Augmented Reality And The Future Of Mining

PAUL EHLERSIn 2016, the game Pokemon Go saw the first mainstream usage of augmented reality.

With more than 500 million downloads, it became an overnight sensation. The game was about players walking around with mobile devices, and interacting with generated augmented reality (AR) images of famous Pokemon overlaid onto their device’s camera.

But what is augmented reality? It is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated information.

Have you ever seen the overlay displays while watching sport? That is augmented data displayed on a live feed. Even companies like Google are experimenting with AR overlays to indicate directions to your destination, on the maps’ application.

Think of it as a 3D visible compass providing guidance. AR can be interacted on almost any new mobile device for entry level as well as complex and futuristic devices like the Microsoft Hololens.

The truth is, augmented reality is slowly being adopted in many industries, such as medical, construction, education and heavy equipment. The AR market is estimated to increase to US$60 billion by 2025, from the current US$6,1 billion.

One industry that AR can work very well within Namibia is mining.

Mining generates a lot of computer data, mainly through the use of general mine planning packages. These computer-aided draft (CAD) data are generated through surveys, geology and mine planning departments.

While these work for now, imagine using AR and making use of this data and have it represented as visual overlays.

Often, visibility of a mine plan is non-existent in large open-pit environments. Mining teams rely on surveyors to stake out mining blocks and pit boundaries by means of wooden stakes, markers or even paint. Being able to view this data digitally and on a mobile device will allow unparalleled data visibility.

Easy steps, a mining engineer creates a mine design, it gets uploaded to a server, and it’s directly available. Mine planning, geo-technical and geology data can as well be displayed.

Some of the advantages of using augmented data are that there is an ability to conduct visual inspections of mining conformance to plan; one can view database values, including grades, qualities and lithologies associated with drilling; and also view ore waste contacts.

Other benefits of AR in mining include the ability to improve non-technical mining personnel’s understanding of high-risk areas, overall improving safety, enabling a visual meeting tool to show concepts in the field and consequently enhancing meetings by removing paper plans, as well as interacting with data, study and teach.

There is also an advantage of tracking the progress of mining blocks, and report information back to a short interval control (SIC) plan. The plan can be updated directly from the field.

Imagine a world where all your mining and geology back office data is available on your mobile device in the field. That is the future we are headed to.

* Paul Ehlers is the managing director of DMS-Space, an augmented reality Namibian technology start-up. Reach him at paule@dms-space.co.za

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