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Im Fokus dieser Arbeit steht die Konzeption, Entwicklung und Erprobung eines autonomen Roboters zur Instrumentierung eines untertägigen Bergwerks. Der exemplarische Anwendungsfall umfasst das selbstständige Absetzen intelligenter Sensorstationen durch einen Roboterarm. Der Roboter ist einer der ersten mobilen Manipulatoren für den langfristigen Einsatz unter Tage. Ziel ist es, die Sicherheit für den Bergmann zu erhöhen, indem in gefährlichen Situationen der mobile Manipulator als echte Alternative zur Verfügung steht. Das fordert von dem Roboter selbstständiges und adaptives Handeln in einer Komplexität, die mobile Manipulatoren bisher lediglich in strukturierten Umgebungen leisten. Exemplarisch dafür ist das Platzieren von Technik im Altbergbau - Dunkelheit, Nässe und enge Querschnitte gestalten dies sehr herausfordernd. Der Roboter nutzt seine anthropomorphe Hand, um verschiedene Objekte abzusetzen. Das sind im konkreten Fall Sensorboxen, die diese Arbeit für die Instrumentierung des Bergwerks vorschlägt. Wichtig ist, dass das Absetzen autonom geschieht. Der Roboter trifft die Entscheidungen, wo er etwas platziert, welche Trajektorie sein Arm wählt und welchen Planungsalgorithmus er nutzt, vollkommen selbstständig. In dem Zusammenhang entwirft diese Dissertation eine variable Absetzroutine. Der mobile Manipulator baut dafür ein Kollisionsmodell der Umgebung auf, sucht eine geeignete Absetzposition, greift ein vordefiniertes Objekt und platziert dies im Bergwerk. Sicherheit und Robustheit stehen dabei an vorderster Stelle. Entsprechend schließt die Absetzroutine nach dem Absetzen nicht ab, sondern führt eine unabhängige Überprüfung durch. Dabei vergleicht der mobile Manipulator über Sensoren die wahrgenommene mit der angestrebten Objektposition. Hier kommen auf Deep Learning basierende Methoden zum Einsatz, die eine Überprüfung auch in vollkommener Dunkelheit erlauben. In insgesamt 60 Experimenten gelingt das Absetzen in 97% der Fälle mit einer Genauigkeit im Zentimeterbereich. Dabei beschränkt sich diese Evaluierung nicht auf das untertägige Bergwerk, sondern wertet auch Experimente in strukturierten und offenen Umgebungen aus. Diese Breite erlaubt eine qualitative Diskussion von Aspekten wie: Autonomie, Sicherheit und Einfluss der Umgebung auf das Verfahren. Das Ergebnis ist die Erkenntnis, dass der hier vorgestellte Roboter die Lücke zwischen Untertagerobotern und den mobilen Manipulatoren aus Industrieanwendungen schließt. Er steht in gefährlichen Situationen als Alternative zur Verfügung.:Inhaltsverzeichnis Abbildungsverzeichnis Tabellenverzeichnis Abkürzungsverzeichnis Notation Variablenverzeichnis 1. Einleitung 1.1. Motivation 1.2. Forschungsfrage und Beitrag der Arbeit 1.3. Aufbau der Arbeit 2. Forschungstrends bei mobilen Manipulatoren und Untertagerobotern 2.1. Mobile Manipulatoren in verschiedenen Einsatzszenarien 2.2. Wettbewerbe mobiler Manipulatoren und Trends im Forschungsgebiet 2.3. Hard- und Software Komponenten für mobile Manipulatoren 2.4. Zusammenfassung 3. Aufbau von Julius - dem Roboter für den Einsatz im Altbergbau 3.1. Umgebungsbedingungen im untertägigen Altbergbau 3.2. Physischer Aufbau des Roboters 3.3. Softwaretechnische Grundlagen für ein autonomes Handeln 3.4. Zusammenfassung 4. Entwurf der autonomen Absetzroutine für Julius 4.1. Planen von Armbewegungen 4.2. Umgebungsmodell detaillieren 4.3. Bodenfläche identifizieren 4.4. Absetzposition berechnen 4.5. SSB greifen 4.6. Absetzrotation festlegen 4.7. SSB absetzen 4.8. Absetzpose überprüfen 4.9. Zusammenfassung 5. Experimentelle Validierung von Julius und der Absetzroutine 5.1. Beschreibung des Experiments und der generellen Rahmenbedingungen 5.2. Referenzexperimente im Innenbereich 5.3. Experimente im Außenbereich 5.4. Experimente im Forschungs- und Lehrbergwerk 5.5. Diskussion 5.6. Zusammenfassung 6. Zusammenfassung 6.1. Erkenntnisse dieser Arbeit 6.2. Fazit 6.3. Ausblick Literatur Anhang A. Berechnung der Absetzrotation B. Übersicht technischer Daten C. Weiterführende Abbildungen D. Messdaten

