A remote-controlled bulldozer is now ready for operation in the mines at Stjernøy, north of Norway, allowing producer Sibelco to increase production at the plant and achieve greater environmental benefits.
Steer officials said the installed product, Steer Remote, allows the operator to manage the bulldozer, a Caterpillar D8, from an operator chair in the control room with video feed from cameras mounted on the machine while it works underground.
“It will improve our productivity and safety in the mine,” said Håvard Dyrkolbotn, mining manager at Sibelco in Stjernøy.
“It enables us to dispose byproducts efficiently, and thereby reduce our environmental impact. The bulldozer will push excess material out into a several hundred-meter-deep shaft inside a tunnel system. Due to [the] risk of falling rock from the tunnel roof, the operation would be unsafe to perform manually.”
Steer CTO Lars Tronsmoen added that the company hopes to pursue future opportunities with their new partner, including more remote-control applications and autonomous haulage projects.
Source: Steer AS