New autonomous technology making life safer for miners underground
A company that has created an autonomous drone designed for mining, is helping to make the industry safer, through its new partnership with NSS Canada based in Sudbury, Ont.
The latest in cavity monitoring tools can now fly through underground shafts and stopes without the help of a pilot.
Exyn Technologies, the creators of the ExynAero autonomous drone, have forged a new relationship with survey equipment supply company NSS Canada and is working to get the tech into Canadian mines.
"We wanted to expand our footprint into northern Ontario and into Sudbury in particular. Sudbury's a great region now with upcoming technology in the mining sector, and NSS and Exyn working together seemed like a natural fit," said Raffi Jabrayan, vice-president of Exyn.
NSS Canada is helping to sell the product in the Canadian market, allowing Exyn to establish a footprint.
"It ensures that we are keeping miners away from open stopes and far, far away from the berms and undersupported ground," Jabrayan said. "What the drone is able to do is scan open areas, cavities like open stopes, in mere minutes as opposed to the couple of hours that some of the older technologies would take."
The kicker is that the technology is autonomous, meaning no pilot. The drone can be set up to fly by itself providing results back in a safer, quicker, and more efficient manner.
The drone has what's called 'level 4' autonomy - which means it doesn't require any tethering whatsoever. It's given a mission and it can go beyond the line of sight, collecting the needed data and it gets back safely.
"Something like this didn't exist three or four years ago," Jabrayan said. "The way I met Exyn Technologies, was I was helping to run business development for Dundee Precious Metals and we were looking at the digital innovation over there. We met with the team with Exyn and saw they had something so cutting-edge that we didn't believe what they were actually able to do."
The technology is being made available alongside NSS Canada's Miner Operated Survey System (MOSS), an underground survey software that provides information back to operators in real-time.
"What we've developed and housed is a software that allows us to get real-time data of the face and, naturally, what we wanted to do is how do we get more real-time data? And Exyn came. The partnership was a natural fit and it completes a loop, which makes a lot of sense," said Bruno Lalonde, the president of NSS Canada.
"What it comes down to is integration and technology. Where mining has become something that we really understand with the underground space, it's the focus on safety, taking men away from the face, that's what our MOSS software does," he said.
Lalonde said as technology excels underground, it's creating fewer hazards for the industry so that everyone can come home safely.
And so far, the industry is taking note, with some of the region's biggest players already buying into this partnership.
"We first trialed them in early 2020 and we did an experiment to see could they really do what we wanted them to do underground? And they did, really successfully. The ability to fly autonomously, the ability to collect data without putting a colleague in a hazardous situation, made them a 'no-brainer' for us," said Anthony Downs, manager of digital transformation at Vale.
It's so been so successful at Vale that they've invested in one drone for each of the company's Ontario mining operations.
Downs reinforced this is about safety, keeping existing workers out of dangerous situations.
"There's always going to be room for people in our business, but there are particularly hazardous situations today where we take precautions, but we'd still, ideally, not like to put a person in there. And if we can use engineering and technology to achieve that, then that's a win all around," he said.
"Realistically, we see great things moving forward. We've closed some major sales up in this region," said Exyn CEO Nader Elm.
Exyn Technologies was originally selling the ExynAero itself, but partnering with regional companies will help them to reach more of a global status with its drone use.
"None of us were experts in mining initially, but what we discovered with our expertise was the challenges in mining we could uniquely solve," Elm said. "Very quickly, we started using our resources in things like mining and engineering to problems over there."
Exyn officials said the drones are affordable and environmentally friendly because ExynAeros run on battery power.
"Safety is a critical aspect of everything we do. We started off in mining, but it's not the be-all and end-all for us. We're looking for other applications and at the crux of that is safety. We want to send in robots -which is a key enabler for people - not only to do our jobs more effectively but more safely," Elm said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Iran fires air defence batteries in provinces as sound of explosions heard near Isfahan
Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.