Hierarchical Planning for Autonomous Mining Coordination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automation systems in mining operations are limited in their ability to integrate and coordinate autonomous entities across a defined geographical region, leading to inefficiencies and safety concerns due to the complexity of concurrent operations involving diverse equipment and personnel.
Innovation Solution
A hierarchical planning system that schedules the operation of autonomous entities within a defined geographical region, comprising a region plan, job plan, and task plan levels, generating control information for autonomous entities to implement specific tasks across localized zones with operation-defined boundaries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If autonomous operations are implemented in mining, then productivity and safety are improved, but system complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the autonomous mining system into multiple hierarchical levels (region plan, operation plan, task plan) and divides control among multiple autonomous entities (haul trucks, shovels, drills). Each entity operates independently within its own control zone, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high productivity through coordinated autonomous operations.
2Productivity
If multiple autonomous entities operate concurrently in the same geographical region, then productivity increases, but coordination difficulty and safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by defining specific geographical zones for each autonomous entity, where each zone has operation-defined boundaries. Entities operate autonomously within their designated zones, and the system manages coordination at zone boundaries rather than requiring global coordination, thereby enabling concurrent operations while maintaining ease of operation.
3Measurement precision
If hierarchical planning is implemented across multiple levels, then coordination precision is improved, but information processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining operational templates, standard task sequences, and boundary conditions at higher hierarchical levels. This allows lower levels to execute predefined patterns quickly while maintaining precise coordination, reducing information processing time without sacrificing scheduling precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A planning system (201) for scheduling the operation of autonomous entities within a defined geographical region. The planning system operates at a region plan level (301) for strategic planning across the geographical region, at an operation plan level (302) for operations to be performed by autonomous entities in localised zones having operation-defined geographical boundaries, and at a task plan level (303) in which processing is undertaken in respect of specific tasks to be performed by the autonomous entities, in undertaking the operations.