On the morning of June 30, 2021, Liu Jianping, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of energy company SPIC Inner Mongolia and a delegation went to Huolinhe open-pit coal mine to inspect the remote control electric rope shovel project jointly deployed by shovel manufacturer Taiyuan Heavy Industry (TYHI) and technology company BuilderX. The drivers took turns to operate the remote control system and shared their experiences.
The experienced operator Captain Wang personally got on the machine to operate, with the operation process reported as very smooth, and two buckets of material were loaded. “How do you feel when you drive a remote-controlled electric shovel?” Wang was asked. “First, the dust and noise are much less than on-site. Working in such an environment, the health of the driver can be guaranteed. Second, the 5G signal video transmission speed is very fast, and the sound and image are synchronised, which feels the same as when it is on-site. Thirdly, in terms of safety, because people are not on the spot, the safety of personnel can be guaranteed.”
Then what do you think of the efficiency of this equipment?” Chairman Liu Jianping asked. “The current efficiency may be lower than that of on-site construction. The main reason is that I am not proficient. I have just started to learn to operate the remotely controlled electric shovel. We have been learning traditional electric shovel for a long time, and we have to take the exam and achieve a qualification certificate. You can’t expect the remote power shovel to get started as soon as you get started. Now we are actively training young drivers. During this period of training, everyone becomes more proficient and more efficient,” said Wang.
Jianping asked: “What do you think of the ease of operation of this equipment?” Wang said: “Very good, because this equipment has been semi-automated. After the first shovel, I can set automatic reset and one-key unloading. I don’t need to find a’point’ anymore. It is much faster than human judgment Yes, the operation of this device is very accurate. And the device can also restore vibration, the experience is very real.”
After the inspection, Liu Jianping held the fifth coordination meeting for the construction of the “smart, unmanned, green, and zero-carbon” mine demonstration project. At the conference, he affirmed the phased results achieved by the South open-pit coal mine and the participating units in the construction of the smart unmanned green zero-carbon mine demonstration project. He pointed out that efforts should be made to build a professional, digital, intelligent, and intelligent production and operation management system.
It is reported that the remote-controlled electric shovel deployed in Huolinhe mine by TYHI is equipped with BuilderX’s “Enlightenment” 2.0 system, which can maintain ultra-low latency under various network conditions, especially Huolinhe’s 5G network. Under the condition of network transmission, the delay of simultaneous transmission of 11 channels of video can be as low as less than 100 milliseconds, which meets the needs of remote control of large equipment such as electric shovels.
In addition, BuilderX’s “Drilling Comprehension” 2.0 system is also equipped with a one-key unloading function, and the loading efficiency can reach more than 75% of the most skilled driver’s on-board operation, which is more than the average level; the personnel recognition and early warning function can be 360 degrees. There is no dead angle to monitor the surrounding personnel in real time, and a pop-up window displays the alarm, as well as speed reduction applied when necessary, which greatly enhances the safety of the surrounding personnel. In addition, in terms of the unmanned electric shovel, BuilderX will add a self-developed depth perception function and bucket tooth falling warning function to the “Drilling Comprehension” 2.0 system in the future, so as to further accelerate the improvement of unmanned electric mining shovels while ensuring safety.
