A robotic system for underground coal mining

The authors describe a system that automates a continuous miner, enabling it to maneuver in highly constrained environments and cut coal without a human operator onboard. The system consists of a modified continuous miner, a laser range sensor, a SPARCstation, and control software. To date, the system has been tested on a mobile robot and on a continuous miner both above ground and in a real coal mine. The authors note that this system is the first instance of an intelligent robotic system for cutting coal