A “reliable service that augments your eyes underground,” VisionV2X from Maptek it says is a simple proximity detection and awareness solution with an important mission. Maptek™ VisionV2X gives all mine personnel vision underground, enabling them to make better decisions for keeping people and equipment safe. Maptek will officially launch VisionV2X at Austmine2023 in Adelaide on May 10 as part of its story around continuous technology innovation that began in 1981.
To create a system that miners could rely on for proximity detection underground, Maptek turned to proven technology in the automotive industry. Maptek engineers “applied their software smarts and combined their knowledge of mining with input from ergonomics and human experience experts to design a simple interface.”
The result – VisionV2X – is operating hundreds of metres underground at one of the world’s largest underground copper mines. Maptek adds: “Keeping people and equipment safe is the number 1 priority for mine managers, operators and supervisors. All while meeting their production output and decarbonisation targets.”
“Our latest product is firmly in touch with the Austmine theme Transforming the future and in line with our industry imperative to bring everyone home at the end of a shift underground,” said Maptek CEO Eduardo Coloma. “That’s a lot of people. The numbers around underground mines globally are staggering. Hundreds of kilometres of tunnels across multiple shafts, operating kilometres below the surface. And of course, thousands of people operating heavy and light machinery in Wi-Fi and GPS denied environments.”
VisionV2X allows miners to see underground and around corners, with metre accuracy to ensure even fully loaded high speed trucks have time to react to each other in all conditions. “The Maptek proximity awareness system has underground safety as the key objective,” added Coloma. “It can be fitted to any vehicle across a mixed manufacturer fleet that is commonly deployed in underground mines.”
Maptek adds: “Golden rules for any safety system are that it is reliable, easy to install and straightforward to use. At the heart of VisionV2X is an ergonomic touchscreen interface installed in heavy vehicle cabs that operators can rely on for visible and audible feedback around the proximity of at-risk personnel and vehicles.”
The system continuously runs automated checks in the background to ensure VisionV2X is operating correctly. VisionV2X is a strategic system that enables mine managers and supervisors to achieve operational safety KPIs. Detailed proximity data is logged onboard the vehicle and sent back to a central server for analysis and reporting, helping to deliver continual improvement in risk management and worker safety.