The Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station (Simtars) within the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, has borrowed the five kilogram robot from the USA to see whether it can be adapted for use in Queensland.

 

The trial represents an Australian first as small robotic mine emergency exploration devices were not currently available in Australia.

 

"It indicates that new generation artificially intelligent mini-robots-small enough to hold in both hands-may provide a safe answer to exploring a mine after a fire or explosion,” director Stewart Bell said.

 

"Valued at $54,000 and looking much like a toy bulldozer, the robot 'Simbot' is small enough to fit down a 20 cm borehole leading into a mine. The robot can be sent into underground areas after a fire or explosion, dragging its

cable behind and sending video information and gas detection data back to emergency personnel aboveground," he said.

 

Simtars has set up a testing program to determine the robot's performance characteristics in a simulated underground coal mine environment.

 

The robot initially will be equipped with a digital low light camera and a basic gas monitoring package, which will be able to detect oxygen and methane in the mine atmosphere. These two gases are indicative of the safety status of an underground coal mine.

 

"We are investigating whether robots of this type, modified or not, can be used to assess hazardous mine atmospheres without risking human life. They will be testing what performance parameters a robot would need to make these assessments reliably and safely,” Bell said.

 

"After laboratory tests, the modified robot will be tested in a working underground mine in Central Queensland. It is extremely difficult to explore a mine after a fire and a device like this should make the task easier and safer."

 

The robot has been lent to Simtars from the University of Southern Florida's Centre for Robot Assisted Search and Rescue for six months.

 

This facility was heavily involved in search and rescue operations following the World Trade Centre disaster in the USA. The Brisbane robot is similar to ones that the United States Navy has used in Afghanistan and Iraq to check out caves and other underground areas.

 

Bell said any improvements Simtars made to the device would be sent to the United States, where they are interested in possibly applying this technology to the US mining industry.