Kal Tire’s mining tire group has joined forces with Australian mining tech firm Decoda for an alliance that will bring mines real-time, autonomous haul road hazard detection to increase truck productivity, tire life and fuel efficiency.
The two companies will together develop KalPRO HaulSight, building on the success of existing KalPRO TireSight autonomous tire inspections.
With Decoda’s LiDAR and camera sensors mounted to the front and rear of haul trucks, and an “edge” computer processing live footage, HaulSight can give fleet teams instant alerts about hazards such as spillage, road undulations and high G-force events that can cause truck and tire damage, which can reduce the speed of operations.
Modeling TireSight, HaulSight’s scanning technology integrates with Kal Tire’s TOMS (Tire & Operations Managing System) and allows condition monitoring experts to assess flagged issues and automate priority-based work orders.
“HaulSight’s ability to detect road hazards as they arise means mines can prevent the tire damage that TireSight detects,” according to Christian Erdelyi, technology services director, Ka.
“We’re excited about how this collaboration with Decoda will further our achievements in the autonomous space.”
George Spink, executive general manager, Decoda, added that HaulSight can offer mine sites unprecedented visibility across an entire haul circuit.
“By making critical data easy to visualize and act on, operations see measurable improvements, like faster circuits and reduced downtime, from day one.”
About HaulSight
HaulSight enables road crews to react quickly and create optimal road conditions that maximize cycle speed and fuel use. When long-term planning opportunities arise, HaulSight calculates the cost to lost tire life, productivity and fuel against the cost of a road improvement.
“The responsiveness of the system means mine sites benefit right away with trucks spending more time hauling, but HaulSight also offers long-range planning insights that enable confident decision-making around tire maintenance and road upgrade investments,” Erdelyi said.
To verify HaulSight’s effectiveness in sub-zero conditions, testing began on Canadian mine sites 18 months ago with strong results.
“As more mines move toward autonomous and electric vehicles, the benefits of HaulSight become even more significant,” the companies stressed.
“Imagine a 400-tonne haul truck travelling at speed and impacting an unexpected undulation in the road: the spillage (lost commodity and potential tire hazard) and the stress to the truck’s struts and frame can occur without a driver perceiving issues and making adjustments. For mining trucks, the slowing down and re-accelerating around soft spots in the road leads to wasted energy and cycle time.”
Source: Kal Tire