ABSTRACT
Guidance technology proven in highwall mining applications has enabled a new approach for longwall automation for DERDS faces. This inertial navigation technology has, for the first time, allowed the position of the shearer to be mapped in three dimensions. Following the success of the technology in highwall mining and the successful trials on a longwall face, the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) commissioned a three year “Landmark” project that will advance longwall automation to the level of “on-face observation” by the end of 2004. The project outcomes have been divided into ten areas, the first of which, automatic face alignment, will progress to an underground demonstration in the first quarter of 2004, and has the support of major longwall equipment manufacturers including Eickhoff, DBT and Joy Mining Machinery.
