Teleoperation for continuous miners and haulage equipment

Hard-wired or radio remote control of continuous mining machines situates the machine operator off-board but within direct view of the underground coal face. The operator is positioned under permanent roof support but is still exposed to the hazards of roof and rib falls, dust, and methane explosions. The US Bureau of Mines, working with a private cooperator since 1985, has developed an off-board, computer-based remote control system that stations the operator hundreds of feet away from the working face in a highwall mining operation. Details of this teleoperated highwall mining system (continuous miner plus continuous haulage) at a West Virginia field trial site are described, along with plans to incorporate this technology for thin-seam extraction and haulage equipment in deep, room-and-pillar coal mines