These little boys are playing with their favourite toy, a remote control vehicle…

This big boy is also playing with his favourite toy, a slightly larger remote control vehicle. And although he's probably having just as much fun, this vehicle was built for a more serious purpose.

Mining is one of Australia's most important industries, but it's also an industry with a high rate of death and injury. Workers often have to work thousands of metres under the surface of the earth, in unstable conditions.

So remote controlled vehicles are being developed to make their workplace safer and more efficient, and to reduce risk when work is required in hazardous areas.

"These vehicles work in areas, which have just had rocks, blasted. They work in caves with unsupported ceilings. So remote control is a way of getting the guys off the vehicles and hopefully save some lives".

But the beauty of this vehicle is that the scientist doesn't have to stand next to it. The vehicle can be operated from an office, above ground.

"We have sensors placed all around the vehicle. We have TV cameras so that we can see what is going on. We have lasers to actually guide the vehicle. We have an engine management system so we know how fast the engine's going. We know where the bucket is. All these things that a human knows when they're driving the machine."

Another advantage to this system is that one person can control more than one, in fact three or four machines at the same time.

At the moment the remote vehicle is being trialed in these fake mines made from shade cloth. But once it is ready to be taken into a real mine it will mean an increase in safety for miners, and reduce costs for mining companies.