Tag Archives: UAVs

Emesent builds mining connections as Hovermap autonomy takes off

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Having recently helped DJI’s M300 drone fly autonomously underground (through its Hovermap Autonomy Level 2 (AL2) solution) and signed an agreement with Deswik to provide surveyors and planners with more accurate data from inaccessible areas, Emesent has been on a roll of late. IM put some questions to CEO, Dr Stefan Hrabar, to find out more.

IM: First off, if no communications infrastructure is in place at an underground mine, how do Emesent’s drones stream a 3D map of the environment back to the operator’s tablet?

SH: Hovermap is smartly designed to operate beyond the communication range of the operator. The operator does not always need to see a live map since Hovermap is navigating by itself. The user can place a waypoint beyond the current limits of the map, and beyond line of sight and communication range. Hovermap self-navigates towards the waypoint, avoiding obstacles and building the map as it goes. Once it reaches the waypoint (or if the waypoint is impossible to reach), it automatically returns back to the operator. The map data is stored onboard Hovermap and when it returns back to within Wi-Fi range the new map data is uploaded to the tablet. The operator can then see the new areas that were mapped and place a new waypoint in or beyond that map, sending the drone back out again to explore further.

IM: What results have you so far received from using AL2 for Hovermap at mine sites? Were the results PYBAR got from trials at Dargues and Woodlawn in line with your expectations?

SH: Last year’s trials at Dargues and Woodlawn showcased some great outcomes for the PYBAR team, including the ability for Hovermap to capture valuable data using Autonomy Level 1 (AL1). The team saw great potential in the technology, leading to the purchase of two systems for their use. Earlier this year, AL2 flights were conducted at Dargues during the final pre-release testing phase. Even the first stope at Dargues that was mapped using AL2 highlighted the benefit of the system over traditional CMS (cavity monitoring systems). A large area of overbreak was identified in the Hovermap scan. The same stope had been mapped with a CMS, but this area was not visible from the CMS scan location so the overbreak was not identified.

A number of mines have been using AL2 to map their stopes and other areas beyond line-of-sight. With AL2, they can send Hovermap into places that previously would have been inaccessible, enabling them to obtain critical data in real time without risking the machine or personnel.

The AL2-based stope scans have been more detailed and complete (lack of shadowing) than ever before. A beyond line-of-sight flight down an ore pass was also conducted recently, with Hovermap guiding the drone down 120 m and returning safely to produce a very detailed scan.

The high level of autonomy provided by AL2 also allows remote operation of the drone. We recently completed a trans-continental demo, with a customer in South Africa operating a drone in Australia using our AL2 technology and standard remote collaboration tools. The remote operator in South Africa was able to use their laptop to experiment with the technology from the other side of the world, sending Hovermap exploring down a tunnel.

This is a taste of what’s to come, with drones underground being operated from the surface or from remote operation centres thousands of kilometers away. This will remove the need for skilled personnel on site, and reduce the time spent underground.

IM: What had been holding you back from achieving AL2 with drones/payloads? Is it the on-board computing power needed to that has been the issue?

SH: Flying underground where there is no GPS, the space is tight and there are hazards such as mesh, wires, dripping water and dust is very challenging. We overcame many of these with AL1, which makes it safe and easy for a pilot to operate the drone within line-of-sight (Hovermap provides collision avoidance, position hold and velocity control). AL1 has been deployed for 18 months with many customers around the world, clocking up thousands of hours of use. This helped to improve the robustness and reliability of the core flight capabilities.

Emesent CEO, Dr Stefan Hrabar

AL2 builds on this mission-proved base capability to provide additional features. AL2 allows the system to fly beyond line-of-sight and beyond commination range. This means it’s on its own with no help from the operator and needs to deal with any situation it comes across. There are many edge cases that need to be considered, addressed and thoroughly tested. A significant amount of effort was put into these areas to ensure Hovermap with AL2 is extremely robust in these challenging environments. For example, the drone downwash can kick up dust, blinding the LiDAR sensor. We’ve implemented a way to deal with this, to bring the drone home safely. Other considerations are returning in a safe and efficient way when the battery is running low, or what to do if waypoints cannot be reached.

