Life First UWB Module High-precision Positioning Helps Coal Mine Safety

2022-04-15 1029

The high-precision positioning of the life-oriented UWB module helps coal mine safety production management. In recent years, coal mine safety accidents have occurred from time to time, such as explosions, roofs, water penetration, poisoning, etc. For example, the explosion accident of Qixia Gold Mine in Shandong, its real-time rescue situation, has always affected the hearts of countless people across the country. We know that although the underground operating environment is harsh, there will be some natural risks. In addition to objective factors, the responsibility of enterprises for safety protection and supervision is inevitable.

Life First UWB Module High-precision Positioning Helps Coal Mine Safety

In order to improve the mine safety production guarantee capability, the state enforces the establishment of a monitoring and monitoring system, an underground personnel positioning system, a mine water supply rescue system, a mine pressure self-rescue system, a mine communication system, and an underground emergency risk avoidance system. The "Coal Mine Safety Regulations" updated in 2016 also mentioned that coal mining enterprises must establish an entry inspection system and an entry and exit personnel counting system; they must master real-time information such as the number and location of underground personnel. Therefore, underground positioning plays an important role in the safe production process of coal mines.


1. Personnel precise positioning system escorts coal mine operation safety


The Internet of Things technology has been developed for nearly 10 years and has broad application prospects. Various technologies have demonstrated their strengths in the detection and application of hazardous situations in many industries.


When it comes to hazard monitoring, of course, location information technology is inseparable. In the outdoor environment, satellite positioning methods such as Beidou, GPS, and GLONASS are generally used for civil positioning with an accuracy of less than 10 meters. However, in some areas without satellite positioning, such as tunnels, coal mines and other non-open-air or even underground places, satellite positioning is obviously not feasible. At this time, the indoor positioning system needs to complete the task of providing high-precision position information.


Black Technology - Indoor Positioning Technology


With the increasing demand for indoor positioning, a large number of solutions have emerged, including radio frequency identification (RFID) positioning, Bluetooth positioning, Wi-Fi positioning, Zigbee positioning and ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning. RFID positioning cannot really achieve positioning through the card reading between the identification card and the card reader.


In the early stage of Bluetooth positioning, the card reader is used to read the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value representing the card signal, and calculate the distance between the card reader and the logo card through the RSSI. The positioning accuracy of this method is low, and RSSI is greatly affected in a shielded environment. Recently, the development of Bluetooth-based AOA and AOD positioning technologies has been slow. Compared with the original RSSI positioning technology, the positioning accuracy is greatly improved. As with earlier Bluetooth positioning, Wi-Fi and Zigbee are based on RSSI. Its accuracy is relatively limited and is greatly affected by the environment.


UWB (ULTra-WideBand) is a carrier-free communication technology that transmits data by sending and receiving secondary non-sinusoidal narrow pulses, and uses Tof (Time of Arrival) or TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival) algorithms to calculate the location information of people or items, and the positioning accuracy up to 10cm. Compared with traditional coarse-precision positioning technologies such as RFID, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, etc., the UWB module system has strong penetrating ability, low power consumption, good anti-multipath effect, high security, low system complexity, and high positioning accuracy. advantage.


Application of Coal Mine Personnel Positioning System


For coal mines, especially underground coal mines, the UWB module personnel positioning system can obtain the real-time positions of underground personnel, vehicles and equipment, and present them in the computer system on the ground. Managers can keep track of underground personnel, vehicle location information and historical trajectories, as well as equipment installation locations.


For personnel positioning, functions such as attendance management, entry and exit records in dangerous areas, and overcrowding management in dangerous areas can be extended. Vehicle positioning can expand functions such as vehicle scheduling and automatic control of traffic lights. When an accident occurs, rescuers can also quickly understand the situation at the scene according to the positioning information of personnel, vehicles and equipment provided by the positioning system, and take corresponding rescue measures in a timely manner to improve the efficiency of rescue work.

The project deployment of the coal mine underground personnel positioning system not only ensures the safety of underground operators, but also greatly improves the level of information management, making management and scheduling more transparent and efficient.


2. Introduce the precise positioning system for coal mine personnel


As a professional UWB module positioning service solution provider in China, it has been providing overall solutions for the indoor positioning needs of various industries in the past 10 years. For the coal mining industry, the underground personnel positioning system has undergone evolution in recent years, and the stability, maturity and ease of use of the product have been guaranteed.


Device Architecture


For the coal mine personnel positioning system, our solution equipment structure is as follows:

Badge Cards: If designated to be worn on objects, this can be people, vehicles and equipment. You can send an alert via a button. There are audible, light and vibration warnings when you are alerted. Low power consumption, can work for several months on a single charge.


Card reader: installed in the underground tunnel, reads the surrounding sign card information and distance, and transmits the tag's ranging information to the ground server.


Position calculation engine: software that calculates the position of the identification card according to the ranging information provided by the card reader.


Business server: Based on the location information provided by the location calculation engine, it can realize attendance, real-time location display, historical track query, equipment alarm display and other related services.


Handheld Instruments: Search for nearby tags to get distance between devices. It can be separated from the ground server to realize a portable locator.


Badge Cards: Can be worn by people, vehicles and equipment. You can issue a warning via the button. Sound, light and vibration alerts when you are warned. Low power consumption, can work for several months on a single charge.


In this solution, the coverage radius of the card reader exceeds 600 meters (line of sight), the positioning accuracy can reach 0.3 meters (line of sight), and the number of concurrent tags in a single area exceeds 400.


UWB module technical advantages


Real-time location display: The location information and distribution of underground personnel are located in real time through the personnel positioning system, and the trajectory of personnel is monitored in real time.

Statistics of the number of underground personnel: real-time statistics of the number of underground personnel. In the event of a serious accident, employees can be quickly gathered for roll call statistics to confirm that the real-time location of the employees has not been reached, and rescue can be implemented to avoid casualties.

Entrance and exit attendance management: formulate attendance tasks, count entry and exit times, working hours, etc. The management can quickly inquire about the on-duty status, and the monthly statistical time can be directly used for attendance audit reference based on the platform data.

Abnormal emergency warning: In an emergency, managers can issue emergency instructions when commanding evacuation to remind personnel to evacuate. Personnel-worn tags vibrate, prompting personnel to stay away from the area.

SOS active alarm: When encountering danger, the on-site personnel can send out a distress alarm message in time through the one-key distress button. After receiving the alarm signal, the management personnel can determine the location of the risk-related personnel through personnel positioning, and implement on-site emergency response in a timely manner.


3. Coal mine safety is more important than Mount Tai


Safe production is not a trivial matter. Only under the premise of safe production can an enterprise develop sustainably. It is hoped that in the future, UWB module indoor positioning technology can be applied to more industries as soon as possible, combined with high-tech technologies such as sensing technology and big data, to ensure the safety of people's lives and property to a greater extent, and provide strong support for safe production management.


Coal mine safety production still has a long way to go and is more important than Mount Tai. It is closely related to every coal miner and enterprise and should be given enough attention. I hope coal mines are safe, people and mines are safe!