Traditionally characterized by vast terrains, extensive areas, and significant human resource demands, mining landscapes are undergoing a pivotal transformation. The challenges – including rough terrains, expansive sites, and inherent dangers – are being mitigated as the sector rapidly transitions to drone operations. Global Data corroborates this shift. Between 2018 and 2022, mine investments in drones surged from 44% to 65%. Of significance, 32% of mines in 2022 reported a full or substantial investment in drone technology.
Over the past half-decade, the shift has been so significant and rapid that even Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) drones are becoming old news. Mining operators are swiftly moving towards Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations to heighten safety and efficiency. Augmented by the capabilities of advanced networks like 5G, the use of multiple BVLOS drones concurrently promises unparalleled reliability and efficiency.
In this article, I have consolidated our experiences with BVLOS drone implementation. Read on to know more about the opportunities, challenges, licensing and regulatory landscape, and Shabodi’s ground-breaking BVLOS solutions based on our conversations with mining operators and partners within the industry.
Why Mining Operators are Prioritizing BVLOS Drone Fleet Implementations
The adoption of drones is transforming operations at an accelerated pace. The critical factor setting the stage for this transformation is the capability to operate drone fleets Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS).
VLOS, which has been par for the course in most drone implementations, comes with a visual tether, often restricting the drone’s range from the pilot to just about 500m and the height restriction of 400 feet. Many jurisdictions even encode these restrictions in their regulations. The practical implications? For operations beyond this 500m radius, constant redeployment becomes necessary. This limitation not only creates inefficiencies but also becomes impractical for several commercial drone applications like extensive mapping or surveys.
The true economic potential of commercial drone operations can only be unleashed with multiple BVLOS drone fleets. These operations amplify what drones can achieve in a single mission, laying the foundation for transitioning from piloted single-drone missions to fully autonomous, long-distance drone fleets. The result is unprecedented efficiency and cost-effectiveness in mining operations.
BVLOS Drones: Use Cases in Mining
Tailing Measurements: Drones, with their aerial vantage points, offer precision like never in these measurements, enabling mine operators to be more effective in their operations.
Topological Surveys and Photogrammetry: With drones flying over mining sites, capturing high-definition videos and creating accurate 3D digital twins becomes seamless. These digital replicas facilitate better planning and decision-making.
Surveying and Mapping: Before excavation begins, drones equipped with aerial photography tools help identify mineral-rich zones. They can even access underground areas, which may be inaccessible or hazardous for human surveyors.
Emergency Responses: In critical situations, like a worker suffering a health issue or accident, drones can swiftly deliver emergency supplies, such as defibrillation units, ensuring timely intervention.
Optimizing Road Haulage: Drones offer invaluable insights with their ability to monitor road conditions continuously. This assists engineers in planning and executing road maintenance and construction tasks efficiently.
Tools and Parts Delivery: Efficiency in mining operations is crucial, and even minor oversights, such as forgetting a tool or needing a replacement part, can lead to delays. In large mining sites spanning over 100 square kilometers or more, just retrieving a forgotten tool or part can waste up to two hours in travel time. Drones, with their ability to carry and deliver tools and parts swiftly, can reduce hours of transit into a 15-minute task. This saves time and boosts operational efficiency.
BVLOS Drone Fleet Implementation and Operations in Mining: The Challenges
The mining sector’s adoption of drone technology has progressed from mere validation to encompassing the mine’s entire lifecycle, from exploration through operations. But like every technological advancement, it’s not without its complexities.
Drones operating BVLOS are heavily tethered to the data they receive from onboard instruments. That this network connection should work flawlessly isn’t just a preference—it’s a necessity. The telemetry links inform operators of critical UAV data, from positional details to flight direction and speed. Additionally, drones in BVLOS operations can adjust flight parameters and control data-collecting sensors autonomously. This emphasizes the critical importance of network reliability in drone operations.
While single-drone operations heralded a significant shift, they come with inherent limitations—like constrained coverage and the need for regular recharges. Deploying multiple drones magnifies these challenges, introducing potential network congestion and bandwidth dilemmas.
Take the example of a fleet of BVLOS drones performing mine surveys. It poses several constraints, such as:
- Camera Resolution Management: Not all drones need to record in high definition simultaneously. The choice of resolution can be dynamic, based on the specific task at hand. For instance, drones in transit or those performing broad overview scans might operate at a lower resolution, conserving bandwidth, while those capturing detailed survey data might require high-definition video.
- Network Insights and Bandwidth Allocation: Before launching another drone into the sky, operators should have access to real-time network insights. This ensures adequate bandwidth to support another drone’s video feed, telemetry data, and control commands. Pre-emptive insights can prevent bandwidth overloads, ensuring seamless operations.
- Safety Protocols: In a multi-drone environment, avoiding aerial collisions becomes paramount. With BVLOS operations, drones need sophisticated collision-avoidance systems, protocols, and notifications, especially in areas with potential network lag or downtime.
