Tag Archives: Hard-Line

Hexagon, MinRes to ‘transform mining’ with autonomous road train developments

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Hexagon AB has signed a major agreement with diversified mining company Mineral Resources (MinRes) to provide an autonomous haulage solution for a fleet of road trains to run at the Onslow iron ore project in Western Australia, which, the companies say, will transform safety, productivity and sustainability in the region.

The world-first, fully autonomous road trains are a full-site, truck-agnostic solution, leveraging positioning, onboard autonomy and by-wire, fleet management, collision avoidance, world perception and autonomous mission management solutions from Hexagon.

These solutions will be added to Kenworth 330 t road trains (coming with three trailers each), which will run autonomously on MinRes’ 150 km private haul road.

This agreement builds on two major milestones the companies achieved over the last two years in anticipation of rolling out the fully autonomous road trains at Onslow.

In late 2021, Hexagon and MinRes signed an agreement to develop an autonomous road train solution as part of a plan to unlock “stranded tonnes” in the Pilbara of Western Australia. Then, in April 2022, the companies announced a world-first had been achieved with the successful demonstration of a triple-trailer, automated road train platoon in the Yilgarn of Western Australia – each autonomous road train, in this case, hauling 300 t of iron ore.

Andrew Crose, Vice President, Autonomous Mining, Hexagon’s Mining division, told IM that the speed of adoption of this automated solution – from agreement to demonstration, to planned commercial deployment, in a little over two years – was aided by the abilities and efforts of a global team of Hexagon experts.

“Hexagon has staffed a large multi-national team across the Hexagon technologies stack across Perth (Australia), United States, Brazil, Switzerland and Canada to deliver this technology,” he said.

The companies also worked within the framework of the established Code of Practice for Safe Mobile Autonomous Mining in Western Australia to gain the necessary regulatory approvals to move the project forward at such a pace.

Mike Grey, Chief Executive, MinRes, said in the press release: “Automation will remove the risk of driver fatigue, lower operating costs and reduce fuel use and emissions. There’s enormous potential for these vehicles to transform mining across the world.”

Commissioning of the autonomous road trains is expected to fall in line with the go-live date for Onslow – currently estimated for the first half of 2024.

The road trains form an important part of the 35 Mt/y project, ensuring this tonnage is moved from the mine to the Port of Ashburton.

MinRes has said previously that the autonomous road train technology will initially be adopted for its own mining operations, with a view to offering the solution to its Tier 1 customer base as it grows its Mining Services division.

Hexagon recently expanded its autonomy offering with the acquisition of HARD-LINE; a deal that, Nick Hare, President, Hexagon’s Mining division, says allows the company to provide a scalable automation platform that all mining companies can use and grow with.

Hexagon buys HARD-LINE, bringing scale to interoperable autonomy puzzle

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Hexagon has agreed to acquire Canada-based tele-remote operations leader HARD-LINE, bringing into its offering all the elements it needs to compete in the autonomous haulage system (AHS) space.

At HxGN LIVE Global 2023 in Las Vegas last month, Hexagon’s Mining division said it was enhancing its relationship with the company, building on a previous distribution agreement the two companies announced back in September 2021.

Now, the two companies have agreed to combine their expertise to achieve their ultimate autonomy goals.

Speaking to IM about the deal, Nick Hare, President, Hexagon’s Mining division, said: “It’s an absolute win for all stakeholders. It is good for us as it enables us to deliver on both safety and autonomy, core to our mission, with HARD-LINE’s considerable experience filling in technology gaps in remote control and its considerable library of interfaces on vehicle by-wire. It’s good for HARD-LINE, giving them access to our sales, distribution and support base in 50 different countries; and, most importantly, it is good for the customers, ensuring that they have an interoperable, OEM-independent partner to rely on.”

Walter Siggelkow, President of HARD-LINE, said he saw the combination of HARD-LINE’s mine operator market knowledge and Hexagon’s suite of products and global presence providing the “world’s first truly integrated autonomous solution”.

He told IM: “Hexagon and HARD-LINE share a common vision that autonomy can be accomplished without starting over. The advanced technologies to extend this capital investment is now available. We are completely confident that this is a perfect fit.”

