Intelligent Mine Periphery Surveillance Using Microwave Radar

Abstract

This paper deals with an intelligent mine periphery surveillance system, which has been developed by CSIR-Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, India, as an aid for keeping constant vigilance on a selected area even in adverse weather conditions like foggy weather, rainy weather, dusty environment, etc. The developed system consists of a frequency modulated continuous wave radar, a pan-tilt camera, a wireless sensor network, a fast dedicated graphics processing unit, and a display unit. It can be spotting an unauthorized vehicle or person into the opencast mine area, thereby avoiding a threat to safety and security in the area. When an intrusion is detected, the system automatically gives an audio-visual warning at the intrusion site where the radar is installed as well as in the control room. The system has the facility to record the intrusion data as well as video footage with timestamp events in the form of a log. Further, the system has a long-range detection capability covering around 400 m distance with an integration facility using a dynamic wireless sensor network for deploying multiple systems to protect the extended periphery of an opencast mine. The field trial of this low-cost mine periphery surveillance system has been carried out at Tirap Opencast Coal Mine of North Eastern Coalfields in Margherita Area, Assam, India and it has proved its efficacy in preventing revenue loss due to illicit mining, unauthorized transportation of minerals, and ensuring safety and security of the mine to a great extent.