A Remotely Operated Robotic Rock Breaker with Collision Avoidance for the Mining Industry

Rock-breaker automation and remote operation improves the safety and efficiency of mining operations. This article presents an overview of the Rocklogic rock-breaker automation system architecture that provides collision avoidance, automated parking, and remote operation functionality. The system consists of a distributed computer control system that interfaces with sensors attached to the rock-breaker, the rock-breaker hydraulics, and the site infrastructure. We present results of an automated Transmin rockbreaker installed in a production environment at an underground Australian mine site. The system has been in production use for over 900 days during which there have been no reported collisions, and 100% adoption of the remote operation technology. As a result, Rocklogic has significantly improved the safety of rock-breaking operations and reduced the rock-breaking cycle time, thereby improving the sites overall throughput.