TRUCKS

olvo Group has put its first fully autonomous truck to the test at underground operations at the Kristineberg mine, 100 km from Arvidsjaur, in northern Sweden.

The mine, owned by metals company Boliden, was opened in 1940 and is the oldest in operation in the area. A polymetallic ore containing zinc, copper, lead, gold and silver is mined here, as well as a gold/copper ore. The ore is mainly extracted using the cut-and-fill method and, to some extent, groove mining.

Over the next year and a half, four self-driving Volvo FMX trucks will be tested at the mine. The aim is to examine how the technology can contribute to safe and productive transport in tough, geographically limited applications.

Once fully operational, the first self-driving truck will cover a distance of 7 km, reaching 1 320 m underground. It will travel down to the loading area where the actual mining is done, and then to the crusher to offload.

The vehicles used in the mine will be series-built Volvo FMX trucks equipped with new functionality. Among other things, this includes a system incorporating radar/laser-based sensors.

This system is used to monitor the mine’s geometry and to generate a map of the route that the truck has to traverse. This information is used to regulate the vehicle’s steering, gear changes and speed.

On every new trip, the sensors continuously scan the area around the truck and further optimise the operation and the route.

The truck also continuously monitors its surroundings and avoids both fixed and moving obstacles.

The technology used in the autonomous trucks makes it possible to optimise logistics in the mine in an entirely different way to what is currently the case.

During blasting operations, drivers must usually wait until the mine gallery has been ventilated before the ore can be loaded, but, with self-driving trucks, there are no such restrictions.

This means that each truck can operate continuously and can carry out more transport assignments per shift.

Also, thanks to precise route planning and steady speed, there should be no congestion. This means it should be possible to cut loading and unloading times.

Smoother transport flow and steadier speeds are also accompanied by lower fuel consumption and less wear and tear.

“This is the world’s first fully self-driving truck to operate under such tough conditions. It is a true challenge to ensure that everything works meticulously more than 1 300 m underground,” says Volvo Group chief technology officer Torbjörn Holmström.

The group believes that fully automated trucks will, in future, not only increase productivity within the general transport industry and reduce the environmental impact, but also increase operational safety.

If an obstacle or a person appears near the self-driving truck, the vehicle stops automatically and the transport management centre is alerted.

Of the six sensors included in the system, there are always two that monitor the same part of the truck’s surroundings.

If a fault occurs with the truck, it can be remotely operated from the transport management centre.

The goal of the Kristineberg project is to build knowledge and experience in automated driving, notes Volvo Group automation group leader Johan Tofeldt.

He says the project will start at the underground mine, with the longer-term goal to migrate to construction sites aboveground and, ultimately, public roads.

He believes Volvo Group has built a self-driving system that can easily be adapted from the Kristineberg pilot site to any other site.

“We are building a technology platform rather than a special functionality solution,” says Tofeldt.