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

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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!

Outcomes of the UNEXMIN Final Conference

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It was on the 26th of September 2019 that a major milestone was reached by the UNEXMIN project: the organisation of the UNEXMIN Final Conference, where the project team present the many outcomes and results to its stakeholders. The deployment of the UX-1 robot during this event greatly contributed to the success of the Final Conference.

 

The UNEXMIN Final Conference, held in Brussels on the 26th of September 2019, served the purposes of bringing together the raw materials and robotics communities, make the connection with relevant themes and European policy, and, most importantly, to disseminate and communicate the UNEXMIN’s project final results and outcomes. An extensive promotion campaign guaranteed the presence of around 70 people and one robot – UNEXMIN’s own UX-1 robot – at the venue (Nemo 33, Brussels).

The agenda, prepared to deliver important content to the UNEXMIN’s stakeholders and to make the bridge between them and European policies, counted with talks and presentations on diverse topics, a rooundtable discussion on the future of raw materials and robotics, and, with a live demonstration of the UX-1 robot, one of the main outputs of this EU project. The main sessions of the day, are as follows (the whole program can be seen here):

1 – Morning session: setting the political context: the future of mining in Europe
2 – Afternoon session I: Raw materials & mining (UNEXMIN project presentations)
3 – Afternoon session II: Robotics & functionalities (UNEXMIN project presentations)
4 – Afternoon round table – Mineral exploration, future and long-term initiatives
5 – UX-1 robot showcase (live demo)

The success of the UNEXMIN Final Conference, ackownledged by everyone, from EU’s related institutions (DG GROW and EASME) to direct stakeholders (geologists, mining engineers, robotics developers), was well patent in the discussions among participants, spoken interest in the current and future development of the project, future commercial opportunities and, in the number of photographs and movies that the participants made of the UX-1 robot while this was diving in the pool at Nemo 33.

The UNEXMIN team would like to thank everyone that attended the Final Conference. Videos, photos and the presentations of made during the day will be available on the project website soon.

UNEXMIN Final Conference – watch online!

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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

The UNEXMIN Final Conference is next week!

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After 4 years of hard work the UNEXMIN project is finally ready to show its results and outcomes. The UNEXMIN Final Conference will be held in Brussels on the 26th of September 2019. Registration is free!

Please come and meet the team and its work – including one of the UX-1 robots!

Find more information on the event, including registration, below!

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About the event

The EU-funded UNEXMIN project is developing a technology capable of autonomous exploration and mapping of flooded underground mines. This technology has the potential to reduce Europe’s import dependency of mineral raw materials which are critical for the energy transition.

The programme will include high-level discussions on raw materials policies, on how the UNEXMIN project supports both the policies and European industrial innovation, and on the capabilities and future application of the exploration system.
Meet the UX-1 robot during our demo session!

We have identified a perfect venue for the robot demonstration: NEMO 33 hosts the world’s deepest diving pool and you will be able to watch comfortably the robot in action during the afternoon coffee break. The robot will be launched from the pool on the first floor and then cross a system of different tunnels. You will be invited to have a look at the control room, ask questions, and see the robot in action through the windows on the ground floor.

Why should you attend?

The conference will provide a unique opportunity to discuss the UNEXMIN project overall and its specific fields of work, including minerals exploration, raw materials exploitation, and robotics and ICT development, with cross-cutting discussions that aim at demonstrating the impact that UNEXMIN can have on the European landscape.
The event is particularly relevant for EU policymakers, academics, mineral exploration and exploitation companies, cave exploration companies, SMEs focussing on geological consultancy and minerals surveying, and robotics and ICT experts from private and public institutions.
Programme

Several high-level speakers have confirmed their attendance and you can discover the full programme here below:

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

  • European policy context – Daniel Cios (European Commission, Policy Assistant, DG GROW)
  • Aim of the call for proposals – Marcin Sadowski (EASME, Head of sector – Raw Materials)
  • Future of exploration in mining – Helmut Mischo (TU Bergakademie Freiberg)
  • UNEXMIN – aim and outcomes – Norbert Zajzon (UNEXMIN, project coordinator, University of Miskolc)
  • ROBOMINERS H2020 project – Claudio Rossi (ROBOMINERS, project coordinator, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)

Afternoon session I: Raw materials & mining

  • UNEXMIN processing and data analysis – Stephen Henley (RCI/4dcoders)
  • UNEXMIN field trials and geological interpretation – Gorazd Zibret (Geological Survey of Slovenia)
  • UNEXMIN Inventory of flooded mines – Isabel Fernández (European Federation of Geologists)