HARD-LINE says it has developed “by-wire vehicle control solutions” for more than 200 equipment models covering several OEMs over the last 27 years, with more than 3,000 conversions of its platform completed to date, including its renowned TeleOp system. On top of its remote-control solutions, it also provides related network infrastructure to enable the tele-remote operation of heavy machinery from a secure control station on the surface or underground, regardless of distance.

Hexagon, meanwhile, has a significant autonomy stack, including the HxGN Autonomous Mining Mission Manager solution choreographing the movement of autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles, and mine production activities through one interface; the World Perception solution to enable object detection, operator vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-person awareness; as well as on-board infrastructure such as sensors and antenna.

Hare estimates Hexagon is already the biggest provider of autonomy solutions for off-road heavy industry, but he believes this latest deal will accelerate the realisation of its autonomy ambitions in mining: providing a scalable automation platform that all mining companies can use and grow with.

“Now we have the ability to move the machines, this creates a complete OEM independent solution from one partner,” he said. “You will start to see us go head-to-head on most projects with other AHS providers. The key – and we feel the differentiator for customers – is that we will be matching this with our ability to safely deliver customer success.

“A lot of AHS implementations have enabled companies to move more tonnes, but the return on investment hasn’t always been there. We intend to change that.”

The potential impact Hexagon can make on the AHS market from acquiring HARD-LINE is inevitably the highlight of this deal, but it also has positive ramifications for its latest product offerings, including HxGN Underground Mining, HxGN Autonomous Mining and the HxGN MineProtect solutions.

Hare implied the HARD-LINE platform – when integrated with the Minnovare drilling solutions the company recently acquired – could also see it expand into autonomous underground drilling solutions.

Danfoss, Swift Navigation, Bonsai Robotics and HARD-LINE parter on off-highway automation developments

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Danfoss Power Solutions has partnered with Swift Navigation, Bonsai Robotics and HARD-LINE to expand the offerings in its autonomous machine development platform.

Danfoss will integrate the companies’ solutions into its PLUS+1 Autonomy software, enabling users to enhance their autonomous machines with Swift Navigation’s high-precision positioning service, Bonsai Robotics’ camera-based vision systems and HARD-LINE’s tele-remote operations solution, the company said.

Peter Bleday, Head of Autonomy, Danfoss Power Solutions, said: “Autonomous off-highway machines are becoming more sophisticated. As we advance towards Level 4 and even Level 5 autonomy, high-precision navigation and remote control beyond line of sight will become requirements. Swift Navigation, Bonsai Robotics and HARD-LINE are very different companies that each have a reputation for technology leadership and flexibility. These are natural system partnerships for us and strategic business fits. We look forward to integrating their solutions into our PLUS+1 Autonomy platform and helping our customers stay ahead of the curve in their autonomous vehicle development.”

PLUS+1 Autonomy is a software platform designed to substantially reduce development time and facilitate rapid vehicle prototyping, helping OEMs get autonomous and semi-autonomous off-highway machines to market faster. In addition to its PLUS+1 Autonomy platform, Danfoss offers engineering services and ruggedised hardware. Danfoss Autonomy teams work with customers from concept to production, supporting full machine development.

Swift Navigation’s Skylark precise positioning service offers decimeter-level accuracy from the cloud to PLUS+1 Autonomy, eliminating the need for additional ground infrastructure, it says. It is well suited for industries such as construction, agriculture and other applications that demand high-precision GNSS capabilities. Skylark covers a wide range of major markets, including the USA, Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia.

Brad Sherrard, Executive Vice President, Industrial, Swift Navigation, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Danfoss, a renowned leader in industrial machine control. Accurate machine control and autonomy rely heavily on precise positioning. Skylark’s exceptional reliability and extensive coverage make it the ideal solution for these applications.”

Bonsai Robotics is a fast-growing startup that specialises in camera-based vision systems for adverse conditions such as heavy dust, debris, vibration and lack of GPS. The system uses cameras instead of traditional positioning systems, enabling greater accuracy at very low cost when navigating the toughest conditions.