- Prioritization: In any technologically advanced workspace, especially one as dynamic as mining sites with BVLOS drones, efficiently managing network resources is crucial. With multiple applications vying for bandwidth, it becomes imperative to set a hierarchy in network resource allocation. A non-essential bandwidth-intensive task should refrain from interfering with critical drone requirements like telemetry data transfer or video feeds. Intelligent prioritization is essential for smooth and safe BVLOS operations in a mine site.
Cellular connectivity, especially 5G and beyond, offers the bandwidth essential for efficient drone operations without imposing prohibitive costs. However, the shadow of unreliability looms in areas with spotty network coverage – a persistent challenge in mining topologies.
The mandate for BVLOS drone fleet implementations is clear: ultra-reliable connectivity, flawless network insights, and intelligent resource allocation.
A BVLOS drone solution, by necessity, must offer near-perfect uptime and resource optimization and ensure safety and an uninterrupted mission.
Shabodi Enabling BVLOS Drone Fleet Efficiency and Performance in Mining
Shabodi emerges as an effective enabler for drone operations, maximizing efficiency and network resources. It sets the gold standard for intelligent BVLOS operations within the mining sector.
Intelligent Resource Allocation: Every drone has a role in a mining operation. Some might capture intricate details of a site, while others might simply move objects from point A to B. Shabodi’s ground-breaking solution can differentiate between these roles. By discerning the task of each drone, it intelligently allocates resources, ensuring high res capture where needed and conserving bandwidth where it’s not. In the context of a mine survey, this ensures that camera resolutions and, subsequently, network resources are harnessed intelligently, and drones can operate at peak efficiency without compromising performance or bloating network resource costs.
Network resource prioritization (bandwidth, latency, jitter, etc.): Shabodi prioritizes mission-critical applications, ensuring that drone operations receive precedence. It ensures that drone operations – from telemetry data transfer to video feeds – are always given priority over non-essential tasks. This approach ensures minimal latency or disruptions, particularly in BVLOS operations where real-time data and responses are crucial. The outcome is a seamless, efficient, and safer drone operation, with resources smartly allocated where they matter most.
Network Priority through Advanced APIs: Through the adept use of mobile network APIs, Shabodi takes a giant leap in network management. By prioritizing network resources in real-time, drones are provided with the bandwidth they require precisely when needed. This proactive approach eliminates potential bottlenecks and optimizes drone performance.
Real-time Network Insights: Shabodi offers a visionary approach to BVLOS drone operations. With real-time network insights, it provides a sixth sense in drone deployment. Before a potential issue becomes an operational or safety challenge, Shabodi can alert operators not to deploy drones, ensuring safe operations seamlessly.
Ultimately, Shabodi plays the role of BVLOS drone fleet enabler, ensuring that every resource, be it bandwidth, latency, drone location, or camera resolution, is at the drone fleet’s disposal. The result? Flawless, efficient, and, above all, safe BVLOS drone operations.
The Future of BVLOS Drone Operations and Implementations: ERP Integration
The next frontier in mining operations’ automation could be a seamless integration of BVLOS drones with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
This union promises to bring unprecedented levels of automation, ensuring every drone flight, data capture, and subsequent operation fits like a cog in the well-oiled machinery of modern mining enterprises.
The days when drones and ERPs converge are not far, and they promise an era where operational efficiencies in mining are not just improved but are redefined.
The Future of BVLOS Drone Operations and Implementations: The Regulatory Landscape
With drones at the forefront, the mining industry’s transformation is underpinned by stringent regulations ensuring safety and efficiency. BVLOS drone operations extend beyond expansive terrains; they embody the pinnacle of operational safety, enabling pilots to operate these flying marvels from secure locations, distant from the inherent risks of the mining terrains.
For a pilot, navigating BVLOS operations isn’t business as usual. Rigorous theoretical and hands-on training sessions are required to earn the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) qualification certificate, a stamp of authority, and competence for BVLOS flights. This training curriculum encompasses an in-depth understanding of navigation techniques, meteorology insights, flight performance and planning, and the regulations governing flight operations.
As BVLOS drones continue to play an increasingly pivotal role in aerial operations, regulators worldwide have sharpened their focus on framing and enforcing stringent requirements. These regulations not only mandate the licensing of BVLOS operations but also emphasize the importance of specialized training to ensure that every UAV in the sky operates within the designated airspace boundaries.
With its trailblazing solutions, Shabodi can play an instrumental role in bolstering the safety and reliability of BVLOS drone operations. This amplifies operational efficiencies and offers a significant advantage to businesses in navigating the maze of regulatory certifications for commercial BVLOS drone operations.
Are You Ready for the Age of BVLOS to Transform Your Mining Operations?
The narrative of drones in mining is transformative. Shabodi’s solutions emerge as a frontrunner in maximizing the potential of multiple BVLOS drone fleets, ensuring safety, efficiency, and innovation.
Looking ahead, the horizon expands with newer drone applications in mining, where efficient network resource management will be pivotal. The future of mining, powered by BVLOS drones and enabled by Shabodi, looks brighter than ever.
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