IM: How do you anticipate your partnership with Deswik impacting the mine planning and survey process? Do you see this reducing the amount of time needed to carry out this work, as well as potentially cutting the costs associated with it? Have you already carried out work at mine sites that has proven these benefits?

SH: Our commitment is to help mining companies increase safety and production while reducing costs and downtime. We do this by providing surveyors and planners with more accurate data from inaccessible areas, allowing them to derive new insights. Our partnership with Deswik means we’re able to provide a more comprehensive end-to-end solution to the industry.

We see this as a very natural partnership that will improve the overall customer experience. Hovermap excels at capturing rich 3D data in all parts of the mine (whether drone based, hand-held, lowered down a shaft on a cable or vehicle mounted). Once the data is captured and converted to 3D, customers need to visualise and interrogate the data to derive insights. This is where Deswik and other mining software vendors come into play. They have powerful software tools for planning, survey, drill and blast, geotechnical mapping and a host of other applications. We’re partnering with these vendors to ensure seamless integration between Hovermap data and their tools. We’re working with them to build automated workflows to import, geo-reference, clean and trim the data, and convert it into formats that are suitable for various tasks.

Surveyors at Evolution Mining’s Mungari operation have been using this new process in Deswik. Previously they needed a third software tool to perform part of the workflow manually before importing to Dewik.CAD. The intermediate steps have been eliminated and others have been automated, reducing the time from more than 30 minutes per scan to five minutes per scan.

IM: Since really starting to catch on in the mining sector in the last five years, drones have gone from carrying out simple open-pit surveys and surveillance to drill and blasting reconciliation platforms to reconnaissance solutions carrying out some of the riskiest tasks in underground mining. In the next decade, how do you see them further evolving? What new tasks could drones carry out to improve safety, cut costs or increase productivity?

SH: Emesent’s vision is to drive forward the development of ‘Sentient Digital Twins’ of industrial sites to future-proof the world’s major industries, from mining to energy and construction. These industries will be able to move to more automated decision-making using high-quality, autonomously collected data across their sites and tapping into thousands of data points to make split-second decisions about potential dangers, opportunities and efficiencies using a centralised decision-making platform.

We see our Hovermap technology being a key enabler for this future. Drones and other autonomous systems will become an integral part of the mine of the future. Drones will be permanently stationed underground and operated remotely, ready for routine data collection flights or to be deployed as needed after an incident.

Hovermap is already addressing some of the biggest challenges in mining — including safety and operational downtime. It improves critical safety to mines, keeping workers away from hazardous environments while providing better data to inform safety related decisions such as the level of ground support needed. This then feeds into better efficiency by helping mines to more accurately calculate risks and opportunities, aid decision making and predict situations.

Hovermap can significantly reduce downtime after an incident. For example, it was used to assess the level of damage in LKAB’s Kiruna mine after a seismic event. More than 30 scans were captured covering 1.2 km of underground drives that were not safe to access due to fall of ground. In another case, one of our customers saved around A$20 million ($14.6 million) after an incident, as they could use Hovermap to quickly capture the data necessary to make a critical decision.

IM: In terms of R&D, what future payload developments are you investing in currently that may have applications in mining?

SH: We’ll keep adapting our Hovermap design to suit new LiDAR improvements as they are released. More importantly, we’ll improve the autonomy capabilities so that even more challenging areas can be mapped with ease. We’re also adding additional sensors such as cameras, as these provide additional insights not visible in the LiDAR data. Our colourisation solution is an add-on module for Hovermap, which uses GoPro video to add colour to the LiDAR scans. This allows the identification of geological and other features.

Komatsu iMC dozers, drone tech help RHT Contracting revolutionise tailings dam build

Bulk handling, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When long-time friends Joe Riccardo, Mike Heddon and Mark Tyler set up RHT Contracting in mid-2018, they knew they needed a winning edge when bidding for contracts – so they went for the most innovative and technically advanced construction equipment available, a Komatsu Australia case study reports.

That saw them choose Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control (iMC) dozer and excavator technology when bidding for a large contract to construct tailings storage facilities (TSFs) for a major mining operation in Western Australia.

Currently RHT runs four Komatsu iMC machines: two D65PXi-18 swamp dozers, a D155AXi-8 dozer, and a PC360LCi-11, as well as Komatsu wheel loaders, dump trucks, graders, and other excavators on the one site.

