This is heavy machinery remote control technology

Each morning Monica Kyrö starts her work as millions of people, in an office. In his position, yes, there is something strange. His own company shows it In an image of the employee. And it is not unusual only for the two huge curved monitors, but for the Two joysticks That Monica begins to handle quickly by getting to the homework. But it is that this employee of the Swedish company Lkab It has a very peculiar job.

Monica is mining. But a different mining company. He works as a remote operator of heavy mining machines, but does not conduct them or operates in the conventional sense of the word. Instead, control these machines remotely since its advanced job. It is an example of an interesting transformation in several industries.

Miners who do not need to go down to the mine

These types of systems have gradually conquer some industrial scenarios, and Mining It is certainly very appropriate. This dangerous profession He has adapted to the new times, and “going down to the mine” is no longer rigorously true. With these machines remotely controlled by human operators, the work of these miners is not only more comfortable: it is infinitely safer.

There are various companies specialized in this area. Immersive Technologiesone of them shows how his simulation solutions Avoid risks to workers in real scenarios – such as mining exploitations – in which the risks are high.

But that does not prevent other problems from arising. By removing the operator from that seat on the heavy machine itself, there may be problems by not having the range of vision that one would have in that cabin and also not completely perceive its environment – for example that another employee that does not initially appear on video suddenly appears in that area – and the possible impact of using those machines at a point and in a certain way in each moment.

The impact on the work is for now an inconite, but a priori it does not seem that the role of the traditional operator of these machines is in danger. In fact, what was precisely demand for new professionalswhich can now be more interested thanks to that change in the paradigm and much greater security and comfort in these jobs.

Remote control trucks and robots

Heavy machinery is gradually becoming autonomous and robotic heavy machinery, they explained On robotics. In Spain companies like Epiroc either Sandfire Matsa They have this type of solutions in the field of mining, but there are other areas in which heavy machinery remote control is a perfect option.

It is for example the case of the control of machines in commercial ports such as Guangzhou, in China. Months ago a video appeared on social networks in which remote operators of this port worked from the offices controlling trucks and cranes to move those containers and moving them from one place to another.

Everything without human personnel near those containers and large machines, something that once again avoids important risks and that allows these operators to do everything from a much more comfortable and safe environment. Certainly it seems that they were playing a simulation video game, but no. The video is hypnotic.

These solutions have been in operation for years, although they do so in very specific environments due to the complexity of these works. Husqvarna, Swedish manufacturer of construction machines, was one of the firms that participated after the catastrophe of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Over there your remote control robots They helped in the controlled demolition tasks of the central.

Companies like the Norway Steer They are specialized in this type of solutions for dangerous scenarios such as underground operations, work with explosives, or scenarios in which there is a risk of radioactivity or others such as avalanches and detachments.

To the remote control options that require a human operator, the new autonomous vehicles for industrial applications are added. Here is a clear example in the field of agriculture. Autonomous tractors are already a realityof course, but these types of vehicles are also being used more and more in other fields.

Mining is another reference: Caterpillar – of the protagonist in these markets – has autonomous trucks that already operate in that industry and that make use of “see” their environment, as well as in some robotaxis Like the Waymo. These autonomous vehicles are notwithstanding challenges to overcome: as in the case of self -employed cars, technology remains difficult to perfectespecially before the diversity of scenarios in which these solutions try to apply.

That joysticks is of the last generation, but it is not to play

This heavy machinery remote control segment has also caused the creation of (at least) a small segment totally associated with these systems: there are companies such as Comtium either JR Merritt specialized in calls industrial joysticks.

These models are applicable to all types of heavy machinery and offer different designs and buttons according to the field in which they are used. There are even models with controlled precision systems with the thumb and even Control chairs For operators with everything necessary for this type of applications.

This type of specialized peripherals can resemble traditional video game joysticks, but in reality they are quite different. To begin with, they must meet some requirements for very high durabilityand resist vibrations, extreme temperatures, dust, moisture and especially intensive use. That causes stainless steel axes and other equally resistant elements to be used.

In the case of precision components that are usually translated for example in Minijísticks for the thumbswhich can have different configurations and shapes to adjust to specific heavy machines. Some of them have the Hall Effect technology that lately it has become popular in keyboards and that is especially useful in these areas.

This type of joysticks use magnetic sensors to determine the position of the lever without physical contact between mobile parts and sensors. This makes the possible effects of a wear of the mechanical components disappear and offers outstanding precision in that monitoring of the operator’s movements.

Image | Lkab