Carnegie Mellon University

Mining

NREC develops robotics systems that endure the harsh environment of mining operations. NREC has over 20 years of expertise in bringing innovative robotics technology to the mining industry with operator assist technology, autonomous haul trucks and loaders and critical safety systemsOur team of experts can bring robotics and autonomy to your operations in open-pit and underground mines, as well as in your processing plants. 

Capabilities

Equipment Monitoring

Detect abnormal operations and predict failure

Operator Assist

Truck spotting, backup assistance and continuous virtual trainer

Teleoperation

3D Teleop for remote operation

Autonomous Equipment

One operator supervises 5-10 vehicles

Safety Systems

Path-aware collision avoidance and tag-free pedestrian detection

3D Mapping

Accurate and real-time 3D mapping

Applications

Autonomous Equipment

Mobile Mapping

Inspection

Volume Estimation

Collision Avoidance

Truck Spotting

Featured Projects

Autonomous Haulage System

NREC and Caterpillar jointly developed the Autonomous Haulage System, a commercial system for automating large off-highway trucks 

Autonomous Loading System

The ALS team at NREC developed a system that completely automates the task of loading excavated material onto dump trucks

GPS-Free Positioning

GPS-Free Positioning is a wearable navigation and localization aid.

Profiler

NREC will design, build and deploy mining robots, robotics tools and autonomous technologies in partnership with Anglo American's Technology Development Group

Other Mining Projects

Assisted Mining

Assisted Mining

NREC applied robotic sensors to the development of semi-automated continuous mining machines and other underground mining equipment.

Belt Inspection

Belt Inspection

NREC designed, built and tested a high-speed "machine vision" system for monitoring the condition of conveyor belts such as those used in underground coal mines.

Precision Tunnel Mapping

Precision Tunnel Mapping

NREC pioneered research and development of a low power, small, lightweight system for producing accurate 3D maps of tunnels through its Precision Tunnel Mapping program.