Not only does using iMC technology give RHT significant safety, productivity, efficiency and accuracy advantages in TSF construction, it also provides the company’s mining clients the security and peace of mind that their critical facilities have been built to the highest and most exacting standards.

Today that is essential for any mining operation, following catastrophic failures of tailings dams in South America in the past five years, which have killed many people and caused widespread environmental devastation.

To ensure their integrity and long-term performance, it’s essential that TSFs be constructed following an established process, which involves placing the dam material in 300 mm thick layers; these are then compacted, and the top 100 mm scarified to ensure a strong lock with the subsequent 300 mm layer.

Using Komatsu iMC machines in this application, each 300 mm layer can be placed, quickly and efficiently, within tight tolerances, ready for compaction.

And unlike conventional ‘bolt-on’ machine control systems, the iMC system prevents dozer blades or excavator buckets from ‘over-digging’ into the already compacted and scarified layers, ensuring they are not compromised during placing of the next layer.

When RHT was formed, Riccardo, Heddon and Tyler (the company’s name comes from their surname initials) saw the opportunity to use Komatsu’s iMC technology as a real competitive advantage.

“These days, you’ve really got to innovate,” Heddon says. “Clients want to see that you are innovative and you’re not a dinosaur.

“I’ve been going to shows like CONEXPO and BAUMA for years, and I see all the latest stuff, and I was wondering how good it actually was. Then we spent some time with Dean Jones and Colin Brindle (from Komatsu Perth), to find out what their iMC technology could do.

“We were convinced enough to buy a D65PXi-18 swampy and a PC360LCi-11 excavator, plus a Topcon base station, which were delivered in February 2019, and took them to the site.

“We also put on Fraser Mead, a young surveyor, who’s passionate about technology, plus he’s really into drones and how they can really help with the whole mine infrastructure construction process.”

As of mid-June, Mead and RHT are trialling Komatsu’s EDD (EveryDay Drone) technology, a high precision UAV (drone) survey system providing industry-leading super-fast on-site processing using Komatsu SMARTCONSTRUCTION’s Edge technology.

“Initially the operators weren’t convinced about the iMC machines; they said ‘stuff this, I’m an operator, I don’t need that’, but then after a few days of seeing what the technology could do, they were going ‘wow!’,” Heddon says.

“On the first dam we built, we never put a grader on it, did the whole batter with just our first D65EXi dozer and the PC360LCi excavator. I have never, ever done that before; they are exceptionally good. The dams look great, the batters look great, we’re never having to do rework, we get it right – from the start to the end. It’s always spot on.”

Expanded fleet

Following the success of its first D65PXi-18, RHT bought a second D65PXi-18 in September last year, and the D155AXi-8 in February this year.

“At the moment, we’ve got all these machines working on site, building up to three dams at one time,” Heddon says.

“With the dozers, we are using them for winning material from borrow pits, while the excavator is pulling up batters.”

Building tailings dams for larger mines requires large amounts of earthworks – with dam walls up to 4-6 km around, along with haul roads, so there is a lot of earth to be moved.

RHT’s two smaller iMC machines, with their swamp tracks, are proving ideal for the precision final trim work to millimetre level accuracy, while the larger D155AXi-8 (pictured) is being used for the bulk earthworks on the dams and haul roads, according to Komatsu.

“On the newer dams we are building, we are using clay oxide materials, which are heavier to work with, which is why we brought in the D155AXi,” Heddon says. “Plus, we can also use it for building haul roads. We can just map in a haul road route and design, and the machine can go out and build it, even in rock and clay.”

One thing RHT has found is that the D155AXi-8 has not so far been giving quite the final trim accuracy of the D65PXi-18s.

“Certainly, it is extremely accurate compared with any conventional dozer next to it, but because we have seen how precise the D65s are to a few millimetres, we were expecting that with the D155. However, because it is bigger, it corrects slightly differently,” Heddon says.

“It’s still good, still within coo-ee of what we need, but we know at the moment it’s giving a slightly rougher surface, so you’ve got to take things a bit slower, use a lower gear to get there.

“On the bulk side, Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control works really well, absolutely on this bigger dozer. You can just set it, and it does exactly what we need. It’s on the fine control, where I think we can get it going even better.

