Capital Equipment News September 2019

5G NETWORK

The BELAZ robotic dump trucks are the key element of the Intelligent Mine project.

dangerous applications like mining, Volvo CE believes it is moving closer to fulfilling its ambitions to deliver zero emissions, zero accidents and zero unplanned stoppages. Meanwhile, BELAZ unmanned dump trucks, which are among the biggest in the world, have begun working at a test site in the town of Zhodino in Belarus using 5G. The test zone has been created by infrastructure operator beCloud, in partnership with BELAZ and VIST Group (part of ZYFRA Group). Key partnerships As the industry continues to test 5G technology to assess its capabilities for effective application, will this unlock the key to mining automation? Telecommunications company Ericsson installed a 5G mast at the Technology Centre in Eskilstuna, Sweden, in March to allow Volvo CE to test remote-controlled machines with extremely short response times over the next two years. Launched in partnership with operator Telia, this was Sweden’s first 5G network for industrial use. At the Technology Centre Volvo CE is currently testing a ‘tele-op’ L180H wheel loader prototype for standard tasks like filling the bucket with gravel and loading a hauler. Volvo’s HX2 autonomous, battery-electric load carrier is also being tested on 5G. The wheel loader runs in a 25 ha arena designed to mimic the real conditions of a mine site with a number of physical barriers, uphill and downhill tracks and rough terrain. It is operated from a simulator located inside a tent 100 m

away behind a concrete wall. “At the moment, the simulator is only near the track to adjust the conditions. There really is no reason that the machine couldn’t be located much further afield,” says Calle Skillsäter, Volvo CE’s technical specialist for Connected Machines. “The testing is in an early phase and the network is continuously improving so it is hard to communicate any results this early. However, what we can see is that the bandwidth is very impressive,” he adds. The 5G research came out of the 2017 Industrial Mobile Communication in Mining (PIMM) project, a collaboration between Volvo CE, Telia, Ericsson, RISE SCI, ABB, Lulea University and Bolinden. The project placed a Volvo wheel loader 400 m below ground in the Bolinder Kankberg mine, which was successfully controlled using wireless 4G. “This project showed us the real potential for remote operation,” says Skillsäter. “By eliminating the potential safety hazards and downtime associated with operations like mining, we can move closer to fulfilling our ambitions to deliver zero emissions, zero accidents and zero unplanned stops.” Elsewhere, a test autonomous beCloud network using fifth generation technologies, working in conjunction with the LTE-Advanced Pro network, has been deployed at the BELAZ plant in Belarus. This is a prototype of the future 5G network. Sets of equipment that meet the technical specifications of the 5G standard have been installed on two heavy trucks – a pit dump truck and a

loader. The standard technologies used (New Radio and LTE-Advanced Pro) have enabled VIST Group technicians to test unmanned vehicle control, as well as the operation of dump trucks in robot mode (the Intelligent Mine project). Why 5G? Today’s remote control technology provides a delay which makes it very difficult to control a machine with any speed or precision, but 5G will provide a more reliable connection – as good as real time. “The technology will benefit many applications but especially mining,” says Skillsäter. “Mining can be dangerous – either for people operating the machines in remote locations or because of the fumes that are released after blasting rock. But if we can remove people from the site, then we are reducing the risk of accidents entirely.” “You will also have the capability to operate several operations and sites from one central location – increasing productivity,” adds Skillsäter. For autonomous vehicles, a system that scans and analyses the nuances of the geological situation should transmit information with a minimal delay time. The beCloud specialists working with BELAZ have now managed to reduce the response time of the equipment to 10-11 milliseconds, which is less than the time achieved in the 4G network but more than expected in future 5G networks. beCloud experts are continuing to fine-tune the equipment and optimise communication channels to achieve the best performance.

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