Internet of Things-based Smart Sensing Mechanism for Mining Applications

Abstract

According to the English lexicon, mining is the extraction of coal or other natural minerals from a mine. Extracting these natural minerals is extremely risky, and employees' lives are at stake. Mining workers are exposed to a dangerous underground environment that can cause harm or even death. Some of these injuries or fatalities can be traced back to human error. However, several physical factors or reasons for such a subterranean environment might be blamed for these mishaps. It is not easy to monitor without endangering someone's life. Previously, companies depended on manual processes where an individual would physically inspect the situation, make observations, and submit a report. This technique was too hazardous since the person monitoring a specific threat may be harmed by the same hazard. As a result, this has been the mining industry's most serious challenge for a long time. A smart system can detect problems and communicate information to the relevant authorities before anything hazardous occurs due to this procedure. This smart network system uses wireless sensors and an IoT platform. Gas, temperature, humidity, and vibration sensors are the various types of sensors used to detect the presence of any toxic gas, monitor the temperature, identify the amount of humidity in the air, and monitor subsurface tremors, respectively. All of these sensors are linked together, and the data collected by these sensors is subsequently sent to the cloud for processing. This analysis will assist the system in understanding subsurface behavioural changes, and as a result, it will be able to provide warnings of impending dangerous circumstances. The Raspberry Pi and the Raspberries operating system are used for data analysis. This smart system intends to lower the risk of accidents and infections, benefiting workers and the company's economy.Such IoT architecture in the mining industry, which combines operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), provides a safer mine site for workers, reliable mining operations, a highly integrated environment for both traditional and innovative sensors and equipment, automation that can reduce human intervention and covert surveillance. This research aims to increase IoT adoption in the mining sector by combining a high-level architecture, complying with all industry standards and guidelines, and addressing the mining industry's specific challenges.