“Because this is all so new, it’s something we are working with Komatsu to perfect.”

Heddon also says iMC ensures that rework and over-excavation never occurs – eliminating overruns and field survey work.

“With Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control acting as a rover, we know we are always building to the exact specs; we are never over-building, and everything is always exactly level and ready for rolling.

“We don’t require anyone to go out there with a dumpy level checking levels and all that stuff,” he says.

No micro managemenent

The other big advantage is having all the works designs already in the machines, ready for the operators as soon as they need them.

“That’s a big saving because the operators have everything at hand in the machines to do the work,” Heddon says.

“In the old days, we’d have two teams out there pegging the site, one for the day shift, and another for the night shift.

“Now we just put in a couple of reference pegs, then once the operator has the levels, it’s all good to go.”

And, as each part of the job is completed, it can be immediately checked and audited – and the records remain readily available at any time in the future for clients or geotechnical engineers.

“This technology means that the as-built track mapping is all there from the start. When you’re building a tailings dam, it’s essential that layers go down in 300 mm lifts, before the next one goes on top,” he says.

“We can see all this on the computer and know that it was done precisely. So, in future, if there is ever a question with a dam, we can go back in there and show that it was done exactly right. There’s no need for anyone to go in and micromanage. It is a great system.

“The other great thing about these iMC machines is that essentially they act as a mobile rover because everything is done within the machine.

“So, the surveyor can be away on another mine site, and if the operator finishes a job, the surveyor can jump in remotely, and work together with the operator to set things up for the next job. So, people are not sitting around waiting for someone to get back after lunch to start up again.”

Greatly increased site safety is another huge advantage with iMC, according to Komatsu.

“Safety is paramount for us,” Heddon says. “And not having people working on the ground around dump trucks, excavators, wheel loaders, dozers and other machines, is a major safety component. It’s just unreal.”

Heddon has also observed interesting reactions from operators using the iMC systems, and RHT’s clients.

“When these machines first came to site, people said it was just more stuff to go wrong. But then after a few days, they all agree the benefits are countless.

“And our clients have been really impressed with the quality, efficiency and technology the iMC machines offer.

“With this technology, we have the trucks deliver to the site, the dozers push it out – and it’s so level that the trucks can keep working, whereas before we’d have to call in a grader to give the trucks access.

“Everyone is stoked with it, the whole concept. We’ve since bought a second base station, and we’re putting that in our second site.”

The future

Heddon sees tremendous potential for Komatsu’s iMC technology in future projects.

“This is really moving into the future, that’s the only direction we want to go now.

“And particularly after those catastrophic dam failures in Brazil, the more you can prove the quality of your work and show that to the geotechs and the clients, the more successful we can be.

“They really need the confidence that these dams are getting built correctly at all times, not just some of the time.

“It’s giving the mining companies that security and peace of mind that their dams are built right, so they know they have their dams constructed to worlds best practice.

“We’re very committed to this technology. We want to see it on all our earthmoving machines, and we are very keen to see it on the larger excavators, at least up to PC490 size,” Heddon says.

Emesent achieves ‘industry first’ flight with DJI drone

Automation, Base metals, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , ,

Emesent has allowed DJI’s M300 drone to fly autonomously underground in what it believes to be a world first for the platform.

The flights took place on August 4 at the Round Oak Minerals-owned Mt Colin copper mine in Cloncurry, Queensland, and were followed by similarly successful flights at another underground mine in north Queensland on August 13, Emesent said.

Emesent’s Hovermap LiDAR mapping and autonomy payload was used to add advanced autonomy to the newly launched DJI Matrice 300 RTK (M300). Coupling Hovermap with the M300 allows users to let the drone fly autonomously and safely into GPS-denied or inaccessible environments, such as densely packed warehouses, the undersides of bridges and in underground mines, Emesent says.

Mt Colin Mine Surveyor, Ashley Tibbles, said the Emesent technology would enable Round Oak to safely access complex locations quickly, and to a high degree of detail.

“Quality data has always been integral to safety and productivity in the underground mining sector,” Tibbles said. “The Hovermap provides an unparalleled platform to deliver this.”

Hovermap uses the LiDAR data and advanced algorithms on-board, in real time, to provide reliable and accurate localisation and navigation without the need for GPS, Emesent says.

