Australian Droid + Robot (ADR) says it is removing the ‘risk human safety to gather data’ trade-off that exists in deep underground mining operations with the announcement of a strategic collaboration with Intel Corporation, combining its rugged robotics platform with Intel’s world-class edge computing capabilities to keep people out of harm’s way.
The Explora XL is not just a remote-controlled car; it is an autonomous data centre on wheels, according to ADR. Operating deep underground often means operating without a reliable cloud connection. This is where Intel’s technology changes the game, ADR says.
By integrating Intel® Xeon® processors and Intel Core™ Ultra processors directly onboard robots, ADR is enabling “Edge Computing”. The robot doesn’t just collect data – it analyses 3D LiDAR scans, thermal imaging and gas levels in real-time in the mine.
“Intel has technologies and they have the ideas,” Bhupesh Agrawal, GM, Enterprise Edge at Intel, says. “The use case is very interesting because the robot is going in the mine…and the data is being analysed using that Intel Xeon power. It allows enterprises to analyse data at the edge and make real-time decisions.”
ADR CTO, Mathew Allan, added: “If people don’t need to be in hazardous environments, they shouldn’t be.”
With this new capability, the Explora XL can traverse mud, water and uneven terrain to inspect blast zones and unstable shafts. The company says: “If equipment is lost, the cost is financial. If a human is lost, the cost is immeasurable. This partnership ensures that human safety is never compromised for the sake of data.”
Source: im-mining.com
