TAMMP - Tele-operated & Autonomous Machines in the Mining Process

Purpose and goal

Increase productivity by allowing operators to not only work remotely but in a system where multiple machines can be handled concurrently requiring fewer operators in total where a key aspect is to remove humans from a dangerous environment. Revolutionize the mining industry and in general tunnel excavation. Autonomous machines will increase the competitiveness of the Swedish mining industry - a step for a sustainable extraction of minerals. It is important to act promptly to secure a continued world leading position among both Swedish machine manufacturers and the mining industry.

Expected results and effects

A technology demonstrator of a cyber-physical system in accordance with Industry 4.0 for mobile machines. Evaluation of both the potential for increased productivity and increased safety for the construction industry with application in mining realized with manual, autonomous and teleoperated machines. The project will address strategies for functional safety, system integration, regulatory impact of new technology, need for new services, human machine representation, techniques for position estimation, multi-machine control and new working methods.

Planned approach and implementation

After the first half of the project, a demonstration will be carried out with a focus on switching between autonomous operation above ground and tele-remote operation underground with several machines from a single control station. The pre-development during the first part will be implemented during the second half of the project resulting in four unit-operations required in a drill-and-blast-cycle with both remote-controlled and automated machines. The work and responsibilities are divided between the four project partners Volvo CE, Örebro University, Boliden and Voysys.