Types of aircraft
Now there are two variants of drones: airplane-type (for convenience, we will
The wing due to the high flight speed allowsfor one flight (lasting about an hour) to remove about 2-3 square meters. km. Therefore, it is used for large-scale surveys: flying over a quarry or even the entire enterprise - for example, to assess the state of mining operations at a particular moment.
One flight of a quadrocopter is about 20-30 minutes,and its speed is much lower than that of the wing. True, it can hover in the air, sharply change the direction of flight, it is easier to control it. Therefore, it is used for point surveys - for example, to assess large aggregates and other infrastructure.
Iron ore deposits affect the magnetic fields, and with it, the magnetic fields built into the coptercompass and gyroscope, which is why sometimes flying turns into an attempt to curb automation and return the gadgetto the right course.
The flight wing does not need to be oriented to the cardinal directions, it is controlled by the pilot and the GPS signal. Therefore, it can be launched where the copter should not fly, next to large deposits.
What are drones for?
- Underground and abandoned mines
The mines that are currently being developed are not alwayssafe for people, and abandoned ones are even more dangerous. The probability of collapse, combustible natural gases, low oxygen content - all this can easily become a threat to human life and health.
Quadcopters due to their small size andhigh maneuverability can easily scout even the most remote corners of underground labyrinths. At the same time, in addition to conventional cameras, they can be equipped with infrared detectors and echolocators. They will build a 3D model of space even without light and help geologists figure out the size of the deposits and the iron content of the ore. In addition, the drone can always be equipped with a gas detector - the data will help you take precautions in future work.
- Assistance to geologists in the preparation of explosions
Ore is mined using explosions.For this, wells are drilled in the quarry, where explosives are laid. At the same time, it is important for geologists to understand exactly where to lay them: what is the size of the area with ore deposits, what is the iron content in them, are there any possible complications such as an underground reservoir with methane or dangerous heavy metals.
Drones with thermal imagers, lidars and camerasare able to accurately calculate all these parameters and increase the accuracy of determining the explosion zone. And right before the explosion, with the help of drones, you can make sure that there are no people or equipment nearby that could get hurt.
The aerial image makes it possible to analyze what a grid of holes with explosives should be like, because the density of explosions also affects both the "behavior" of the ore and the size of the rock fragments.
- Evaluation of particle size distribution
It sounds complicated, but don't be scared.
After the explosion, a collapse is formed in the quarry.This is a huge pile of rock pieces of various sizes. Then they go to the mill for crushing. In order to use time and resources efficiently, the parameters of the resulting rock, including its size, must be entered into the mill program in advance. The content of iron in the ore is also important.
People should not be in the place of collapse afterexplosion, so the ability to use drones has become a very important and useful solution. The wing helps to take pictures of rock pieces from different heights and at different scales. Then they are analyzed by special software - and at the end, experts understand what kind of ore they are dealing with and where smaller or larger pieces are located.
By finer tuning, mill downtime is reduced by several hours per month, saving a lot of money.
“Drones with thermal imagers, lidars and a camera can accurately calculate all parameters”
- Evaluation of the qualitative composition of the ore
The rock after the explosion is heterogeneous:somewhere there is more iron, somewhere less - the pieces scatter in different directions, and the measurements made by geologists lose their meaning. But when the ore is sent for crushing and further processing, it is very important to understand how much iron is contained in the substrate.
To people at the collapse site for safety reasonsyou can’t be there, before the use of drones, the composition of the ore was modeled by special software. Due to the extremely large number of factors affecting the behavior of the rock after the explosion, the accuracy of such models is not ideal - about 80%.
Frames taken with the wing increasemodel accuracy up to 99%. Geologists determine what the iron content is at different breakup sites even before modeling. And, based on these data, mining excavators and dump trucks are sent to the right areas of the blasted rock.
- Analysis of the state of the infrastructure
Enterprises have large units - for example,spreaders or rotary complexes. Each of them is several tens of meters high. Equipment parts must be inspected regularly. Previously, tower workers were brought in for inspections, but this is a complex process that takes hours.
Nowadays they use quadcopters for this purpose.high resolution camera. This way you can see even more nuances than when inspecting it manually: the compact and maneuverable drone easily flies even to those parts of the unit where it is difficult for a person to climb. If a team of workers can only inspect a few points at a time, then the footage from the copter shows much more.
Another use case:quadrocopters help to react faster in case an accident occurs somewhere. The drone can be quickly launched and within a couple of hours to understand what exactly happened and what scale of damage.
Drones allow you to fly around the territory of the enterprise,workshops and other buildings, mining facilities, industrial waste storage and temporary dumps to assess their condition. And since manufacturers offer many options for attachments, a quadrocopter can be used, for example, to assess heat loss - a thermal imager is used for this.
“Another use case: quadcopters help to react faster if an accident occurs somewhere”
- Construction of transport logistics
Mining dump trucks operate around the clock and forone day they transport several thousand tons of ore. Due to their size and mass of cargo, they consume an extremely large amount of fuel; a decrease in driving speed due to pits and other obstacles can cost the company millions of rubles.
A quarry is several tens of kilometers of roads.The paths of dump trucks change every few weeks - after each new explosion. Logisticians need to have a very clear idea of how and where the best route is: which roads have ceased to exist, which have become too narrow, where cars pass too often or too slowly.
If earlier inspections were carried out “from the ground”, nowspecialists monitor the condition of roads from a bird's eye view. Until recently, drone footage was processed manually. Nowadays they use special programs Algorithms use photographs to determine exactly where a dump truck can travel and, based on this, build a road map. Then the program automatically highlights wear and workload in color: green - normal, red - critical.
All this helps to direct much fasterteam for repair work or simply redistribute traffic flows so that there are no congestion and downtime. Through the use of new technologies, the process of assessing road conditions is up to five times faster, fuel consumption is reduced by 6%, and tire wear is reduced.
Drones increase business efficiency, speedcarrying out work - tasks that previously took about two weeks to solve are solved in 2-3 days with the help of drones. They also improve employee productivity and safety. Drones are already reliable assistants for us, but dozens more applications can be thought of for them.
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