Capital Equipment News September 2019

Volvo’s HX2 autonomous, battery-electric load carrier is being tested on 5G.

“5G is not just an accelerated version of 4G, but a serious technological leap for decades to come. Strictly speaking, 5G is not only a new set of frequencies, but an integrated platform that exploits the capabilities of wireless networks more efficiently,” says Mikhail Duka, deputy general director for Telecommunications at beCloud. “Three years ago, beCloud was the first company in Belarus to launch 4G LTE Advanced. Today, through this unique partnership with BELAZ Corporation, we are demonstrating the new reality that is steadily developing on the basis of 4G and will come to fruition thanks to 5G. Minimum signal delays, high bandwidth, energy efficiency and a flexible 5G technology interface will shape our immediate future in the world of technology,” he adds. Assessing capabilities Testing of fifth generation technology will assess its capabilities for effective application in the field of engineering and unmanned vehicles. The plan is to create a technological solution that operates successfully on an industrial scale. The BELAZ robotic dump trucks are the key element of the Intelligent Mine project, which is being implemented by Russian company VIST Group at enterprises in the mining industry. The project involves unmanned robotic dump trucks, cargo transport and high-precision satellite navigation technologies. This is a set of digital technologies for the management of open-pit production processes based on robotic loading and transport systems, as well as industry

The minimal presence of people at mining sites will boost the efficiency and safety of operations.

solutions in the fields of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. The minimal presence of people at mining sites will boost efficiency and safety of operations, including in remote regions, and helps to compensate for the shortage of qualified personnel. The project also aims to reduce fuel and operating costs. “IT technologies are not standing still. Yesterday we operated on the basis of 4G standards, and today we have already tested the work of a robotic pit complex in the totally new 5G standard. Our dump trucks are equipped with hundreds of sensors that generate terabytes of information per year, enabling us to monitor the truck’s performance anywhere on the planet,” says Alexander Botvinnik,

assistant general director for Information Technologies at OJSC BELAZ. “In future this will be impossible without 5G. Very soon, big data, analytics and machine learning technologies will enable us to offer customers completely new smart services for more efficient operation of mining dump trucks, forecasting and vehicle maintenance upon demand rather than on the basis of regulations,” adds Botvinnik. According to its joint agreements with BELAZ, beCloud will apply the most advanced 5G technologies currently available at the Zhodino testing ground. The next stage of testing of 5G technologies in the field of engineering and mineral extraction is the creation of an autonomous test network at a functioning open pit. b

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