IEEE Paper Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8389041/ Presentation of the the paper in the fourth 4th IEEE International Conference on Recent Advances in Information Technology

1. IoT in Mining for Sensing,
Monitoring and Prediction of
Underground Mines Roof Support
Ankit Singh, Prof. U. K. Singh, Prof. D. Kumar
RAIT 2018, IIT (ISM), Dhanbad, India

2. IT in Mining Industry
During 1960s
mini ERP comprising of
preparation of pay
rolls, listing of store
items, manpower
control etc
During 1970s
designing of civil
engineering
constructions, laying of
tracks, roads, etc
During 1980s
MIS, MPS and TDS
During 1990s
GPS and GIS (a visualizing
technology that captures,
stores, checks, integrates,
manipulates and displays
data using digital mapping)

3. Semi Automated /Automated Systems
 Machine health and maintenance monitoring
 Geo-sensing and artificial intelligence
 Systems safety and human factors
 Automated loading, transport and dispatch systems
(OITDS)
 Global Positioning Satellite applications
 Monitoring of Dump slope stability in an opencast mine
using 3D laser Scanners & Slope Stability Radars
 Remote Survey Vehicles
Major Application of IT Technology in Mining

4.  Robotic Mining
 Armchair Mining
 Plant/Office Automations : ERPs, MIS etc.
 Mine Modeling and Simulations : CAMPAD, VR,
FEM, BEM etc. for forecasting
 GPS, GIS & Remote Sensing: Mine positioning,
facility locations and layouts, land use patterns,
reclamation & rehabilitation planning

5. • Communication in the mining industry - most
critical factor to ensure the safety and security of
the underground working environment.
• Robust IT communication - enhance safety and
provide information in real-time
Communications and Tracking Technology

6. Communications and Tracking Technology
Some of the recent applications of communication and
tracking technology:
 Mine Multimedia Communication System
 Close Proximity System (CPS)
 GPS based systems
 Radar / laser based systems
 Vision-based systems
 RFID based systems

7. Mine Multimedia Communication System
integration of MPEG4, VOIP, TCP/IP and self-
organizing technology etc.
cooperation method of wireless communication
and wire communication to transmit information.
The distance of transmission is 10 to 20 km.
Display, save and replay the audio-visual data of
the entire rescue process;
Collect surroundings parameter of the mine
including temperature, oxygen, CO and CH4.

12. Problem Statement
• SAGES stores the data in an electronic data logger
operated by a chargeable battery.
• The data need to be downloaded manually from the
data logger using a wired communication to the
industrial portable computers in the underground.
• Analysis of downloaded data are carried out offline
after elapsed of certain time
• data analysis hardly become useful in quick
decisions making process in mines.

13. Response of SAGES-3 in ID panel: June 6,
2014

14. Design and fabrication of Data Logging, Digital Load
Display and Handheld Data Transfer units

15. Solution
• Development of a Smart Self-advancing Goaf
Edge Support System (SSAGES)
• Design of a Robust IT communication
channel
▫ Wireless Communication with Android
based Tablet
▫ Underground to Cloud
• Facility to extend the support for other sensors
such as temperature, gas etc.

16. Solution
• The various sensors data need to be
▫ Collected wirelessly on mobile devices
▫ Transmitted reliably to the base station and show
data on runtime in the mines
▫ Uploaded to the cloud server (e.g. historical data
storage, data mining and prediction, improvements
based on data) and,
▫ Displayed using smartphones application connected
to the cloud servers to receive the status of the
machines in runtime from anywhere in the world.

17. Data to be collected
• Load: Leg-1
• Load:Leg-2
• Convergence: Leg-1
• Convergence: Leg-2
• Methane,
• Temperature,
• Humidity

18. • SAGES to be fitted with zigbee enabled
microcontroller inside the FLP box.
• Android based Tablet - communicate with the each
SAGES from Remote within radius of 100 m
through Zigbee protocol.
• An application on Tablet :
 Read present value of data being recorded in the
SAGES
 Set the logger: setup, start and stop logging,
erase the data from the logger
 Down load the data stored in the logger in
SAGES at interval.
Wireless Communication with Android based Tablet

19. Underground to Cloud
 Through Zigbee repeaters, the SAGES data to be
transferred to a telephone modem at a FRESH AIR base
in the underground.
 A computer at the surface could communicate with the
SAGES through the modem and RF repeaters.
 The status of the SAGES along with environmental data
displayed at the surface.
 Information about the operations in the mine may also
be communicated through the modem to surface
computer.
 Data coming on the surface is transmitted and stored in a
Server connected to the Internet (CLOUD)
 Through Mobile applications the managerial persons are
abreast of the SAGES and working in the mine.

21. What is Internet of Things (IoT)?
• A network of internet-connected things able
to collect and exchange data using embedded
sensors.
• Things can be sensors for monitoring the
environment, loading and cutting equipment,
support systems (SAGES) etc.

22. Benefits of IoT in Mining
• Sensing: toxic gases like methane, carbon dioxide,
nitro oxide and carbon monoxide, environmental
factors like radiation level, temperature, atmospheric
pressure, and humidity.
• Monitoring: Measuring load on supports and
convergence in galleries, workers health status etc.
• Prediction: gas outburst, explosions, roof collapse,
support over-loading, miners fatigue and ill health etc.

23. IoT Enabled SAGES System Model

24. Challenges
• Seamless Ubiquity of communication
channels due to extreme environmental
conditions of mines
• Contraints in IoT technologies in the mines
like processing constraint, the energy
constraint, storage and mobility limitations
• IoT Security and Privacy threats
• Robustness of things like sensors,
communication devices etc.