Tag: drones

Coates, Australia’s largest equipment hire company with over one million pieces of equipment across 21 categories, now offers innovative drone inspection for industrial infrastructure. Using drones, Coates can quickly and safely inspect industrial assets on mining sites and then create a 3D model, or ‘digital twin’, to help plan maintenance programs. With this technology, mining site managers can reduce asset downtime, inspection costs and risks to workers. Armed with complete knowledge of their physical assets, managers can also boost productivity and profitability on their site. We look at how this technology works and why it’s a must in mining asset management. How it Works Manual inspections typically require scaffolding, rope teams and shutting down the asset for extended periods, with...

The game-changer ONE of the many of the solutions that CR Kennedy offers the mining industry are drone and UAV hardware, software and workflow solutions. The company caters for clients who’re looking for entry-level photogrammetry (the building of auto mosaic images and 3D models from aerial images) right through to the top end users, and everything in between. Survey-grade is the standard at CR Kennedy, and the company’s focus on accuracy and precision means that it is dedicated to finding the right drone for the right payload for the right job. The company is also the exclusive dealer of the ground-breaking WingtraOne tail-sitting fixed-wing aerial survey drone. The WingtraOne is the only fixed-wing Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) drone on...

C.R. Kennedy is a nationwide organisation which employs more than 250 people within various significant divisions. The largest of these divisions is the ‘survey division’ which distributes land surveying, construction, laser scanning, machine control, laser levelling and laser distance measuring equipment throughout the country. CR Kennedy’s major distribution partnership for the survey division is with Leica-Geosystems, a Swiss organisation with more than 200 years of history. The Leica Aibot sits quite significant within this UAV product offering. Drones Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), or perhaps even the remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), are here to stay, and CR Kennedy has a range of multi rotor and fixed wing solutions for mapping, aerial photography, aerial inspections, mine mapping, LIDAR...

UAV Magnetics is at the forefront of drone surveying in Australia, and has refined its technology and method to create a system that is fast, efficient and produces high-quality, high-resolution magnetic data for exploration tenements and mine sites. The system is the culmination of decades of expertise, and in conjunction with the custom magnetometer, is ideally suited for high-resolution magnetic surveys that are less than 2000 line km in size. The custom-built hexacopter can fly autonomously at a range of 2km from the ground operator, and solves the significant safety risks associated with operating manned helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at low altitudes. The system can help to locate changes in rock types, and fault structures in the ground which provide...

WHEN designing a multirotor drone platform, ease of operation, price point and maintenance cost must all be factored in, as should the scalability and ease of customisation. It is rare that a single platform can do everything. Skyline UAV has developed Skyhawke, a Y6 coaxial tricopter, as a solution to some of the problems it had found with its existing fleet of single rotor machines. The software, much of which was produced in Europe, lacked certain features and controls such as the ability to create survey patterns and automated payload controls, and the aftersales support could take weeks or even months for a machine to be returned, which was costly not just for the price of repairs, but in lost...

Image: UNSW.   BY CAMERON DRUMMOND   SINCE its initial use in military applications, drone technology has evolved into a cost-saving and efficient tool for many industries, including mining. Mining majors such as BHP already recognise the advantages of drone technology for a range of applications. BMA mining production head Frans Knox said the use of drones at mine sites has made operations safer and more productive. “At some of our coal mines in QLD, they’re used to ensure areas are clear before a blast takes place and to track fumes post-blast,” Mr Knox said. “They’re also used to improve road safety on sites, by monitoring traffic, road conditions and hazards. “At our Olympic Dam mine in South Australia, the...