Open Autonomy: Why mining is on the brink of an autonomous revolution

By Richard Jinks, Oxbotica VP Commercial

The perpetual challenge facing mine operators is how to move valuable raw materials in the most efficient way. Unequivocally, autonomy is a major part of that solution, and the form of that technology is changing.

While other industries are looking at autonomy as a ‘nearfuture technology’, mining has already started to adopt it and reaped the benefits, helping to improve safety, boost production and increase operational efficiency in mines around the globe.

Vehicles with various degrees of autonomy have been active since the early 2000s and current technology is helping to reduce the number of incidents in mines, with transportation accounting for around 30% of all safety issues[1].

While less than three percent of vehicles in mines around the world are autonomous, those that are in operation are reaching important industry milestones[2]. Autonomous operations typically increase the effective utilisation for a manned fleet from 60% to around 75%[3]. The autonomous trucks at Rio Tinto’s mines are estimated to have operated for 700 hours longer than conventional trucks during 2017, with a 15% reduction in load and haulage costs[4].

The mining industry is now on the cusp of another autonomy transformation with the next generation of technology beginning to be deployed. What makes this revolution different is that it’s driven by software. Software that makes machines smart and supports a diversity of vehicles in a diversity of places. Oxbotica’s autonomy software platform can be installed onto any vehicle, in any setting, to make it drive autonomously. The software platform is able to span across all domains, so technology deployed in mines would benefit from the software’s learnings in other environments such as moving people or goods on-road or in off-road environments such as warehouses, ports, airports. We call this Universal Autonomy. To fully benefit from the long term productivity gains - forecasted to be up to 80%[5] - the industry will have to embrace a new way of thinking about autonomy and by doing so, harness the transformative power of software.

An Open Autonomy software platform

An Open Autonomy software platform enables companies to integrate autonomy strategically as a horizontal across their business, enabling all vehicles, irrespective of size or type, to have the same autonomy system. This in turn means that a mine can be orchestrated in a way not currently available - utilising intelligent vehicles, with a single autonomy system free from the dependence of external infrastructure. Oxbotica and Wenco International Mining Systems are developing an Open Autonomy software platform for the mining industry, with the aim of providing customers with complete flexibility and efficiency, allowing them to deploy autonomy using any vehicle in their existing fleet. Our Open Autonomy strategy allows our partners to choose their preferred technologies independent of their vehicle or primary system decisions. In addition, we will have the capability to provide rapid technology advancements via software updates, without the need for vehicle renewal. The technology is capable of working in the most challenging weather conditions, underground or overground with zero dependence on external systems or reliance on GPS and/or third-party mapping. The modular architecture allows customers to use the full software stack or individual solutions, for example localisation or obstacle detection, with any combination of vision, radar and/or cameras. The open APIs mean we can be completely flexible when engaging with customers. This brings huge benefits to the industry and will be transformational. This is the true power of Universal Autonomy.

[1] https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/news/2019/safety-data-2018 [2] https://clareo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Clareo-TWIN-Autonomy-Whitepaper-0619.pdf [3] https://www.rfcambrian.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/RFCA-NTI-Report-2-Autonomous-Mining-Equipment-May-2019.pdf [4] https://www.constructionweekonline.com/products-services/169830-autonomous-trucks-vehicles-and-machines-show-benefits-for-worlds-largest-miningcompanies [5] https://www.mes-insights.com/who-are-mining-vehicle-market-leaders-a-955269/