Pit & Quarry, July 2018

HAULING Komatsus AHS technology recorded a cumulative total of 15 billion tons of hauled material Each of Komatsus autonomous dump trucks is equipped with vehicle controllers a high precision GPS system an obstacle detection system and a wireless network system One of the core values within Komatsu is to continuously pursue products that are unique and reliable in the industry and trying to align that philosophy with what is going to help solve pain points for customers Yureskes says As for other manufacturers invested in either automation or related training such as Volvo CE and Immersive Technologies exploration began within the last decade Many years ago we looked at automating a wheel loader and a hauler and that was really to see what can that technology deliver How close can we get to a manual operator Müller says That was maybe six years ago Immersive Technologies a global supplier for mining equipment simulators also first tested its simulation based training solution for autonomous mining at Codelcos copper mine in Chile in 2014 Since then the company implemented simulation based training solutions for autonomous operations within Rio Tinto the Grasberg mine in Indonesia and a Canadian oil sands site While autonomous technology first proved prevalent in mining operations aggregate operations have dipped their toes in the water But aggregate operations around the world are taking a step by step approach to embrace the technology Were seeing an increase in the aggregate side of requesting Yureskes says Weve got increased requests from companies based in the United States on utilizing AHS technology but in terms of actually moving forward with deployments weve only seen it in those three regions Canada Australia and South America ONE STEP AT A TIME For producers interested in exploring autonomous technology for their operations a step by step approach is the path manufacturers most recommend As one could imagine the transitional process from manned operations to autonomous operations is one that considers careful thought and consideration Producers clearly need to consider if they need to review their processes and maybe change the way theyre thinking of how theyve run their site until today Müller says Normal quarries are run by humans and humans are used to doing what theyre used to doing But its not always optimized for automation its just how people like it If you want to optimize a site for automation the site might change a bit Müller adds For a human operator it doesnt look too logical but from an automation perspective it makes much much more sense So the thinking inside changes quite a lot if you want to automate While doing your homework is recommended before implementing autonomous technology the potential benefits of a successful deployment are plentiful The AHS system will help reduce variability keep uniform speed within the machine design and also it can minimize breaks or shift changes and those types of events Yureskes says of Komatsus AHS technology Because the machines are operating within their design there is less variability in starting and stopping The availability of the machines typically increases and weve seen better fuel 12 PIT QUARRY July 2018 pitandquarry com