GPS World, August 2010

pit mines GPS remains a popular choice and can be found on most platforms GPS GLONASS receivers have largely replaced GPS only receivers for heavy machinery haul trucks and auxiliary equipment such as drills as they deliver improved availability over GPS However the cost of GNSS receivers has meant they are not as popular on the numerous light vehicle fl eets With low cost GNSS chipsets coming on the market this will change quickly over the coming years Both high end and low cost technology are deployed in open pit mining usually in conjunction with GPS or GNSS HI inertial systems tend to be in machine control the low cost devices including electromagnetic compasses and accelerometers are more often used in vehicle and personal safety devices In Table 1 I distinguish between radio positioning and radio location technologies Th e former are dedicated positioning systems such as the Novariant Terralite and Locata that deliver precise positioning from planned networks of transponders on site Th e latter derive location from communications systems and are generally accurate to a few meters the 3DP systems built on a Motorola Motomesh backbone Radio frequency identifi cation RFID location is well established in the mining industry for both underground and open pit operations Although not used for high precision machine control applications RFID can be found on all platform classes for safety operational and logistics purposes Both electronic distance measuring EDM and laser technology are used to position machines and haul trucks Th ese line of sight systems tend to be deployed near work areas Positioning Mix No single technology has the right mix of precision availability and cost to meet all needs in openpit mining today System integrators are experimenting with diff erent combinations with many claims about which mix is superior A deciding factor is which positioning technologies are scalable to non mining applications thats where GPS GNSS and RFID have a distinct advantage today Open Pit Mining MACHINE CONTROL Download Rob Lorimers webinar on this topic at gpsworld com webinar and read his final Precision OEM column Still Scratching the Surface at gpsworld com surface A brief excerpt from the latter Even in advanced economies many farms mines quarries and construction sites do not use precision GPS Look over the fence into developing economies such as China India Brazil and South Africa and we get a sense of just how much growth opportunity there is Throw in emerging applications such as road transport or machine automation and the mind boggles at the opportunities ahead Several pitfalls lie along the road to developing the full market potential for precision GNSS Allow me to elaborate www trimble com GNSS Inertial www gpsworld com August 2010 GPS World 43