The first conference on Real-Time Mining is bringing together individuals and companies working on EU-sponsored projects to exchange knowledge and rise synergies in resource extraction innovation. The topics include: • Resource Modelling and Value of Information; • Automated Material Characterization; • Positioning and Material Tracking; • Process Optimization; • Data Management. The conference has been initiated by the consortium of the EU H2020 funded project Real-Time Mining as a platform for inter-project communication and for communication with project stakeholders. It brings together several European research projects in the field of industry 4.0 applied to mineral resource extraction. These are the projects VAMOS, SOLSA and UNEXMIN.

The flow of information, and consequently the decision-making along the chain of mining from exploration to beneficiation, typically occurs in a discontinuous fashion over long timespans. In addition, due to the uncertain nature of the knowledge about deposits and the inherent spatial distribution of material characteristics, actual production performance often deviates from expectations. Reconciliation exercises to adjust mineral resource and reserve models and planning assumptions are performed with timely lags of weeks, months or even years.

Combined mineralogical and chemical analyses on drill cores are highly demanded by mining and metallurgical companies to speed up exploration, mining and define geometallurgical parameters for beneficiation. Furthermore, high quality coherent and complete drill cores are needed to obtain reliable analyses for more accurate geomodels, resource and reserve estimates. At present, analyses are done by exploiting only a single technique, such as hyperspectral imaging, XRF or LIBS. The coupling of different analytical instruments is still a technological challenge. The SOLSA project, sponsored by the EU-H2020 Raw Material program, targets to construct an expert system coupling sonic drilling with XRF, XRD, hyperspectral imaging and Raman spectroscopy. This paper will present the 4-years project in progress, a general, almost mid-term, state-of-the-art.

The 42-month ¡VAMOS! project (Viable Alternative Mine Operating System, Grant Agreement 642477, vamos-project.eu), co-funded by the European Commission’s Horizon2020 programme, will enable access to reserves of mineral deposits by developing an innovative, safe, clean, and low-visibility underwater inland mining technique. Through field-testing, ¡VAMOS! hopes to encourage investment in abandoned and prospective EU open-pit mines by providing a viable novel excavation process, ultimately aiming to reduce the EU’s reliance on imports of strategically important raw materials. The project will test the technological and economic viability of the underwater mining of inland mineral deposits which are currently economically, technologically, and environmentally unobtainable. If proven viable, ¡VAMOS! will enable access to deposits whose excavation has been historically limited by stripping ratio and hydrological and geotechnical considerations. Also, due to low noise and dust levels, and its road-transportable electric-powered system, ¡VAMOS! will be able to be applied safely in both urban-proximal and hard-to-access rural locations. ¡VAMOS! is defined by a remotely-operated underwater mining vehicle, adapted and improved from existing subsea mining technology. Operating in tandem with a remote-controlled sensory assistance-vehicle, the underwater miner will connect to a flexible riser through which mined material will be pumped from the mudline to a land-based dewatering pit via a floating mobile deployment-platform. On the deployment platform, a bypass system will be linked to production measuring equipment and a laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy system, enabling throughput monitoring and real-time grade-control. Preparatory work has been carried out to assess the regulatory compliance of the project, its likely social and environmental impact, and the steps which need to be taken to reduce and quantify these during testing. Two community stakeholder workshops held in both England and Portugal have indicated that the public is receptive to the concept. Following an official project design-freeze in October 2016, construction and integration of all components will conclude in June 2017. This will be followed by field-testing at a flooded kaolin-granite quarry in Devon, England in October 2017, with further testing planned at a flooded iron mine in Vareš, Bosnia in June 2018.