Tyler Niday, founder and CEO, Bonsai Robotics, said: “Bonsai’s partnership with Danfoss has allowed us to rapidly integrate with several vehicle form factors in order to add vision-based autonomy and Visionsteer driver augmentation to equipment operating in some of the most challenging conditions. The beauty of PLUS+1 drive-by-wire systems is that an autonomous perception system can drive the PLUS+1-equipped vehicles through CAN bus messages in the same way that a human would use manual controls.”

HARD-LINE offers teleoperation services that enable monitoring and control of machines over the internet. The service complements Danfoss’ radio-based remote-control solutions, which allow operators to remotely control machines within line of sight. Teleoperations are ideal for operators supervising multiple autonomous machines. If a machine stops due to an unknown obstacle, the operator can log in to the HARD-LINE system, navigate around the obstacle then resume autonomous operation without needing to be close to the machine.

Chad Rhude, Vice President of US operations, HARD-LINE, said: “HARD-LINE is excited to partner with Danfoss to provide a teleoperation solution to work in conjunction with their PLUS+1 Autonomy software. We feel that HARD-LINE’s teleoperation solution is ideal for giving autonomy providers the flexibility to remotely intervene when required during the autonomy process. We look forward to adapting our API to integrate into the PLUS+1 Autonomy platform and working with a great company like Danfoss to bring autonomy and teleoperation to a wider industrial market.”

HARD-LINE’s TeleOp tech to be offered as part of HxGN Autonomous Mining portfolio

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Hexagon’s Mining division has enhanced its collaboration with Canada-based tele-remote technology leader HARD-LINE, building on a previous distribution agreement the two companies announced back in September 2021.

HARD-LINE’s TeleOp technology allows the tele-remote operation of heavy machinery from a control station in a safe area on surface or underground, regardless of distance. In addition to safety benefits, there are significant productivity advantages to deploying such technology, utilising the equipment over shift changes in underground mines, for example.

Hexagon’s Mining division’s relationship with this technology was previously made up of a distribution agreement. Now, TeleOp is being incorporated into the wider automation offering that comes under the recently announced HxGN Autonomous Mining portfolio.

Speaking last week at HxGN LIVE Global 2023 in Las Vegas, Rob Daw, Chief Innovation Officer at Hexagon’s Mining division, said: “We are strengthening that partnership with HARD-LINE to enhance what the tele-remote solution can do and bring it together into the wider autonomy offering we have within Hexagon’s Mining division.”

HARD-LINE says it has developed “by-wire solutions” for more than 200 equipment models covering several OEMs, with more than 3,000 conversions completed to date.

The closer collaboration between the two companies is already being witnessed in Brazil where Hexagon’s Mining division, HARD-LINE, Scania and Fidens are working on the deployment of teleremote technology at a mine in the country.

Rodrigo Couto, President, LATAM, Hexagon’s Mining division (on the far right), explained: “In Brazil, there is a law dictating that you cannot operate equipment on a manual basis by areas deemed too risky, such as tailings dams, decommissioned & other reclaimed areas. This means tele-remote technology and automation are the only choice to carry out operations.”

Hexagon’s Mining division and HARD-LINE have sold several kits to clients in the country, with one of these kits heading to an operation overseen by Fidens, which has installed a tele-remote kit on a Scania G 500 6×4 Prime Mover.

Couto said: “This is reducing the risk of operators at the tailings operation and also allowing Fidens to operate in areas that, by law, were previously off limits.”

HARD-LINE adds Bucket Assist to TeleOp system offering

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HARD-LINE, aligning with its brand-agnostic prowess, has launched Bucket Assist at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 in Las Vegas, USA, an add-on feature to its TeleOp systems that gives the TeleOp operator a visual representation of the position of the boom and bucket in relation to the ground.

The company’s current and new clients can opt for this feature that, HARD-LINE says, will bring the machine operator closer to the machine without leaving their TeleOp control stations, increasing productivity while continuing to keep the machine operator at a safe distance.

Phil Pelland, Vice President, Sales, HARD-LINE, says: “Tactile feedback from the machine is crucial for any machine operator to judge the position and placement for optimum productivity. This is a solution our customers needed, and we are pleased to deliver.”