Emesent CEO, Dr Stefan Hrabar, said the success of the underground flights with the Hovermap-enabled M300 will open up new possibilities for underground mines.

“The M300 is an excellent match for carrying Hovermap underground because of its flight endurance, IP rating, and ability to carry additional sensors such as cameras,” he said. “This will allow valuable data capture further into inaccessible areas of the mines.”

Dr Hrabar added: “Robust underground flight technology can significantly extend the capability of industrial drones and will deliver real benefits to the mining, construction and emergency response sectors.

“We’re looking forward to partnering with customers to help them derive competitive advantage from this breakthrough technology.”

Emesent takes drone autonomy to another level with AL2

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , ,

Emesent says it has announced a major breakthrough in the journey to fully autonomous drone flight systems, with the launch of Autonomy Level 2 (AL2) for Hovermap, the world’s first plug-and-play payload for industrial drones that provides autonomous beyond line of sight, GPS-denied flight.

Building on Emesent’s Hovermap simultaneous localisation and mapping autonomous (SLAM) flight system, AL2 enables compatible drones to fly beyond communications range and venture beyond line of sight into unmapped areas, it says.

“The AL2 technology enables companies to rapidly map, navigate, and collect data in challenging inaccessible environments such as mines, civil construction works, telecommunications infrastructure, and disaster response environments,” Emesent said.

Andrew Rouse, Chief Technology Officer at PYBAR Mining Services, a user of the Hovermap payload, said: “AL2 is a game changer for us. It takes Hovermap into places that even the most experienced pilots would fear to venture, enabling us to obtain critical data in real time without risking the machine. We’re already seeing great benefits to our workflow and operational efficiency from using the new technology.”

PYBAR has previously collaborated with Emesent to test automated drones at the Dargues and Woodlawn operations, in Australia.

Emesent’s technology builds on a decade of award-winning research by CSIRO’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems group into drone autonomy and 3D LiDAR-based SLAM techniques.

Customers around the world have been using Hovermap’s Autonomy Level 1 capability for almost two years, safely mapping challenging GPS-denied areas within line of sight. Moving to AL2 means the drone can self-navigate and avoid obstacles beyond line of sight, while being operated from take-off to landing from a safe distance, the company explained.

The system processes data on-board in real time to stream a 3D map of the environment back to the operator’s tablet, providing instant and detailed insights into the surrounding area, as well as any potential hazards. The entire mission from take-off to landing is conducted by interacting with the live view 3D map, allowing stopes to be mapped with just a few taps, Emesent claims.

AL2, according to Emesent, will give industrial customers:

  • Improved safety, with the ability to fly beyond line of sight keeping workers away from hazardous environments and better data insights informing how to make mines and other environments safer;
  • Cost optimisation, as it is quicker to scan environments and the technology requires less skill to operate;
  • Reduced downtime, with the drone able to quickly and easily map inaccessible underground excavations, with minimal disruption to production;
  • Enhanced visibility into environments, with real-time point clouds delivered directly to the pilot’s tablet, enabling them to interact with and explore the scan data as they operate the aircraft; and
  • Ease of operation due to its “Tap-to-Fly” and “Guided Exploration” functionalities, and various fail safes, including automatic return to home on low battery and automatic landing at critical battery level.

AL2 is currently compatible with several DJI Enterprise drones including the new DJI Matrice 300 RTK, according to Emesent.

“Emesent has worked closely with DJI to ensure close compatibility and integration of autonomous functionality such as AL2 with the drone’s flight controls,” it said. “Further compatibility with other drone models is planned following the launch.”

Dr Stefan Hrabar, CEO and co-Founder of Emesent, said: “This is a huge step forward for drone autonomy and a massive benefit to industries like mining, civil construction, and emergency response.

“With the intelligence to navigate environments without a prior map, customers can use the system to carry out complex missions, secure the safety of personnel, and drive greater efficiency in their operations.”

SUEK-Kuzbass takes to the skies for surveying and land management surveys

Coal technology, Communications in mining, IoT, Mine operation news, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

SUEK says it has purchased six unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with various modifications intended for aerial photography during surveying operations of its Kuzbass facilities, in the Kemerovo region of Russia.

