When mining operations extract oil or ore from other materials, they usually produce liquid waste, namely tailings These wastes are stored in the tailings pond and must be continuously monitored - which is the role of the omni-directional, amphibious helix Neptune robot
The battery powered Neptune, manufactured by Canadian robotics company Copperstone technologies, has no wheels or pedals, but moves in all directions on four spiral floating bridges. When these floating bridges rotate independently, they move robots on the surface of dry soil, mud and tailings ponds.
Although such a screw drive system is not common, it is certainly not without precedent. Over the years, similar systems have been used in everything from land yachts to mountain skis to Titan probes.
When Neptune travels on the pond - whether autonomous or remote - it uses onboard sensors to collect water data, such as chemical and oxygen content, as well as turbidity and salinity. If it is determined that enough pollutants have settled to the bottom of the pond (forming sludge), some of the remaining water can be recycled and reused in the mining area.
In addition, the robot can measure the depth of water. This is an important message because water forms a "hat" that covers the toxic sludge below. Needless to say, the cover must be kept at a certain minimum depth to keep the sludge out of contact with the surrounding environment.
Neptune can also use power winches to collect water / sludge samples on the surface and at various depths But can't humans perform all these tasks?
"In some ponds, you can send people to take a boat. This is a huge operation because you have to have a spare boat and have all these safety issues," said Nicolas Olmedo, co-founder of Copperstone. "When something happens and someone gets hurt, it's not allowed, so they have to find other solutions -- that's what we have to do."
In other words, the robot does have other applications. For example, it is equipped with an ice drill, which can be used to check the thickness of potentially dangerous ice paths on frozen lakes. It can also be used for surveillance or reconnaissance in hard to reach places.
Neptune was first introduced a year ago and has since been used by some customers in different countries. At present, Copperstone is providing this technology in the form of robot as a service. Operators will come to perform tasks for customers instead of letting them buy robots themselves.
On Thursday in Montreal, the company won the mitacs Outstanding Entrepreneur Award in recognition of its robot system. Mitacs is a non-profit organization funded by the government to promote technological innovation in Canada.