Scientists from the Ural State Mining University (USMU) in Yekaterinburg have come up with a way to continue mining in flooded mines. As part of the project, all dangerous and heavy work for people is supposed to be entrusted to robots.
In a flooded face, some robots will destroy rock underwater. Others will collect the broken material with pumps. Still others will deliver the ore through special hoses to submersible platforms or directly to processing plants on the surface.
Robotic systems will be controlled by operators remotely. This approach will eliminate any threat to human life. The machine vision mechanism and built-in neural network will allow robots to navigate in space and distinguish rocks from each other.
The author of the idea emphasized that the first results of the developments will appear within the next five years. The project is planned to be implemented on domestic equipment and technologies. An individual engineering solution will be created for each type of mine.
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