Greg Robert Baiden

• Doctor of Philosophy
• CEO at Penguin Automated Systems Inc.

Digital transformation, Industry 4.0, and emerging networking technologies provide mining industries productivity, sustainability, and safety. Mining automation systems today typically control fixed plant equipment such as pumps, fans, and phone systems. Much work is underway around the world in attempting to create the moveable equivalent of the m...

In 1983 the Automatic Haulage Truck (AHT) was initiated as part of next generation mining technology to increase production rates, improve safety and lower operating costs. The outcome of the AHT project was an automatic truck capable of self positioning, self movement and self dumping. This AHT was part of a larger scheme which included a loading...

The first generation of space entrepreneurs and their acolytes have grown weary of standard 'flags and footprints' space exploration missions/programs historically sponsored by nation states. They are pondering more profound questions: What are the potential value propositions of space-based activities? How can known off-planet resources be leverag...

The removal of rock blockages in drawpoints in mining operations has long been a risky undertaking, especially in high overhead conditions. In fact, the assessment of where to place those charges has been difficult due to the lack of visibility and safe access to the area. Thus, the traditional practise of the wedging of long poles with explosives...

A wireless optical communication receiver is provided ... The wireless optical receiver may be attached to a mobile vehicle in order to facilitate teleoperation...

1 ABSTRACT The removal of rock blockages in mining operations has long been a risky, undertaking especially in high overhead conditions. Moreover, the assessment of where to put charges and placement of those charges has been difficult to do, due to the lack of visibility and safe access to the area. Thus the traditional practise of the wedging of...

Penguin Automated Systems Inc. is presently evaluating the world's first omnidirectional Optical Wireless Communications (OWC) network customized to teleoperate mobile equipment in surface, underground and underwater mining operations. Experimental results of novel technologies that made this possible are presented here: a mode programmable On-Off-...

This paper presents technology applications from the autonomous mining and construction industries in tunnel and underground environments as applied to critical large diameter utility infrastructure. A self-contained inertial navigation system for the positioning and mapping of underground infrastructures is a significant development in tunnel prof...

Desert Research and Technology Studies (Desert RATS) is a multi-year series of hardware and operations tests carried out annually in the high desert of Arizona on the San Francisco Volcanic Field. These activities are designed to exercise planetary surface hardware and operations in conditions where long-distance, multi-day roving is achievable, an...

Today's mining is typically done using several techniques that can be categorized in the two broad categories of open pit and underground. Open pit mines typically convert mineralization into ore close to surface with low costs, rapid production techniques on a large scale with powerful explosives, extremely large digging units and trucks. Undergro...

Today's mining is typically done using several techniques that can be categorized in the two broad categories of open pit and underground. Open pit mines typically convert mineralization into ore close to surface with low costs, rapid production techniques on a large scale with powerful explosives, extremely large digging units and trucks. Undergro...

Open source tools for Knowledge Representation in databases and the implementation of a real time expert system for mineral processing operations (size reduction and enrichment) are discussed. The use of a column-oriented database system (Infobright IEE) to store quantitative data from sensors that measure feed size distribution, feed rate, aeratio...

A terrestrial analog site for science research and testing of mission operations to lunar subsurface sites is proposed for investigating required science measurements with human performance objectives simulating robotic and human ``first contact'' with a lunar lava tube.

As early as 1959 the US army considered a permanent underground base on the moon. While the original underground idea has significant merit, space agencies have strayed from this sensible concept, focusing instead on short-term touch and go missions and relying on the expendable paradigm. Newly disclosed advances in underground telerobotic mining t...

To lay down the foundation for an underwater omni-directional optical communication system for tele-operation, we tested a point-to-point optical communication system, using laser-emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs used in the test emitted light in the green and blue light spectrum and were tested in a pool and in a tank filled with lake water. The p...

Mines and mineral processing plants need integrated process control systems capable of improving plant-wide efficiency and productivity. Mining automation systems today typically control fixed plant equipment such as pumps, fans, and phone systems. Much work is underway around the world in attempting to create the moveable equivalent of the manufac...

Semiautonomous vehicles have been making their appearance in the underground mining business through teleoperation. The operation of partially or totally autonomous vehicles requires an accurate survey and speedy acquisition of data of the operating environments. While the surface surveying industry is enjoying great benefits from specialised globa...

Scan registration is an essential subtask when building maps based on range finder data from mobile robots. The problem is to deduce how the robot has moved between consecutive scans, based on the shape of overlapping portions of the scans. This paper ...

Telerobotics focused on mass mining is currently being introduced into production systems around the world. Mining companies in Canada, Sweden, South Africa and Australia have tended to lead the international charge to this form of technology for mining. While this introduction is taking place a few basic questions have yet to be answered. How many...

