Training in both operations as well as workplace health and safety has always been a challenging hurdle for mining companies to overcome. Dangerous working conditions have always been a central concern for miners and in order to respond appropriately when things do go wrong, training exercises and systems need to be developed to ensure that miners are well prepared. Virtual reality has been explored by several major mining companies in Australia, producing some impressive results.

As Australia’s mining operations become more sophisticated and technology driven, we aim to be at ground zero when it comes to building the applications and experiences demanded by mining companies. This in turn provides safer and more efficient systems across the sector.

Immersive experiences we create include:

• 360 Video for Mining
• Mobile Augmented Reality for Mining
• Hololens Augmented Reality for Mining
• HTC Vive Virtual Reality for Mining
• Oculus Rift Virtual Reality for Mining
• Oculus Go Virtual Reality for Mining

Safety and training aren’t the only opportunities created by both virtual and augmented reality experiences. Mining has become increasingly data driven involving geological, mine planning, equipment management and much more. With AR and VR, this data can be overlaid within the visual environment to be interpreted and analysed with ease and simplicity. This information can then be used to create detailed simulations and scenarios to test various responses.

Immersive applications for mining include:

• Training for mining staff in using equipment, procedures maintenance and repairs
• Emergency scenario training
• Solving complex problems through simulations
• Visual data overlaid using AR and VR (geophysical, coal seams, faults, surface data, digital terrain models, aerial photography.)
• Risk simulation and 3d analysis
• Simulations of varying weather conditions and how this affects the performance of the mine
• Enhanced real time communication, streaming first person 360 degree video content directly to supervisors or colleagues for problem solving, training, security and assessment.

As the mining industry continues to innovate, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will take a central position as one of the technologies driving the evolution of the sector. Data will become increasingly important with immersive technologies, serving as the most effective medium to display that data. Let’s discover how your mining operations will be complimented through this technology.