ABSTRACT
A test bed was developed for applying computer technology to the remote control of mining machines. This particular application involved the use of a Jeffrey 102 continous mining machine. The test bed, called the intelligent remotely operated controller, was built in a modular form that lends itself to applications to a variety of mining machine types. The use of two computers (one called the HOST, the other called the SLAVE) provides control of up to 48 machine-mounted devices. Additionally, up to 24 digital and 16 analog (12-bit * ) signals are available to display mining machine health. A wide range of user-friendly devices were employed to enhance the system’s flexibility. These devices include two channels of video, electronic voice, acoustic feedback, and various visual displays. This paper describes the intelligent remotely operated controller; its hardware, software, and systems integration are presented so that it can be used as a basis for future system’s design.
