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
B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.