The decision to develop the company’s fleet of UAVs was made after a test of aerial photography at SUEK’s open-pit mines in the Krasnoyarsk region and Buryatia, the company said. “After analysing the accuracy and detail of 3D terrain models obtained using UAVs, SUEK concluded that this technology could be used for surveying and land management in mining,” it said.

In August 2018, the Aerial Surveying Office was established as part of the technical directorate in Kuzbass. Today, the office is equipped with two Russia-made UAVs capable of making aerial photographs at a height up to 1 km, with a flight duration of two-and-a-half and four hours, respectively.

SUEK’s fleet also includes four compact DJI drones and a GNSS receiver that makes it possible to receive and process signals from all navigation satellite systems that exist today, it says. This latter device enables surveyors to locate UAVs during aerial photography.

Simultaneously with the procurement of equipment and staff training, the Aerial Surveying Office has made efforts to satisfy the requirements of the mandatory registration of UAVs with the Federal Air Transport Agency, to ensure compliance with legislation governing the use of Russian airspace, the process of aerial photography and the operation of UAVs, SUEK said.

The technology is helping the company solve a whole range of issues related to open-pit mining, such as evaluating the size of coal storage facilities, monitoring hazardous situations, updating topographic plans of work areas and surrounding territories, and monitoring the use of company land. The latter includes actual use of allotted land, the intended purpose of the land, reclamation, demolition control in buffer zones and property stock taking, the company said.

Anatoly Meshkov, Technical Director of SUEK-Kuzbass, said: “First of all, UAVs improve the efficiency and safety of surveying measurements and the accuracy of necessary calculations. We can now remotely control mining operations at almost any point and build digital enterprise models.

“Essentially, this is another step towards creating a ‘digital underground mine’ and a ‘digital open-pit mine’ to obtain the maximum amount of data for highly efficient management of coal production processes.”

Exyn drones help Rupert Resources map Pahtavaara gold mine

IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , ,

Exyn Technologies says it has completed a successful mission for Rupert Resources at its historic Pahtavaara gold mine in northern Finland.

By harnessing Exyn’s autonomous drones, Rupert Resources was able to produce highly detailed 3D models of the mine, which is otherwise completely inaccessible to traditional CMS tools or even manually piloted drones, Exyn said.

“Rupert Resources needed to plan for a potential restart of operations by estimating tonnage previously removed from the mine, as well as calculating the remaining ore in heavily restricted areas,” the company said.

Exyn’s fully autonomous aerial robots mapped 30 stopes in three days with a single drone. In addition, Exyn mounted a version of its robot to a car to scan all access drifts which, together with the stope maps, provided a complete mine map in under four days.

Jukka Nieminen, Managing Director of Rupert Finland, said: “Rupert is actively seeking new technologies where we think big gains can be made in terms of safety, productivity and accuracy.

“Exyn achieved accurate assessment of the volume of remaining stopes at Pahtavaara with an unprecedented level of detail, and obviously the use of remote technologies means that this was achieved with a greatly reduced degree of risk. We have no hesitation in recommending this technology.”

Exyn’s autonomous drones are built on the exynAI™ platform, enabling aerial robots to fly intelligently without a human pilot using a multitude of high-tech sensors and AI-based software, the company says. The system operates without the need for GPS or external communications, and is deployed as an all-in-one software and hardware package.

Raffi Jabrayan, Director of Markets & Industries, Exyn Technologies, said: “Our mission with Rupert presented some of the most difficult and seemingly impossible challenges to navigating, analysing, and assessing a mine – which therefore makes it exemplary in demonstrating the heights of Exyn’s capabilities.

“Our AI-based software and state-of-the-art sensors were able to get the job done quickly and safely, proving once again that no exploration task is impossible for Exyn drones.”

Terra Drone captures North America market share with UAS Inc deal

Communications in mining, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Japan’s Terra Drone is to form a new subsidiary in Canada, Terra Drone Mining, following the signing of an investment agreement with Ontario-based Unmanned Aerial Services Incorporated (UAS Inc).

Established in 2017, UAS inc is an inspection service provider for indoor industrial confined spaces and underground mine locations. It counts among its clients some of the world’s leading mining companies including Vale, Newmont Goldcorp, Barrick Gold, and Glencore.

