UNEXMIN at the Raw Materials Week 2019 – a success story

/in , /by

The UNEXMIN project was chosen to be represented during this year Raw Materials Week, one of the most relevant geoscientific events, bringing together people from different parts of Europe, to discuss the state of the mineral raw materials in Europe.

UNEXMIN was represented in two different ways. First, with a presentation given by the project coordinator, Norbert Zajzon, during under session 1 “Raw materials extraction”, a talk that was inserted onto the topic “Horizon 2020 Technology Success Stories”. As referred previously, UNEXMIN is currently seen by EASME as a successful story in the mineral raw materials group. Second, the UX-1 robot, that same robot that dived in 5 different test sites around Europe, was showcased during the first day of the event, the 18th of November.

Both dissemination activities developed by the UNEXMIN partners during the Raw Materials Week 2019 proven to be very effective to reach one of UNEXMIN’s main stakeholders group: the raw materials and geoscientific communities. Comproving this statement is the number of people that visited the UNEXMIN stand, talked to UNEXMIN staff on duty and that took pictures with the UX-1 robot. A number of business contacts were also made, taking into consideration the future of the UNEXMIN technology, which will see further light with a new technology upscalling project and with UNEXMIN GeoRobotics, a joint company that will exploit the service to the market.

The UNEXMIN team would like to thank EASME and DG Grow for this special invitation and hope that in the future the project can be, once again, showcased to the raw materials public.

Photo credit: Raw Materials Week

The UX-1 robot will be presented at the Raw Materials Week 2019

/in , /by

The UNEXMIN project might be over, but communication and dissemination activities are still going on. UNEXMIN was invited by the Raw Materials Week 2019 organizers to make a presentation on the project as well as displaying one of the UX-1 robots that represent the technology line developed over the past 4 years.

The UNEXMIN talk will be inserted onto the topic “Horizon 2020 Technology Success Stories” under session 1 “Raw materials extraction” and the UX-1 robot will be displayed just next to the registration desk. These events will be held on the first day of this weekly event, on Monday 18th. Norbert Zajzon will make the presentation about UNEXMIN and project representatives will be showcasing the UX-1 robot during the whole day.

If you are present in the Raw Materials Week 2019 do not forget to come and meet the UNEXMIN team while learning more about the results and outcomes of this innovative Horizon 2020 project and how this technology can help to shape the future of the raw materials exploration and exploitation activities in Europe.

UNEXMIN joins PIPEBOTS and ROBOMINERS for a Joint Workshop

/in , /by

On the 17th of October 2019, the UNEXMIN, PIPEBOTS and ROBOMINERS projects organised a joint robotics workshop to discuss common challenges, find similarities and deliver plans for future collaboration.

First the three projects were present by their respective coordinators, which allowed all the participants to get a better understanding on the scope and worklines of each consortia. To this, a series of talks and discussions were held and it was during these that common challenges were found and ways for collaboration agreed upon. The 4 discussion themes focussed on 1) Robotics, 2) Sensing, 3) SLAM/Navigation and 4) Communications.

Before the end of the event Intellectual Property Rights issues, joint publications and even possible joint projects were discussed.

The three projects, including UNEXMIN (that despite ending soon wants to continue development), decided to meet again for more joint workshops following the success of this first attempt.

UNEXMIN Final Project Meeting held in Brussels, 25th September 2019

/in , , /by

UNEXMIN held its last project meeting on the 25th of September in Brussels, event that preceeded the UNEXMIN Final Conference on the following day. This project meeting put focus on discussions on the current state of the technology and project development as well as on the near, medium and long-term future of the project and the unique technology line developed within its framework.

To kickstart discussions for the day, Norbert Zajzon (project coordinator) made a presentation on the overall state of the project, while each partner gave a short talk on their work and views since Month 1 (February 2016). These presentations and talks held among the partners created the perfect environment for what followed: a debate on the future – both on what still needs to be achieved and what will be done after the official UNEXMIN deadline – of the project, the technology and its application.

On the topic of exploitation of results, one main objective of the UNEXMIN consortium, is to utilise the UNEXMIN’s  innovative exploration technology, based on the UX-1 system, to offer the technology to the market. For this purpose a joint company is already created: meet UNEXMIN GeoRobotics!

During the afternoon the project held both an Advisory Board meeting and a Steering Committee meeting. On the first, a selected group of experts from the robotics, raw materials and technology fields had the possibility to comment and steer the project’s developments – the focus here was on future exploitation. The meeting that followed picked up discussions on this topic to reach an agreement for exploitation among the participating UNEXMIN partners – the consortium is focussed in making the bridge from research perspective to commercial approach.

This Final Project meeting gathered the UNEXMIN partners to bring light on what still needs to be done in the project and on how the future will look like. The official deadline is for this H2020 project is on the 31st of October – but we have good news that we will be sharing soon on further opportunities!

UNEXMIN Final Conference – watch online!

/in , /by

This Thursday, 26th of September, the UNEXMIN team will present and discuss the project’s outcomes and results in Brussels, to an audience of more than 70 people. Robotics, raw materials, cultural heritage experts and policy advisors will come to learn all about this 4-year project.

To add more levels to UNEXMIN’s communication and dissemination efforts, some of the presentation sessions and the UX-1 robot showcase, essential parts of the Final Conference structure, will be Livestreamed through the UNEXMIN Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UNEXMIN/.

The sessions that will be Livestreamed include:

Morning session: setting the political context: the future of mining in Europe

9:30 – Welcome speech – Marko Komac (European Federation of Geologists)
9:45 – European policy context – Daniel Cios (European Commission, Policy Officer, DG GROW)
10:05 – Aim of the call for proposals – Marcin Sadowski (EASME, Head of sector – Raw Materials)
10:45 – Future of exploration in mining – Helmut Mischo (TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
11:05 – UNEXMIN – aim and outcomes – Norbert Zajzon (UNEXMIN, project coordinator, University of Miskolc)
11:30 – ROBOMINERS H2020 project – Claudio Rossi (ROBOMINERS, project coordinator, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)
11:45 – Questions and answers

14:30 – UX-1 robot showcase

Afternoon round table and closing session

15:30 – Round table introduction – Mineral exploration, future and long-term initiatives
Round table discussion with panelists

17:00 – Closing remarks – Vitor Correia (European Federation of Geologists)

 

If you cannot be present, you are welcome to watch all the important moments online!

For more information, please have a look at:

UNEXMIN Final Conference Programme
UNEXMIN Facebook
UNEXMIN Twitter
UNEXMIN LinkedIn