Finnish researchers explore next generation digital mining

Industrial 5G is unlocking efficiency in mining for improved productivity, safety, environmental sustainability and global competitiveness. These impacts will be realised through the introduction of next generation mining technology, including autonomous connected machinery, digital automation and advanced analytics for real-time situational awareness and control, to enable safety, productivity and sustainability improvements in mining operations.

Next Generation Mining (NGMining) is a project funded by Business Finland bringing together industrial 5G private networks, edge computing and AI technology-based solutions to enable digital transformation in mining. The core theme of the project is to facilitate safe and sustainable underground mining through productive use of autonomous and connected machinery.

Finnish state-owned research company VTT is coordinating the joint R&D project with Nokia and Sandvik as the leading industry experts.

“Sandvik is conducting research on 5G connectivity use cases in the mining environment and this NG Mining consortium helps facilitate this with our network partners,” said Miika Kaski, Commercialization and Networks Lead, Sandvik.

The NGMining project also collaborates with the Sustainable Industries X initiative (SIX), as the results on autonomous connected working machines can also be exploited in other industries. The 2-year NGMining project kicked off in May 2021, and also includes the University of Oulu as a research partner, as well as several other corporate partners.

The goal of the NGMining project is to build Proof of Concept (PoC) experimental systems to evaluate integrated connectivity solutions, which are tested in harsh underground mining environments. The objectives pertaining to the 5G network infrastructure cover spectrum usage in the underground mining environment, 5G modems integrated in relevant machinery and user equipment, and edge computing. Identified challenges include: understanding signal behaviour in underground environments, hardware for harsh environments, and network design requirements to ensure underground connectivity with respect to bandwidth, frequency range, latency, reliability, and scalability.

By engaging with key industry players in the mining segment, the intention is to drive joint experiments for mining digitalisation. The target is to develop a mine-compliant connectivity infrastructure, with integrated solutions that incorporate safety and tracking technologies and AI enablers, for safe and efficient operation of autonomous connected working machines (AGVs) in underground mines. Project phases include use case definition for autonomous machinery in mining, solution evaluation via testing platforms with 4G/5G wireless capabilities, selection of most value-added results for development and commercialisation, and pilot implementations in operational customer mines.

Top image: Sandvik