In addition to this new feature, HARD-LINE has made an announcement on a new product that, it says, will revolutionise teleoperation. The new product is a compact box that CONNECTs everything from the machine to its operator by enabling successful collaboration between HARD-LINE and its clients. This new product will continue to keep safety at the forefront while also shining the light on a core company value – collaboration – it says.

HARD-LINE-Polymath

HARD-LINE and Polymath Robotics team up to automate dozer operation

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Polymath Robotics and HARD-LINE, on the opening of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 in Las Vegas, USA, have announced a collaboration on a solution for autonomous dozing.

In line with this collaboration, HARD-LINE has been added to Polymath’s network of hardware integration partners and Polymath has joined HARD-LINE’s software integration ecosystem.

HARD-LINE is an OEM-agnostic leading supplier of automation, teleoperation and remote-control technology. Polymath Robotics makes safety-critical autonomous navigation software for heavy machinery.

Stefan Seltz-Axmacher, CEO of Polymath Robotics, said: “We are excited to add HARD-LINE to our network of hardware integration partners and join their software ecosystem. Our collaboration brings autonomous solutions to the heavy equipment industry as part of each other’s partner ecosystems.”

The dozing technology is vehicle agnostic and can be implemented on any heavy equipment regardless of make, model, or type of machine, according to the companies. The solution leverages HARD-LINE’s hardware integration, remote operation capabilities, and machine control API, integrated with Polymath’s autonomous navigation tools.

The companies said: “The autonomous dozer is built to tackle important but repetitive tasks, like dewatering, planting and heap leaching. This exciting new technology will be made available for any bulldozer, whether new or existing.”

Ryan Siggelkow, SVP Technology at HARD-LINE, said: “We are proud to have Polymath join our software integration ecosystem, in addition to collaborating on an autonomous solution for remote dozer operations. We see these solutions as a way to further enhance productivity and efficiency by bringing remote autonomous dozing to the market.”

Polymath and HARD-LINE are collaborating on the implementation and are taking pre-orders expected to ship in the second half of 2023, they say. They will be demonstrating elements of the autonomous dozer solution during the event, which runs from March 14-18.

Hexagon’s Mining division to distribute HARD-LINE’s TeleOp tech in the Americas

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HARD-LINE and Hexagon’s Mining Division have announced a new partnership at MINExpo 2021, in Las Vegas, that, they say, will enhance their international mining capabilities.

Combining their expertise in surface and underground mining, Hexagon will serve as a major distributor of HARD-LINE’s teleremote technology, known as TeleOp, in North, Central, and South America as well as Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.

“Partnering with Hexagon is a significant step in our evolution and really shows our ability and desire to grow and adapt,” Walter Siggelkow, HARD-LINE’s President, says. “This will allow both companies to be even more competitive globally, especially in massive mining markets like Latin America.”

Some other products receiving distribution include HARD-LINE’s RRC (Radio Remote Control) as well as BackBone Networks, Brow Alert, Brake Release and Farsight.

President of Hexagon’s Mining Division, Nick Hare, said: “We’re looking forward to collaborating with HARD-LINE, which shares our vision of a future that’s safer, sustainable and increasingly autonomous.”

HARD-LINE introduces Auto Rockbreaker at MINExpo 2021

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Today at MINExpo 2021, HARD-LINE released a revolutionary mining product that, it says, will change the way mining companies use rockbreakers, with Auto Rockbreaker.

The latest autonomous HARD-LINE product allows operators to automate various rockbreaking tasks that have yet to be done.

“Our team has come up with solutions that make one of the more difficult mining methods, much easier,” HARD-LINE Senior VP of Technology, Ryan Siggelkow, says. “A major benefit is that the system does not require a highly trained operator, which will make it easier for companies to attract talent.”

HARD-LINE’s VP of Sales, Phil Pelland, has been in mining for more than 40 years and has seen the slow evolution of rockbreakers, until now.

He says: “Besides the fact it removes operators from dangerous environments, Auto Rockbreaker provides operator solutions for limited visibility and poor depth perception. It is compatible with all rockbreaker makes and models, and it is designed to be retrofitted for existing breakers.”

At MINExpo, HARD-LINE is hosting simulations where delegates are witnessing features such as autonomously parking the hammer and deploying it, known as auto park and auto deploy. The new rockbreaker technology uses a series of sensors, including cameras to survey the environment. The sensor data is then processed by computer vision and machine learning algorithms to recognise the rockbreaker’s surroundings.