UNEXMIN (Underwater Explorer for Flooded Mines, Grant Agreement No. 690008, www.unexmin.eu) is a project funded by the European Commission’s HORIZON2020 Framework Programme. The project is developing a multi-platform robotic system for the autonomous exploration and mapping of flooded underground mines. The robotic system – UX-1 – will use non-invasive methods for the 3D mapping of abandoned underground flooded mines, bringing new important geological data that currently cannot be obtained by other means without having significant costs and safety risks. The deployment of a multi-robotic system in a confined and unknown environment poses challenges to the autonomous operation of the robot, and there is a risk of damaging the equipment and the mine itself. Key challenges are related to 1) structural design for robustness and resilience, 2) localization, navigation and 3D mapping, 3) guidance, propulsion and control, 4) autonomous operation and supervision, 5) data processing, interpretation and evaluation. Underwater environments constrain basic robotic functions as well as the size and weight of any operable robot. The limiting factors in these environments influence the type and amount of equipment able to be mounted onto a robotic system. Crucial abilities for an underwater robot’s functionality include unobstructed movement, autonomy, mapping and environmental awareness. To enable these critical functions, we employ components such as cameras, SONAR, thrusters, structured-light laser scanners, and on-board computers, rechargeable batteries and protective pressure hulls. In UNEXMIN, additional underwater instrumentation is being developed to measure pH, pressure, temperature, water chemistry and conductivity, magnetic fields, and gamma radiation levels. An on-board geophysical system will enable sub-bottom profiling, and multispectral and UV fluorescence imaging units are being installed for mineralogical identification. All these tailor-made instruments are been tested in laboratory and real environment conditions.

Mining is one of the oldest activities of humanity, as the extraction of stones, ceramics and metals proved to be essential to develop tools and weapons and to drive forward human civilisation. Possibly the oldest mine – the “Lion Cave” – dates back to 41 000 BC. Located in Swaziland, its pre-historic operators mined haematite to make red-pigment ochre. The mine was likely in operation until 23 000 BC and at least 1200 tons of soft haematite had been removed in this timespan. As time progressed, mining diversified and production methods improved. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans mined different minerals, such as malachite, copper and gold. Philipp II, the father of Alexander the Great, is believed of having conquered gold mines in Thrace, which provided him with 1000 talents (26 tons) of gold per year. Needless to say that Alexander’s conquests would have not been possible without these extensive mining operations. Over the ages, mining activities continued to intensify. Today, a tier-one open-pit copper mine like Chuquicamata in Chuquicamata, Chile, with a depth of 900 m, provides for a production of 443,000 tons of copper and 20,000 tons of molybdenum p.a. Naturally such levels of production come with a price tag. Thousands of workers, numerous heavy machines and investments that go into the millions and billions are required to set up a mine and to maintain its operation. At the same time large amounts of waste – the so-called tailings – are generated, often posing a significant environmental risk. The fact that ore yields have dramatically decreased over time has worsened the situation; today, the extraction of 1 ton of metal ore requires vast amounts of energy and can easily generate hundreds of tons of waste.iv Were it not for a significant technological progress in the extraction, transport and processing of the ores, today’s mining operations could not be sustained. Despite all these technological advances, the mining industry is at a decision point. The conventional trend of the last hundred years of counteracting shrinking ore yields by making the mining machinery faster and bigger is at its limits. Today’s ore haulers weigh as much as 600 tons and require a net engine power of 2722 kW v to sustain operation. At the same time waste heaps have grown larger and larger – operations are clearly at their physical limits. Time is running out for enhancements and improvements, if mining is to continue, a drastic paradigm shift seems to be the only solution. This paradigm shift will require humanity to mine more efficiently and intelligently, by aiming to extract only these rocks that contain the ore and doing so in a manner, which results in the smallest possible ecological footprint. This is where OffWorld’s Swarm Robotic Mining Architecture comes into play. The overarching purpose of OffWorld is to enable the human settlement of space by developing a new generation of small, smart, learning industrial robots. This robotic workforce has numerous things to do: build landing pads, excavate underground habitats, extract water ice and materials, make drinkable water, breathable air and rocket propellant, manufacture basic structures and solar cells, produce electricity, etc. OffWorld’s overall vision is to operate thousands of robots that can mine, manufacture and build on the Moon, the as-teroids and Mars. These robots need to be small and robust, extremely adaptable, modular and reconfigurable, autonomous and fast learning – they are lightyears ahead of the 2 million industrial robots that currently work in factories and warehouses. Space is a tough place. The environment is harsh, resources are limited and the room for errors is close to zero. If a robot can succeed in space than it can surely excel in the terrestrial industry as well. This and the fact that OffWorld builds a swarm approach that relies on a small form factor, intelligence and surgical precision, has the potential to reduce the total cost of operations, can shorten the life of mine or industrial operation and can be easily scaled up and down in size. With all these benefits in mind, OffWorld is looking into a reduction in the total cost of operations of at least an order of magnitude within any industrial sector. This paper will introduce the design philosophy behind OffWorld’s robotic work-force and will present the masterplan for developing space-bound systems by first maturing them in large scale deployments in terrestrial industries.