Robotic Explosive Charging in Mining and Construction Applications

This paper describes the development and testing of a robotic system for charging blast holes in underground mining. The automation system supports four main tactical functions: detection of blast holes; teleoperated arm pose control; automatic arm pose control; and human-in-the-loop visual servoing. We present the system architecture, and analyze the major components, Hole detection is crucial for automating the process, and we discuss theoretical and practical aspects in detail. The sensors used are laser range finders and cameras installed in the end effector. For automatic insertion, we consider image processing techniques to support visual servoing the tool to the hole. We also discuss issues surrounding the control of heavy-duty mining manipulators, in particular, friction, stiction, and actuator saturation. Note to Practitioner-A number of tasks in the mining and construction industries require operators to handle explosives as a finished product. The most common one is blast hole charging, which involves the placement of a primer-detonator assembly at the end of a flexible hose and inserting the hose into a blast hole. Joint research and development efforts pioneered in Australia by CSIRO and mining industry partners advanced the state of the art in the automation of blast holes charging to new heights. This paper describes the results of this work: a new system that is capable of surveying the holes in the drilling pattern using a laser scanner, match them against a pre-loaded blast plan, position the primer-denotator assembly to the hole and align for insertion, and then execute the insertion.