An electric rope shovel being used for automation research by CSIRO at Bracalba Quarry, near Caboolture in Queensland, Australia.
Large industrial robots
CSIRO developed one of the world’s largest robots and continues to develop new autonomous technologies for industrial applications.
- 1 February 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011
The use of robots instead of humans offers tremendous advantages such as:
- improved safety
- greater efficiency
- increased productivity
- better prediction of maintenance and repair
- the ability to operate in remote areas
- the ability to operate in harsh environments.
Typical tasks that lend themselves to automation include:
- pick and place movement of containers or pallets
- clearing debris
- excavation, loading, hauling and dumping
- materials handling.
Current activities
CISRO is developing sensing, control and planning systems to allow automation, or robotic-enabled remote operation, of large machines.
Our focus is on robust, reliable systems that can withstand the rigours of continuous operation in real world industrial environments.
In some industrial applications it may be impractical to restrict human movement around the robot so our autonomous technologies include strategies for sharing the workspace with people.
CSIRO has a fleet of robotic vehicles at our laboratory in Brisbane, Australia that we us to test and demonstrate autonomous operation and cooperative behaviour.
Real world applications
In close collaboration with industry, CSIRO has developed, or is developing, several autonomous vehicles or remote operation systems.
These include:
- Rockbreaker. Telerobotic technology allowing a large jointed arm with a hydraulic hammer for smashing rocks to be controlled from a remote location. CSIRO is working with Rio Tinto towards its objectives in automation of mining.
- Shovel loader. With funding from the Australian coal association research program (ACARP), CSIRO and the Cooperative Research Centre for Mining developed automated swing loading technology for electric mining shovels. We developed the sensing and mapping technology that allowed the shovel to construct and maintain an accurate model of its environment and its place within it.
- Dragline. With support from ACARP, CSIRO developed a kind of cruise control system that allowed dragline operators to control their machine remotely and work smoothly and consistently, reducing stress on the dragline’s boom. Draglines are used in open cut mining to remove the overburden from the ore body. We have since added digital terrain mapping, giving the machine spatial knowledge of its surroundings.
- Load Haul Dump (LHD). We fitted an LHD (used in underground mining to move ore from the face to a crusher or truck) with high speed scanning lasers and control software so the vehicle can regain its course if it veers off the expected path. Our patented solution was licensed to Caterpillar who released it in their MINEGEM in 2004. Mines using the system have reported a 40-60% increase in productivity over manual operation.
- Hot Metal Carrier (HMC). CSIRO automated an HMC (a 20 tonne forklift-style vehicle that move crucibles of molten metal) to give it all the functionality of a manually operated vehicle. The prototype has been in operation since 2005 at our Brisbane laboratory in Brisbane, clocking up many hours of continuous operation in all weathers. Field trials of the core technologies are underway at Rio Tinto Aluminium’s Bell Bay smelter in Tasmania, Australia.
Read more about the technical details of this work in Field Robotics [external link].
