Visualising the future of mining

For close to 20 years, UNSW’s School of Minerals and Energy Resources has been leading the charge as a global pioneer in visualisation technology, bringing virtual reality to the education space. The team behind this research is now evolving its groundbreaking work for new ways of solving emerging challenges for various industries. While the use of virtual reality and hologram technology was once saved for science-fiction stories, this has all changed. Professor Ismet Canbulat, Professor Serkan Saydam and Associate Professor Chengguo Zhang are turning boardroom tables into interactive 3D problem-solving tools for organisations throughout the world.

Licheng Feng, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Minerals and Energy Resources, participating in visualisation of complex mining data on campus. Image credit: Anthony Geernaert.

With the most impressive and unique on-campus facilities at their disposal, the team has pivoted from using campus spaces purely for industry training and teaching, to also helping industries solve problems through research translation. This has been made more effective thanks to a recent upgrade that includes a 360-degree virtual reality theatre, hologram table and hologram wall, which turn ordinary tables into interactive, 3D problem-solving tools. “There’s a real wow factor when they see it – it’s a totally different technology,” says Prof. Saydam.

Using their visualisation technology, the team are enabling a better understanding of places and spaces that are hard to visit – including deep underground mines or the surface of Mars. The goal is to provide this much-needed insight to decision-makers to ensure greater opportunities for safer and more effective operations. “Mining, in particular, is so different to other industries because there’s so much uncertainty in the environment,” explains A/Prof. Professor Zhang. “We wanted to enhance our understanding of the rock mass, which is crucial for designing safe and productive mines, so using these technologies helps us achieve sustainable mining operations in the future.”

“People are already using the platform we developed in their daily operations in a South African platinum mine, as an effective tool for managing geotechnical risks.” explains A/Prof. Zhang. “We’ll also be rolling out the technology to a few other operations in South Africa soon to help them achieve better health, safety and performance.”

Closer to home, the team has worked across a gold mine in NSW, helping them optimise mining methods and assist with geotech issues. They’ve also assisted a mine in China, where the owners wanted to build a digital replica of their worksite.

Making data work for mining

While visualisation is one thing, being able to collate and make use of the data sets of underground mines provides an additional array of possibilities. “You can’t even imagine how much data is generated by the mining industry,” explains Prof. Saydam. “There’s so much data, so our biggest challenge is achieving the interoperability in mining, which means that systems aren’t talking to each other; they’re working in isolation.”

Engineers working in different areas of a mine will have their own specific datasets but connecting them effectively can be a challenge. “Putting it all together for decision-making is where visualisation comes in – it’s so important,” adds Prof. Saydam.

L to R: Chengguo Zhang, Madeleine Dempsey, Yueyi Pan, Taylor MacDonald, Thomas Brown. Image credit: Alexandra Goldhar.

“When we started working on these virtual reality applications in mining 10-15 years ago, the industry was saying ‘that’s nice, good to have’ – but now they’re saying it’s necessary. They’ve realised it.”

The end goal for the team is to create an interoperability platform, which means having systems running across all mines, and collecting real-time data that allow for faster and better decision-making. “This removes people from hazardous areas and instead allows them to be involved from the surface,” explains Prof. Saydam. “To do that, we need to manage data and understand it really well.”

Applications above ground

The technology created by the team doesn’t just provide significant improvement for mines – it can also be used above ground across a range of industries and issues, including disaster management relating to bush fires.

“We’ve working with Professor Sisi Zlatanova from the School of Built Environment to help tackle bushfires,” says A/Prof. Zhang.

“The whole idea is to use the hologram technology so that everything pops out in 3D, and this creates a collaborative environment within the school and externally with the research partners, such as the Rural Fire Service.”

While bushfire predictions are already a known method of prevention, these have not been visualised in an immersive manner. “Once visualised, you can make real-time decisions based on the terrain, the vegetation, which is the fuel, and work out where the fire will go so that you can send fire fighters there ahead of time” says A/Prof. Zhang. This work won’t just transform bushfire management strategies but will offer opportunities for training and planning tools to enhance preparedness and response capabilities.

As this technology evolves and new areas of impact are explored (think flooding, tsunamis and even traffic), both Prof. Saydam and A/Prof. Zhang are grateful their research is already having a global impact. “Now everyone’s seeing the potential of what we’re doing,” says A/Prof. Zhang. “They understand that we’re incorporating AI driven visualisation into the optimisation of decision-making in challenging environments.”