NIOSH Emergency Technologies Research and Development

WJU International Mining Health & Safety Symposium

David Snyder, MS, PE

Office of Mine Safety and Health Research

April 7, 2011

OMSHR Research Update

• NIOSH continues to conduct and sponsor R&D relative to the MINER Act in the following areas:– Communications– Tracking– Oxygen Supplies– Refuge Alternatives– Rescue Technologies– Mine Monitoring and Sensor systems

• Today’s presentation will focus on Emergency Communications and Tracking systems

NIOSH’s Contributions

• Approach… roadmap… building blocks to achieve by 2009– National and International

• Consensus among labor, industry, government agencies• Technical Vision

– Establish performance specifications for candidate technologies– Fund a range and mix of technologies

• Technical Work– Administer and oversee contract research and development– Conduct in-mine experiments and lab R,D, & E

• Tech Transfer– Workshops, publications, collaborating with MSHA, etc.

Hard-wired Systems – Pre- Miner ActLimited Communications Access

Coverage of Critical Areas with Wireless Systems

Wireless Coverage has tremendous safety advantages for the miners

Primary Communications

• Primary communications systems are those that:– Operate in the conventional radio bands– Use small antennas that allow the miner to have wearable

devices with long battery life

– Have sufficient throughput for general operations

• Leaky feeder and node based systems are examples of primary systems– Either approach requires vulnerable infrastructure in the mine

Survivability....The Challenge

What happens if 2000 feet of all entries are lost?

Survivability..The Goal Alternate Communication Paths

Survivability….Secondary Systems

What if the event happened here?

Current Research

• Improved Survivability – Secondary Systems– TTE systems development– Medium Frequency performance analysis

• C/T Interoperability• “GPS denied” navigation and tracking• C/T Systems Safety

Secondary Systems

• Secondary Systems are those that have few active components and a high potential to survive a disaster

• Medium Frequency Systems and TTE Systems are secondary systems may provide survivable alternative paths

• A secondary system is one which:– Operates in non-conventional frequency bands– Uses a large antenna that is best suited for fixed locations

or portable applications

– Does not have sufficient throughput for general operations

NIOSH-Led CONTRIBUTIONS

Medium Frequency (MF) Systems• Developed a medium-frequency system for face area redundancy

– Develop a bridge to allow interoperability between medium-frequency system and the ultra-high frequency leaky feeder system

• Developed a medium frequency portable radio for use in escape situations

• Initial Technology developed through a U.S. Army CERDEC SBIR• Future NIOSH research publications will help MF system designers

and users to optimize the range and performance of MF communications– MF model development is planned for future work

Medium Frequency Communications

Commercially Available Distances up to 2 miles

• Through The Earth Systems– NIOSH awarded five separate contracts for

development and demonstration of TTE systems– By 2012, a TTE permissible communications system will

be commercially available to the mining industry– Future NIOSH research publications will help TTE

system designers and users to optimize the range and performance of TTE communications

– TTE model development is planned for future work

NIOSH-Led CONTRIBUTIONS

Through the Earth (TTE) Communications

Permissible Systems Results

• Feasibility of TTE communications demonstrated

• Underground to surface range of 680-ft for voice and 1200-ft for text @ intrinsically-safe levels

• Directional finding with beacon

• Prototype hardware

Interoperability

• “Interoperability” refers to our vision of the future of survivable mine communications in which a low bandwidth secondary communications channel would be used as a backup for the primary communications system.

• Key goal - Miner would be able to communicate using the same handheld device as used for day to day operations

UHFMedium Frequency

Conductor

Commercially Available• Distances up to 2 miles between repeaters• Distances up to 2000 feet between repeaters and hand held units

UHF to MF Interoperability

UHF to TTE Interoperability

UHF to MF to TTE Interoperability

Medium Medium FrequencyFrequency

UHF

TTETTE

Tracking SystemMiner wears a tag or handset:Unique ID (RFID or MAC)Needs ‘readers’ of tags

Tracking System Improvements

• Tracking System Performance Research Contract– Define performance parameters for underground mines– Develop measurement techniques and tools– Competitive contract award to Virginia Tech

• Inertial Measurement Unit assisted tracking systems hold promise for more survivable and accurate tracking– Primary problem with IMU based systems is excessive drift of

the miner device– NIOSH has funded evaluations of two different approaches to

the problem:• Belt mounted radio node based correction• Shoe mounted visual cue based correction

Future Research

Electrical Safety and Communications Team headed by Dr. Joe Waynert– Future C/T technology research will be conducted

under this team– Currently staffing to expand in-house research

capabilities in the post ESA environment – In-house research is consistent with traditional

approach and current budget– Process includes formulating structured research

projects which are peer reviewed and normally have a 3 to 5 year timeframe

Technology Research Areas

• The team is formulating research projects in the areas of:– Signal Propagation & Systems Modeling– Communications & Tracking Systems Safety – Communications & Tracking Systems Improvement

• The focus of the Electrical Safety and Communications team is the improvement of the safety, reliability and survivability of the C/T systems

Improving Mineworker Health & Safety Through Research & Prevention

Never forgetting it’s about the health & safety of the mineworker!