Best Practices

In underground mining, the lack of GPS forces vehicle positioning to rely on estimation, not precision. Wheel slip of 2-10% causes drift errors that accumulate—up to 100 meters per kilometer—compromising ore grade control and production reconciliation. Advanced Navigation explores how laser velocity sensors overcome mechanical measurement limits by optically measuring velocity independent of wheel traction, enabling infrastructure-free navigation with sub-meter accuracy.

Autonomous systems are often developed under ideal conditions—clean sensors, predictable environments, stable connectivity. Real-world autonomy faces rain, snow, fog, dust, and patchy networks. Sensible 4 draws from harsh-environment deployments to show why resilience must be engineered into architecture from day one—not added later. This analysis explores sensor diversity, graceful degradation, rapid deployment strategies, and why open platforms accelerate real-world learnin

Where's the right balance between sensing intelligence and operational constraint? A fresh perspective on autonomous system design.

Should you build everything yourself — or just what’s missing? Polymath’s Stefan Seltz-Axmacher shares hard-won lessons on vertical vs. horizontal integration, with practical advice for mining autonomy leaders.

Level 9 requires automatic intervention controls that can brake equipment when collision risks are detected. But what does that mean in a fully autonomous operation where there's no operator to warn? We explore how Level 9 functions as an independent safety layer, the role of ISO 21815 in open architectures, and why redundant safety systems matter even when sophisticated AI is driving the truck.

The autonomous heavy mobile equipment industry has passed the technology question: large-scale mines now purchase proven autonomy at scale, while quarries, heavy civil and construction run new pilots to validate integration, regulation, and ROI models.

Autonomous mining is delivering on its safety promise with zero lost-time injuries across 90 million miles driven. But what makes the industry truly remarkable is its transparency about learning moments. From rain-slicked collisions at Jimblebar to wifi dropouts at Christmas Creek, every minor incident becomes a valuable lesson. This isn't a story about robots failing - it's about an industry mature enough to learn in public, turning awkward moments into safety advances that