或GNSS获得测量是有问题的。无人机的航空摄影和遥感使我们能够捕获所有这些信息，而无需使某人受到伤害。但是，必须保护人员，公用事业，设备和公共领空免受无人机的保护，而权衡是严格的安全法规和认真的试点培训。

“That trade-off and the amount of data that can be acquired through UAV technology make it more than justifiable and more than worthwhile.”

bob体育报道Hexagon是在无人机在采矿中应用的公司之一。更好的爆炸优化，改进的安全性，更快的测量以及最全面，最连续的项目数据集的构建只是该技术的一些优点。

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UAV development

“Aerial photogrammetry has been around for as long as the airplane,” said Baker. “For mining though, a manned aircraft was too expensive and too inconvenient for regular airborne photogrammetry. UAS are a natural fit for mining and the advent of the lithium polymer battery has transformed development of airborne photogrammetry.”

Electric motors now safely discharge at a very high rate to be able to carry small aircraft with a payload such as a camera. This technology allows us to capture data in near real time from areas that would otherwise be inaccessible or unsafe for staff. Whether it’s for blast fragmentation, stockpile volumes, or any other mine-related activity, data can be captured quickly and safely.

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UAVS and Geosystems

Hexagon Geosystems business, Aibotix, is at the forefront of pushing photogrammetry’s boundaries with its core product, theAibot X6。The Aibot X6 is an autonomously flying hexacopter, specifically designed for demanding tasks in surveying, mining and industrial inspection. Equipped with a high level of artificial intelligence, this UAV reaches almost any target and can independently create high resolution images and videos. A unique feature of the Aibot X6 offers the possibility to adapt varying kinds of sensors, such as hyper- and multispectral sensors, infrared and thermal sensors, and sensors for other industry-specific missions.

Surveying of the future is dynamic and flexible. Data captured by the Aibot X6 commercial UAV and the software solutions of Aibotix and Hexagon allow mines to generate orthophotos, 3D models and high-density point clouds with great accuracy.

飞行计划软件Aibotix Aiproflight使得获得熟练摄影测量必不可少的所有参数变得容易。AIBOT的悬停和拍照的能力使其理想地适合于储存和泥浆桩监测和分析，以及岩石质量表征，以及植物，设备和高滚筒检查。

对于大规模的空中调查，Aibotix最近添加了RF-70固定机翼无人机的远程功能。RF-70可以以更高的速度飞行长达一小时，从而使其每次飞行2.59平方公里（640英亩）进行调查。这种无人机不仅能够测量整个坑，尾矿蓄水池，废物垃圾场和浸出垫。

借助AIBOT的所有飞行计划和数据捕获功能，较新的RF-70 UAV是一个补充合作伙伴，可为地雷提供他们需要快速轻松地绘制整个矿山所需的工具。陆地激光扫描仪的添加完成了内外测量图。未来的数字矿山将需要所有这些远程测量传感器以及自动控制和处理软件，以创建完整的数字项目模型。

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Minesight geology and planning software

“Hexagon Mining’s mine planning software, MineSight, is well equipped to handle point clouds,” said Hexagon Mining Applications Engineer Johnny Lyons-Baral. “Its point cloud data type features a high level of detail rendering capability, akin to a gaming rendering. The software is capable of displaying billions of points at a time, averaging out points in the pixels with level detail rendering, saving computer memory while displaying high resolution images."

“ Minesight's Point Cloud Mesher将大型数据集变成了地形表面，隧道，漂移和斜率，以及从点云可用的任何其他固体和表面。它允许地雷快速从现场捕获到可用数据以进行优化。该工具从数据中删除错误和噪声，以确保可用于下游过程的清洁表面。色点云可以在优化的表面上显示，以允许特征提取和地质解释。”

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爆破和粉碎

矿石的压碎和研磨占任何矿山的大部分能源成本。根据美国能源部的数据，估计量估计占全球电力消耗的2％。因此，爆炸碎片具有重要的下游效果，对总粉碎能量以及提取，恢复和最终利润的影响。磨坊需要有效的磨削以进行适当的处​​理。有效的粉碎需要鲜艳的材料。矿石材料的爆炸碎片不良会从矿山的价值中擦除数百万美元。

Aerial photogrammetry and point cloud technology have an important role to play in improving blast optimisation. Open face surveys can be used to detect areas of critical minimum burden that could cause dangerous flyrock. Analysis of the face geology can be used for rock mass characterisation, including initial block size distributions.

Videos taken by UAVs from a safe, eagle-eye perspective are fast becoming popular to evaluate the success of blasts. After blasting, UAV data can reveal blast material movement, delineations between ore and waste, and allow fragmentation analysis. All of this allows mines to quickly learn more about their geology and their blasting performance, driving the site toward better knowledge of its material and better blasting practices.

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地质和岩土技术

从地质和geotechnical perspective, there are numerous opportunities to extract mineralogical and lithological data, as well as structural and geomorphological data, shapes, etc. There are also numerous possibilities for automation to be introduced to the UAV point cloud loop. More interpretation, more usable data for analysis for future designs, and reconciliation are among those possibilities.

里昂·巴拉尔（Lyons-Baral）说：“一种后场景可能是让该程序自动划定矿石位置，废物位置或至少基于图像的最佳猜测的多边形。”“在为以前已编码的不同岩石类型建立光谱特征的情况下，还可以进行超光谱图像。”

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A future look

In the future, UAVs will be able to fly longer, farther, carry heavier sensors, and different types of sensors. A fleet of aircraft - multirotor, fixed-wing, or more likely a combination of the two - will be autonomously dispatched each day from mine planning software to collect necessary data before landing and downloading that data onto the cloud and into the office for extraction, analysis, rapid decision making and optimisation.

A version of this story first appeared inWorld Coal。