The agreement will see Terra Drone Mining provide cutting-edge unmanned mapping and inspection services to underground mines across the world, according to Terra Drone, with the investment allowing the newly-formed company to expand UAS Inc’s business beyond North America into South/Central America, South Africa, Central Asia, Russia, and Australia.

Terra Drone said: “Accidents in underground mines have remained a serious issue around the world throughout the last century. Workers not only suffer from health issues caused by working in dark and narrow tunnels day after day, but they are also prone to accidents caused by falling material, flooding, as well as underground fires and explosions.

“The risk of such incidents can be minimised by using unmanned inspection solutions, aka drones.”

Terra Drone uses a mapping technology called Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) to create highly detailed maps of underground areas. Since a drone can reach areas that are not easily or safely accessible to humans or traditional CMS scanners, mine operators can use drones to obtain 3D models of the mines, and prevent workers from entering hazardous locations.

Terra Drone concluded: “Terra Drone Mining will be able to leverage both this advanced UAV technology as well as the underground mining inspection know-how that UAS Inc has cultivated over time to create a robust local service network.”

DJI and Delair team up to improve operational efficiencies using drones

Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mine surveying, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Mining software, Water management, , , , , ,

DJI, a civilian drones and aerial imaging technology company, and Delair, a provider of visual data management solutions for enterprise, have announced a partnership that will see the two companies collaborate on enhanced and integrated solutions for visual data collection and analysis for businesses.

The partnership will include an agreement for Delair to sell DJI products through its worldwide sales channel, along with launching a relationship to build compatibility across platforms, they said. One of the industries likely to benefit from the collaboration is mining.

Jan Gasparic, Director of Strategic Partnerships at DJI, said: “DJI is incredibly excited to be working more closely with the Delair team to support their vision of building a leading software suite.

“At DJI, we aim at providing reliable, scalable drone offerings that empower organisations such as Delair to build software solutions that allow businesses across a range of sectors to benefit from drone data. The partnership is an important agreement that demonstrates an increasing maturity in the enterprise drone industry. It reinforces the benefit of collaboration within the drone ecosystem to deliver more value to customers.”

The partnership builds on the two companies’ success in the enterprise market, and firmly establishes Delair as a leading provider of complete, end-to-end visual intelligence solutions, the two said. DJI drones are, according to the company’s own estimates, the most deployed drone hardware for enterprises today. “This partnership facilitates the accessibility to incorporate both DJI drone products and Delair’s data management platform, providing a hassle-free option for enterprise drone programs,” they said.

Benjamin Benharrosh, Co-Founder and VP Sales at Delair, said drones for enterprise are more than just hardware solutions: the real key is tapping into and leveraging the data these powerful machines can gather.

“DJI’s developer technologies and existing installed base allow Delair to build an industry-leading analytics suite that can be utilised instantly across a customer’s fleet,” he said. “Both DJI and Delair recognise the importance of providing enterprise-calibre solutions from trusted partners to enable true digital transformations by our customers. We are confident this partnership will further accelerate how businesses can improve their operational efficiencies using drones.”

The relationship strengthens Delair’s ability to serve key industry sectors increasingly relying on visual data to drive their businesses, such as construction, transportation and infrastructure, utilities, mining and agriculture, the companies said.

Through the support of DJI systems with the delair.ai platform, customers will now have a one-stop shop and  freedom of choice in using the cloud-based system’s wide range of tools to help derive insights from drone data, including industry-specific analytics tools optimised for specific use cases, the companies said.

Delair’s platform allows companies to manage, process, view, analyse and collaborate around aerial data. In a mining context, this could see firms control and report on inventory, support a safety road map or, optimise and maintain haul roads.

“Some of the off-the-shelf features and analytics for extracting business intelligence include creating digital twins, field inventory calculations, vegetation encroachment, automatic defect detection, automatic stockpile detection and volume measurements, along with any application which is based on AI object detection for asset management,” the companies concluded.

Kespry and DroneBase combine expertise for improved drone-based analytics

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Kespry and DroneBase have announced a partnership that, they say, enables insurance, mining, and aggregates enterprises across North America to expand aerial analytics implementation across their work sites.

