Mining Machine Geofence Control With Predictive Lookahead Zones
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mining machines often inadvertently operate outside designated geofence areas, risking accidents by entering restricted regions or high walls, due to lack of effective boundary control systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a geofence system with an electronic processor that receives commands for mobile industrial machines, determines if the machine is within a restricted region, and overrides or modifies commands to prevent penetration into restricted areas by establishing and managing virtual operation zones around the machine, ensuring safe operation within designated boundaries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a geofence boundary is established to prevent mining machines from entering restricted regions, then safety is improved, but the machine's operational freedom and productivity are reduced due to command blocking and speed overrides
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the geofence boundary based on machine movement direction and speed. When the machine moves toward the boundary, the effective boundary shifts outward by the lookahead distance, allowing the machine to continue operating freely until it genuinely approaches the restricted zone. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by maintaining safety while preserving operational freedom.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of the lookahead distance and predicted machine position before the machine actually reaches the geofence boundary. By computing the effective boundary in advance based on current speed and direction, the system prevents last-minute command blocking, thereby maintaining productivity while ensuring safety through proactive boundary management.
2Reliability
If the geofence boundary is set close to the machine to ensure precise boundary control, then safety is improved, but the machine cannot utilize its full operational range including safety margins
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a temporal dimension to boundary control by calculating the effective geofence boundary based on predicted future machine position rather than current position. The lookahead distance creates a virtual extension of the boundary in the direction of motion, allowing the machine to operate closer to the physical boundary while maintaining precise control through predictive positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The effective geofence boundary acts as an intermediary between the physical geofence boundary and the machine. This virtual boundary, positioned at the lookahead distance, mediates the interaction by allowing the machine to approach the physical boundary more closely while still maintaining safety margins through the predictive control mechanism.
3Reliability
If speed commands are overridden to slow the machine near the geofence boundary, then safety is improved, but energy efficiency is reduced due to unnecessary deceleration
Solution Approach 1:
The speed override is applied locally and selectively only when the predicted machine position indicates approach toward the geofence boundary. The system calculates the effective boundary based on current speed and direction, and only modifies speed commands in the specific directional context where boundary violation is predicted, rather than applying uniform deceleration in all scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the speed parameter based on the calculated lookahead distance and predicted position. When the predicted position approaches the effective boundary, the speed parameter is reduced; when moving away or parallel to the boundary, the original speed command is maintained, optimizing energy efficiency while ensuring safety.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for operating a mining machine with respect to a geofence. One system includes an electronic processor configured to determine a first virtual operation zone positioned around the mobile industrial machine, where the first virtual operation zone is a dynamic area around the mobile industrial machine. The electronic processor is also configured to modify a parameter of the first virtual operation zone.