2020年7月27日
日立工程机械(HCM)计划在澳大利亚的一个矿山测试一台自动化超大型液压挖掘机，这是其一系列验证测试之一。日立工程机械表示，测试计划于2021财年(2021年4月1日起)开始，以提高未来的采矿安全和生产效率。
为了改善工作环境，确保操作人员的安全，将开发一种可以远程控制的超大型液压挖掘机，”该公司表示。“这台挖掘机将配备操作员支持系统，比如防止与其他采矿设备碰撞的系统。它的可操作性与人工机器保持在同一水平。”
在初始开发之后，将自动化的挖掘和装载操作，远程操作员可以同时控制多个大型液压铲。日立工程机械表示：“随后的发展最终将实现超大型液压挖掘机。自动操作功能。“
The remote control and driving support system for manned and automatically operated excavators can be modified on EX-7 series super-large hydraulic excavators to ensure that mining users can use current equipment and support the automated operation of future mines, Hitachi Construction Machinery said.
The company said: "Iron, copper and other mineral resources support global industrial activities, and these ore stopes must operate stably 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
"In contrast, operators of super-large hydraulic excavators need to repeat complex operations for a long time, while avoiding collisions with surrounding equipment and keeping the vehicle stable, so as to effectively dig and load ore."
The safety and output of super-large hydraulic excavators mainly depend on the experience and skills of the operators. Therefore, it is very important to establish a production system that does not rely on these technologies and reduce the workload of the operators at the mining site, the company said.
Hitachi Construction Machinery began to get involved in mining machinery in the late 1970s, and has made progress in remote operation of excavators in other industries, so it has the ability to develop the above technologies. For example, Hitachi Construction Machinery used remote-control unmanned excavators in the reconstruction of Unzendake Volcano in 1992, which promoted the development of this technology. In 2013, in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki Prefecture, the company remotely controlled a hydraulic excavator located at the Urhoro test site in Hokkaido, 800 kilometers away, through the Internet. The remote control technology is in a leading position in the industry.
"Now, we decided to start a verification test at an actual mine site to promote the development of automated driving of super-large hydraulic excavators, reflecting the needs of the majority of users." The company said.
超大型液压挖掘机的自动化操作可以作为一个单独的系统使用，也可以作为车队管理系统(FMS)的一部分使用，如Wenco国际矿业公司的车队控制系统。文科现在是日立工程机械的子公司。广泛应用于大型矿山。
The company said: "Our goal is to achieve automated operation by sharing information among automated super-large hydraulic excavators, dump trucks, and other equipment, so as to achieve a high balance between safety and productivity."
Operation Support System
Compared with human operation, it is difficult to judge the surrounding conditions of the vehicle and the inclination of the vehicle during remote control. Therefore, the actual machine will be equipped with an anti-collision system and a vehicle stability monitoring system to reduce the burden on the operators during the verification test, Hitachi Construction Machinery said.
In addition, Wenco has been advancing the development of a load monitoring system for excavators, which can measure the weight of materials in the bucket, and plans to test this function at the same time in the verification of automation technology.
The verification test reflects actual user needs and will further improve the level of remote control and driving support technology for super-large hydraulic excavators, Hitachi Construction Machinery said.
The company said: "The operator support system can be retrofitted on the EX-7 series of super-large hydraulic excavators and is scheduled to be put on the market in fiscal year 2022. The system will be installed on the actual machine to improve operational safety."
Integrate with AHS (Automated Transportation System)
Hitachi Construction Machinery began to develop AHS in 2009, and six EH5000 rigid dump trucks have begun operation in the coal merchant Whitehaven’s Maules Creek coal mine, which is located in New South Wales, Australia.
Hitachi Construction Machinery said that in large-scale mining operations, a large number of manned and unmanned vehicles are mixed together, and the radio communication required for operation control must be managed to ensure stability. Hitachi Construction Machinery's AHS runs on Wenco FMS, which uses various technologies of the Hitachi Group and expands to control up to 100 vehicles, which has significant advantages.
The purpose of the automated super large hydraulic excavator is to achieve a high balance between safety and productivity by sharing information with trucks and other machines, even in the future automated mining. The company stated that Hitachi Construction Machinery is a close and reliable partner of its customers, and has been committed to contributing "viable solutions" for solving social problems.
日立工程机械最后表示:“未来我们将利用ICT (Information and Communication Technology)和IoT (Internet of Things)技术，继续推动超大型液压挖掘机远程控制和自动驾驶技术的发展，为全球矿业客户提供服务。”，以便更安全、更有效地生产。”(来源;Juche.com)
