Radar Based Collision Avoidance in Mining Environments

Riduzione degli incidenti – Il rilevamento degli oggetti insieme agli avvisi del sistema danno all'operatore il tempo necessario per reagire ai pericoli ed evitare le collisioni

A single accident at a surface mining site can have devastating consequences for personnel, machinery and an entire operation. Collision avoidance systems can help mining equipment operators minimize the risk of accidents and injury and can translate into cost reductions and efficiency improvements.  Learn how Q130R radar sensors reliably solve this application, even in an extremely dirty and dusty environment. 

Q130R radar sensors deployed on the front and back of dump trucks used at a surface mining site are an integral component in the vehicle’s collision avoidance system

Diminished visibility plays a significant role in many mining accidents. The size and power of excavating equipment leaves little room for error. Blind spots can be quite large and located on all sides of a vehicle. In addition, dust, dirt, and debris raised during excavation can reduce visibility and impact the performance of many collision avoidance technologies. Weather conditions, such as wind, falling rain and snow also pose significant challenges.

To help overcome these challenges, Q130R radar sensors can be installed at the front and rear of each mining vehicle. The sensors provide active object detection in vehicle blind spots without the costly downtime and alterations of a complex collision avoidance system.  The intuitive PC-based configuration software enables quick adjustment of sensing distance, sensitivity, and output configuration for rapid deployment.

To avoid false alerts, each sensor can be configured to create a sensing area corresponding to the vehicle's blind spots and ignore objects outside of that area. Objects entering the sensing area can trigger indicator lights to illuminate, warning the operator to check the blind spots and slow down or stop the equipment to avoid a collision. 

Harsh ambient conditions that challenge other sensing technologies, like ultrasonic sensors used in consumer vehicles, are not an issue for radar sensors.  This is because radar sensors are unaffected by dirt, dust, wind, falling rain and other environmental challenges at the site for reliable performance in any weather conditions.  Each sensor is also protected by a rugged IP67-rated housing for durable, long-lasting operation.