The age of automation is here: is the Australian resources sector ready? Jeff Sterling, Founder & Managing Director, Universal Field Robots
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niversal Field Robots Founder and Managing Director Jeff Sterling examines the future of automation and robotics in mining.
Predicting the future
Where are we now?
If we want to talk about the potential for automation and robotics technology in mining, then we need to attempt to predict the future. Historically, many have tried and have often failed miserably at this task. Ken Olsen, chief executive of one of the world’s most successful computer companies, Digital Equipment, said in 1970:
When it comes to the implementation phase of automation and robotics in mining, some of the announcements that have given some guidance and indicate data points on the curve have been:
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” Stanford University’s Head of the Institute for the Future, Roy Amara, created a model of the implementation of technology and the expectations around it. Amara’s Law, as it has become known, states that people tend to overestimate the impact of a new technology in the short run but underestimate it in the long run. New technology creates excitement about the possibilities, then years pass and nothing much seems to happen. The cynics typically jump in and denounce it before the technology then starts taking hold and becomes disruptive. Commentators put the inflection point where technology catches up with the hype at around 10 to 15 years following inception.
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BBMC Yearbook 2020
• 2008: Komatsu deploys front runner autonomous haulage in Codelco’s Mistral copper mine in Chile • 2008: Rio Tinto announces the Mine of the Future • 2012: Rio Tinto announces development of hauling with autonomous trains • 2018: Rio Tinto commences hauling with autonomous trains, the first heavy freight driverless train • 2019: BHP announces autonomous hauling is being rolled out to other operations, starting with its coal mines in Queensland • 2020: Fortescue Metals Group announces that 168 trucks have been converted to autonomous trucks, with a 30% increase productivity levels, travelling a total of more than 47 million kms Estimates of the automation and robotics technology that is readily available in 2020 includes:
