CUDA

Underground mining safety

Intro

CUDA is a holistic safety system building on the ongoing introduction of 5G networks in underground mines, to benefit both miners and the safety responsible, by facilitating the information, communication, and evacuation navigation needed in case of an emergency.

About

Master Thesis Project

Social Impact Product Design

Duration

2024 - 20 weeks

collaboration

China Pan Jiang Energy Group

Team

Individual

Facts

Underground mining is pertinent to the world’s need for metals and minerals for the electric energy transformation, but as the need for deeper mining increases, so do the risks. In 2021 in China alone, 503 miners were killed in underground disasters. On a global scale, there are still 20 million people, workers and their families, who are making their living in the mining industry.

challenge

During my research, I discovered that historically underground disasters could occur and develop very fast. However, the response time has been wasted on the inaccurate determination of the source and scale of the emergency, inefficient disaster information communication, and pointless blind evacuation navigation, with devastating consequences.

chance

But things are going to change. Mines in China have started to apply underground 5G networks to enhance the transmission speed and bandwidth. The warning time for disaster has been extended from 4 minutes to a maximum of 2 hours.


So my project focused on providing a hands-on product solution and system for real-time emergency notification and evacuation navigation by leveraging the underground 5G networks and the disaster prediction technology that are becoming more and more available.

Final design

CUDA is a holistic safety system building on developing 5G networks in underground mines, to the benefit of both miners and the safety responsible, by facilitating the information, communication, and evacuation navigation needed in case of an emergency.


It consists of two types of products: an ergonomic and easy-to-mount helmet-worn headlight unit for emergency notification, LED navigation and a powerful work light for every miner; as well as a handheld advanced gas detector unit for safety inspectors on-site in the mine. Both are connected to the information centre above ground via 5G, where data from the existing tunnel monitoring sensors and stationary cameras are gathered and analysed by an AI-assisted system.

Real-time Emergency notification

The headlight unit is equipped for all the underground miners (crew members & safety inspector). In daily work, it can provide two different lighting modes: focus light mode for working and checking, and flood light mode, which will be activated if two workers are talking face to face to avoid the light annoying.


During an emergency, all affected miners will be notified with real-time disaster-level information using RGB visual notification alarms in the headlight unit. The different levels of emergencies are distinguished by different flashing speeds of the main red LED light. 1. Slow breathing light, level 1 emergency, stand by and stop working. 2. Fast flashing, level 2&3 emergency, evacuation to ground surfaces or emergency shelter needed.

The headlight unit is equipped for all the underground miners (crew members & safety inspector). In daily work, it can provide two different lighting modes: focus light mode for working and checking, and flood light mode, which will be activated if two workers are talking face to face to avoid the light annoying.


During an emergency, all affected miners will be notified with real-time disaster-level information using RGB visual notification alarms in the headlight unit. The different levels of emergencies are distinguished by different flashing speeds of the main red LED light. 1. Slow breathing light, level 1 emergency, stand by and stop working. 2. Fast flashing, level 2&3 emergency, evacuation to ground surfaces or emergency shelter needed.

The headlight unit is equipped for all the underground miners (crew members & safety inspector). In daily work, it can provide two different lighting modes: focus light mode for working and checking, and flood light mode, which will be activated if two workers are talking face to face to avoid the light annoying.


During an emergency, all affected miners will be notified with real-time disaster-level information using RGB visual notification alarms in the headlight unit. The different levels of emergencies are distinguished by different flashing speeds of the main red LED light. 1. Slow breathing light, level 1 emergency, stand by and stop working. 2. Fast flashing, level 2&3 emergency, evacuation to ground surfaces or emergency shelter needed.

Real-time Intuitive evacuation navigation

If an evacuation is required, the information centre can instantly analyse the location of all miners, the tunnel conditions, the emergency shelter capacity and the optimal evacuation routes for getting there, then provide real-time and intuitive guidance to every miner via the LED navigation module mounted on the underside of the helmet's brim. This way miners can be evenly distributed to the nearest emergency shelters, and move safely and quickly to any assigned safety location.


Green LED: go straight, turn left or turn right. Red LED flash on both sides: turn back (can be temporarily paused by shortly pressing the acknowledgement button).

If an evacuation is required, the information centre can instantly analyse the location of all miners, the tunnel conditions, the emergency shelter capacity and the optimal evacuation routes for getting there, then provide real-time and intuitive guidance to every miner via the LED navigation module mounted on the underside of the helmet's brim. This way miners can be evenly distributed to the nearest emergency shelters, and move safely and quickly to any assigned safety location.


Green LED: go straight, turn left or turn right. Red LED flash on both sides: turn back (can be temporarily paused by shortly pressing the acknowledgement button).

If an evacuation is required, the information centre can instantly analyse the location of all miners, the tunnel conditions, the emergency shelter capacity and the optimal evacuation routes for getting there, then provide real-time and intuitive guidance to every miner via the LED navigation module mounted on the underside of the helmet's brim. This way miners can be evenly distributed to the nearest emergency shelters, and move safely and quickly to any assigned safety location.


Green LED: go straight, turn left or turn right. Red LED flash on both sides: turn back (can be temporarily paused by shortly pressing the acknowledgement button).

potential disaster source determination & share

For safety inspector, they are equipped with intelligent gas detector units to enhance their workflow. The new generation gas detector, with an uncooled Optical Gas Imaging camera, allows safety inspectors to quickly and accurately locate any potential gas leak source from a safe distance (5-10 meters) and share real-time location and visual image data with the information centre for AI-powered quicker decision-making and immediate response.

Uncooled optical Gas imaging camera

OGI is a type of infrared thermal camera, which can be used underground with certain power limitations. Compared with the cooled OGI cameras, the uncooled OGI cameras are more compact, with lower cost and power consumption. Making it a more cost-effective OGI solution in the underground mines. To activate the OGI camera module, the safety inspector needs to slide the cover manually, which can prevent mechanical failure during an emergency. During detection, the OGI camera can automatically capture the leaking gas pattern in real time and overlay it on the visible image, which allows safety inspector to switch between different colour patterns and thermography modes.

real-time gas level monitoring

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different underground mining environments.

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different mining environments.

Built for extreme environments

The gas detector unit is built to withstand the hazards of the underground environment, such as the combination of a glove-friendly touch screen and physical glow-in-the-dark buttons for enhanced visibility and usability in the case of an emergency; and the intuitive user interface designed to be viewed more clearly from a distance in the dark.

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different mining environments.

Seamlessly pairing

The gas detector unit can automatically search to connect to the nearest helmet-worn headlight unit and synchronise personal identity information.

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different mining environments.

universal to all mining helmets

The helmet-worn unit is universal to all mining helmets and designed for extreme use, with compact volume, easy mounting and cost-efficiency in large-scale implementation in mind. The navigation LED module is mounted under the brim of the helmet, and connected to the main light module with a flexible cable.

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different mining environments.

Powerful and Flexible

With better battery weight distribution and cable management than conventional solutions, Cuda allows miners to be more flexible in narrow tunnels with adequate lighting over a 10+ hour shift. The backlight increases the visibility of the miner in the dark from all directions.

At the bottom of the gas detector, it's the gas sensor module. Once the gas sensor detects a certain gas level in the air crosses the safe range, the visual alarm LED on the top will flash to notify the safety inspector, and the home page will show the related information. The detachable gas sensor module ensures upgradability and relevancy for the different mining environments.

Design process

The project commenced with extensive desktop research to understand the mining workflow and the social phenomena behind it. Then I travelled to Southwest China to conduct field research in an 800-meter-deep underground mine and the Mine Gas Outburst Forecasting Centre. On-site, I observed the working environments of various stakeholders and interviewed miners with different experiences.


Back at school, during the concept development phase, I conducted immersive ideation workshops and tried out Arduino low-fidelity prototypes with classmates. Then I iterated and optimized various design details using 3D-printed models to ensure ergonomic suitability for underground mine environments and reliability in extreme, emergency, and low-visibility situations.


Finally, I returned to China with the high-fidelity 3D-printed models for review. This allowed miners on-site to examine and test the final concept in person.

TO DESIGN REPORT FOR MORE DETAILS

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