MINING ROBOTICS MOVES AHEAD – BUT INVESTMENT LAGS BEHIND AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY
September 1st, 2011
BY MJ DESCHAMPS
IN the event of a mining accident, first responders trying to rescue trapped miners are usually thrown into dangerous - and sometimes deadly - situations. With this in mind, robotics engineers worldwide are beginning to develop both remotely controlled and autonomous machines to help eliminate some of the dangers of mining operations and rescues. And with last year's Chilean mining accident, and recent coal mine collapses in China in mind, research and development in the field is timely.
One of the newest developments comes from US-government ...
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