Afternoon session II: Robotics & functionalities

  • UX-1 robotic functions: testing and validation – Jussi Aaltonen (University of Tampere)
  • UX-1 multi robot platform – José Miguel Almeida (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência)
  • UX-1 autonomy, mine exploration and mapping – Claudio Rossi (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid)

Round table discussion on mineral exploration, future and long-term initiatives with panellists: 

  • Massimo Gasparon (EIT Raw Materials)
  • Mike Buxton (TU Delft)
  • Uwe Restner (Sandvik)
  • Kiril Horoshenkov (Sheffield Robotics)
  • Yves Vanbrabant (RBINS)

Important: venue change

Address:
NEMO 33
Rue de Stalle 333
1180 Uccle (Brussels) I Belgium
GPS:   50°47’46’ North – 04°19’02’ East

Registration

Participation in this event is free but requires registration.
Full information is available at https://www.unexmin.eu/unexmin-final-conference
To register, please fill in the form at https://forms.gle/V64vHekSZVbTZmo59

Live-streaming

You would like to attend, but can’t make it to Brussels on 26 September? Don’t worry, parts of the event will be live-streamed via UNEXMIN’s Facebook channel! You can connect starting at 9:30 for the morning session, follow the pool demos online and join us again for the afternoon roundtable discussion. Stay tuned via  https://www.facebook.com/UNEXMIN/

Image: A 3D map of a flooded shaft in the Urgeiriça mine.
More images: https://www.unexmin.eu/image-gallery/

Summary of the field tests at the Molnár János cave, Hungary

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From the 26th of June to the 5th of July 2019, the UNEXMIN project was in Budapest, Hungary, for the last trial activities within the project’s lifetime. After the trials at four mine sites (Kaatiala – Finland, Idrija – Slovenia, Urgeiriça – Portugal and Ecton – UK) it was time to test the robotic solution in a new environment. For this purpose, a cave system was chosen – the Molnár János cave.

The trials at the Molnár János cave involved using the two existent UX-1 robots – UX-1a and UX-1b – to explore, map and collect information about the flooded area of the cave. Robotic capabilities including movement, control and data analysis, but with focus on autonomy, were extensively tested, with paramount results. The following items give an account of the activities and results derived from the UNEXMIN’s activities at the Molnár János cave:

  • 26th of June (Wednesday): Setting up the test site and preparation/testing of the UX-1 robots. Studying of current maps of the cave.
  • 27th of June (Thursday): The first official dive happened on the 27th of June. The UX-1b robot was used. It was able to dive up to 8m depth and map the main chamber of the cave. This mission lasted for 35 minutes.
  • 28th of June (Friday): Similarly to the previous day UX-1b was used. The robot explored a small portion of the cave outside of the main chamber in a 1h30 mission.
  • 29th of June (Saturday): Three dives were made on this day: one with UX-1a and two with UX-1b. The main chamber and some other smaller parts of the cave were mapped by the robots. In total, the robots were in the water for more than 2 hours.
  • 30th of June (Sunday): UNEXMIN off-day!
  • 1st of July (Monday): UX-1a was used three times during this day to explore the main parts of the cave system. Missions lasted for 4 hours in total. During these tests, the robot used autonomous waypoint navigation successfully – the robot was autonomous! UX-1a managed to get very good camera images from a very warm water (around 23ºC).
  • 2nd of July (Tuesday): Both UX-1 robots were working at the same time in the water, independently, to map and collect data from different areas of the cave. Teamwork!
  • 3rd of July (Wednesday): Three dives, two with UX-1a and one with UX-1b. Autonomy was the focus of these tests.
  • 4th of July (Thursday): Last dives of the robots: one for UX-1a, another for UX-1b. The robots’ capabilities, mainly movement and control, were targeted. During this last day of testing, the robots’ missions lasted for more than 5 hours, when combined.

With the ending of the Molnár János exploratory works, the UNEXMIN project was able to prove across the past year that its technology to explore and map flooded mines  – and other environments – is feasible and a good solution to a big problem: the lack of information from flooded environments. This was a major objective of the project, so the team considers it a success!

Now, it is time to wrap up things, process the data available and present UNEXMIN’s major results and outputs to the public during the final conference – entrance is free, but registration is required.