Mining, construction, aquaculture and many other possible uses of the planet's underwater resources will be necessary in the future. Much of our current mineral wealth on the land mass of the planet is becoming depleted. We must turn to the oceans to provide the resources we will require in the future. Presently, we are mining 29% of the planet's s...

Underground and surface mines have very similar needs in software systems for planning and operational control. Both underground and surface mining methods have common needs for spatial representation of information and for systems that simulate mining processes for strategic and tactical operational control. This paper gives the perspective of sof...

Intelligent ore delineation refers to the ability reliably to characterize the geological setting of a mineralized body and its grade distribution. This necessitates using all available geological information in a timely and efficient manner, such that effective geological control is achieved. The importance of geological control is paramount to im...

Underground metal mining has long suffered the inability to effectively design, plan and control the mining process due to the lack of an effective production simulator. This paper reports on the application of simulation models for teleremote mining systems in underground operations of INCO Limited, Ontario Division, Canada. In order to evaluate t...

In 1983, Inco Limited began a program to design a rapid ore transportation system. This program was designed to serve two purposes: to provide a new effective material transport system for ramp haulage and to perform research and development to develop enabling technologies for future mine automation. As a result of the program, Inco designed and c...

This paper discusses the application of simulation for comparing underground development mining operations. The simulation-modelling environ ment, WITNESS by the Lanner Group, is used to model a typical drill and blast development min ing system as a benchmark and conceptual min ing systems for automated/tele-remote mining. The benchmark model is v...

INCO is committed to proceed into the next century using automation and robotics to achieve safety and productivity goals necessary to enhance its competitive position. Stobie Mine, decades old, is the first of its mines to change from labour-intensive to automation-assisted techniques. This paper is a synopsis of the progress made during the trans...

Recent advances in underground communications technology have demonstrated the feasibility of teleoperation and automation in underground metal mines. One major challenge lies in the automation of underground mobile machines from surface, with the potential to reduce significantly the need for human involvement in underground operations. This paper...

The development and maintenance of underground roadways are increasingly important aspects of the modern mining process. With the trend toward automation and trackless mining, roadbeds capable of withstanding increased wheel loading have proven necessary to maintain high vehicle speed and reduced maintenance costs. Concrete has been used successful...

The results being presented in this paper are those obtained during 1996 on a drilling automation project at Stobie mine. This project has successfully demonstrated that the remote operation of multiple drills (by a single driller) from surface using Tamrock Data Solo 1000 Sixty drillrigs is technically feasible and can potentially bring significan...

On January 1st 1996 Inco Limited, Tamrock OY, Dyno Explosives Group and CANMET formed a consortium for the development of robotic mining equipment. This project is a five year research and development agreement that combines the talents of the above organizations to facilitate the creation of mining equipment and systems for robotic mining. The pro...

Recent advances in underground communications technology have demonstrated the feasibility of tele-operation and automation in underground metal mines. One major challenge lies in the automation of underground mobile machines from surface, with the potential to reduce significantly the need for human involvement in underground operations. This pape...

The next 25 years will see major changes in underground mining equipment and methods through the gradual introduction of robotic mining equipment. The necessary components of this change are already being experimented with and some are in production today. This paper explores the elements required to achieve robotic mining: telecommunication system...

This paper presents the results obtained during the past year on a drilling automation project at Stobie mine. This project has successfully demonstrated that the remote operation of the uphole drilling process using Tamrock DataSolo 1000 Sixty drills will bring large rewards in terms of labour and maintenance savings. -Authors

A review of automation, robotics and communications technology has established the need for the development of a communications infrastructure capable of supporting future underground hard rock mine automation systems. A series of underground experiments were undertaken at Copper Cliff North Mine to evaluate the design criteria and performance of s...

This paper describes recent developments at Inco Limited, Ontario Division, in the field of information systems for automated mining. A CATV cable network has been combined with a broad spectrum radio antenna system to allow the supply of voice, data and video services to underground mining. The system formed the basis of a field experiment at the...

A dynamic simulation of a mille-mill complex has been conducted using networked microcomputers (IBM PC/AT and IBM PC/XT)). These models allow simultaneous operation of an open pit using shovels and trucks, a primary crusher, and a secondary crushing plant, Each process transmits information via the network, linking all operations together. The effe...

Mine ventilation systems provide air to underground mines through large fan systems and a series of raises and tunnels. Doors and barricades are put in to direct the flow of fresh air to the places it is needed in a mine. At present, the solution to meeting TLV's limits has been to increase the volume of air entering the mine to dilute it appropria...