As the system continues to advance, HARD-LINE says it is looking to partner with more mine sites to further augment the system’s unique capabilities.

HARD-LINE readies Auto RockBreaker, TeleOp Assist and Brow Alert for MINExpo crowd

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HARD-LINE plans to unveil a diverse line-up of new mining products geared towards automation and safety at MINExpo 2021 next month.

The company’s Auto RockBreaker, TeleOp Assist and Brow Alert will be just some of the company’s booth highlights from September 13-15, in Las Vegas.

HARD-LINE’s Auto Rockbreaker is going to “disrupt” the mining industry, according to the company.

“For the first time ever, operators will have the ability to automate many rockbreaking tasks” HARD-LINE said. “With Auto Rockbreaker, mining companies will be able to reduce maintenance and operator training costs, decrease wear and tear while extending the life of all rockbreakers.”

The system has many functions, including auto deploy and auto park, as well as other features making the operator experience that much more intuitive with its 3D User Interface, it said.

TeleOp Assist is the latest addition to the company’s TeleOp suite, which equips the base TeleOp system with intelligent steering assistance and collision detection to keep machines off walls while driving.

Using real-time 3D LiDAR scans, Assist will automatically steer to handle the articulation adjustments required to keep the machine as centred as possible within the drift, the company said.

“With Assist’s adaptive technology, a pre-scan of the drift is not required – providing significant cost savings,” HARD-LINE said. “The system does not require any training when moving from one level to another.”

Brow Alert, meanwhile, is an added level of protection for underground mining operations.

It serves as an add-on system designed to deter an operator from manually driving a vehicle past the brow line of a stope by using sensors and modules.

The system is easy to install, reduces risk of workplace injuries and fatalities, encourages accountability and keeps operators a safe distance from the brow, the company says.

Auto RockBreaker, TeleOp Assist and Brow Alert will be joined by the likes of RRC (Radio Remote Control), TeleOp system, vehicle conversion kits (drive-by-wire), and HARD-LINE’s low-profile loader series (LP401 and LP301) on the company’s MINExpo booth.

HARD-LINE expands into new NORCAT underground facility

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A long-time partner of NORCAT, HARD-LINE says it is evolving its remote-control systems in a new space at NORCAT’s surface facility at the former Fecunis mine site in Onaping, Ontario.

HARD-LINE, a global technology company specialising in remote and tele-remote-control solutions, uses drift space at NORCAT’s underground site.

Inside HARD-LINE’s new office is a TeleOp control station that allows the tele-remote operation of heavy machinery and, in this case, an underground LHD at the test site.

“This new space is a welcomed addition to an already impressive site,” HARD-LINE’s Senior VP of Technology, Ryan Siggelkow, says. “The bigger space will allow for more people to meet in our office and ultimately let us test products in a more efficient manner, including new tech like our TeleOp Assist.”

The Assist system is new to market and equips the TeleOp base system with intelligent steering assistance and collision detection to keep LHDs off walls. It also increases tramming speeds, and no pre-scan of the drift is required, according to HARD-LINE.

HARD-LINE’s Supervisor of Technology Implementation, Jim Doyle, is often at the new facility and underground site testing different types of mining equipment. Doyle credits the NORCAT partnership in advancing HARD-LINE’s technology.

“Our relationship with NORCAT is really beneficial,” he said. “We’ve seen growth and improvements in our products over the years because of it.”

The partnership dates back to 2012 when HARD-LINE helped formulate the Underground Centre’s strategy and customer value proposition.

NORCAT CEO, Don Duval, said: “We are excited to build on our existing relationship and support HARD-LINE as they expand into our new surface facilities at the NORCAT Underground Centre. With HARD-LINE’s TeleOp control station, we have seen operators given the ability to control underground heavy machinery from the safety of an office at the Underground Centre. This technology is not only enhancing productivity and safety but also it is transforming the definition of work in the global mining industry.”

Just last month, NSS Canada announced a new partnership with NORCAT and the addition of a new NSS Canada office in the NORCAT Underground Centre.