Kespry’s customers will now be able to leverage DroneBase’s service offering to manage their Kespry deployments as part of Kespry’s new Bring Your Own Drone (BYOD) program, Kespry said. BYOD includes a new platform pricing model designed to meet the expanding enterprise aerial intelligence requirements of multi-site mining and aggregates companies, as well as large-scale residential and commercial property insurers, it explained.

“The combination of Kespry and DroneBase brings the best of the platform and services worlds together, offering a cost-effective, productive way of using drone-based analytics across the largest insurance, mining, and aggregates businesses,” Kespry said.

George Mathew, CEO, Kespry, said: “The combination of Kespry and DroneBase delivers serious value to companies across North America looking for a partner to help scale their usage of Kespry’s aerial intelligence platform and benefit from its granularly-accurate inspection, inventory management and mine planning capabilities.”

Dan Burton, Founder and CEO of DroneBase, said: “With our global pilot network in all 50 states and over 70 countries, DroneBase will enable Kespry clients to scale their drone programs across North America without the cost of investing in hardware. By combining our strengths, DroneBase and Kespry will solve a need within these industries.”

Kespry’s BYOD program gives companies flexibility in how they source their aerial data, the company says, whether customers use Kespry-sourced drone hardware, DroneBase, or their own existing DJI drone fleet, including the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the DJI Phantom series.

DroneBase, the largest global drone operations company, according to Kespry, can either manage customers’ Kespry deployments or have DroneBase’s global pilot network fly their missions, which can be turned around in 48-72 hours, according to the company. “Kespry now offers a single fee for its platform, including unlimited access to industry-leading, vertically-integrated applications, the Kespry Cloud and AI and ML-based analytics,” it said.

Kespry’s aerial intelligence platform is now deployed at 220 mining and aggregates customers that use its platform across 3,311 worksites across North America, with 22,987 missions in 2018 alone, it said. These companies typically use Kespry for inventory management, mine planning, materials management, contractor benchmarking, and boosting employee safety.

Geoforma helps Delair expand its Mexico offering

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Delair, a supplier of commercial drone solutions to markets including mining, has announced an agreement with Geoforma SA de CV, a provider of UAV sales and support to commercial surveyors in Mexico.

As part of the agreement, Geoforma will operate Delair’s first service centres on the ground in Latin America, expanding the company’s international network of sales and support, Delair said.

“Delair has made strong inroads into the Latin American market, with a line of commercial UAV platforms aimed at specific markets such as utilities, power, agriculture and farming, mining, construction, transportation and geospatial,” the company said. “Through the expanded agreement with Geoforma, which has provided sales support for Delair for two years, customers in Mexico will have a highly skilled service operation to assist with repair, maintenance, training and operational optimisation.”

The service centre is located in Mexico City and will offer certified repair and maintenance services, as well as on-line and call support to Delair customers.

Delair worked with Geoforma technicians to certify them on the latest maintenance and repairs processes required to optimise the operations of its UX11 drone. The training took place at Delair’s main manufacturing facility and company headquarters in Toulouse, France.

The Delair UX11 UAV, introduced commercially last year, is one of Delair’s top-of-the-line drones. The fixed-wing unit is a hardware-software platform that provides highly accurate images for survey-grade mapping, with on-board processing capabilities and real-time, long-range control via 3G/4G cellular networks or radio links. The platform’s centimeter-level precision, along with its efficient operational characteristics, make it the most cost-effective solution for large area surveying and mapping.

Stefanie David, Channel Marketing Manager at Delair, said: “Geoforma has distinguished itself as a highly reliable and service-oriented supplier to commercial drone users in key industries in the Mexico market. Their expertise and professionalism are great assets for us as we expand further into Latin America and it’s important that our customers in this region have access to local expert service and support so we can we minimise downtime when their drones require maintenance or repairs.

“Having a team of trained and qualified technicians like Geoforma on the ground in Mexico will ensure a much more efficient service process and reduce the amount of time that our customers’ drones are out of operation due to either routine maintenance or damage from operations.”

All of Delair’s solutions are designed to make it easy for enterprises to adopt commercial drones, and support a seamlessly integrated workflow, from hardware to data acquisition services, and data processing software, the company said. This integrated approach enables industrial enterprises to automatically collect the aerial intelligence, analyse it and quickly integrate it into their daily business processes, with immediate return on investment.