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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!

UNEXMIN meeting in La Palma: UX-1 and field trials in the agenda

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The UNEXMIN partners got together in the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain, to discuss and better prepare the last year of the UNEXMIN project, that will officially end on the 31st October. The two-day meeting (10 and 11 of January) aimed at providing a place to discuss the present and future development of the project. The field trials and the production of the remaining two UX-1 robots were at the core of the agenda.

The above-mentioned points were largely introduced and discussed during the first day. The UNEXMIN project already underwent through two field trials (Kaatiala and Idrija) and results from the surveying of these mines is currently in development. The experience gained on both trials will allow the team to properly prepare for the surveys on the Urgeiriça (Portugal) and Ecton (UK) mines, where two and three robots will be used, respectivelly.

The production and assembly schedule of the next two UX-1 robots was also outlined in order to avoid any delays, that might hinder the project development. This was agreed by all partners that are involved in the construction of the robotic platform and work will follow inline with planned.

During the second day, and with the main issues to be discussed out of the way, the UNEXMIN partners had a more relaxing meeting. The future of UNEXMIN was discussed (next steps, what about the future, etc) and a mindmapping exercise, that will help to shape the future of UNEXMIN, was organised.

Now it is time to continue working in order to reach the UNEXMIN project’s objectives!

  • The UNEXMIN meeting in La Palma, January 2019
  • Mindmapping exercise
  • UNEXMIN group photo

Summary of the first week of the Kaatiala trials

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The first UNEXMIN field trials finally started last week (11th to the 15th June). And on these five days a lot happened, with much more to come this week.

On the first day, the UNEXMIN team transported the UX-1 robot – weighting around 100Kg! – and all the necessary equipment to the Kaatiala test site. A base was set up at the shallow part of the lake where the tests are being held to allocate the UNEXMIN team and create its working station.

The next two days served as the last dry tests for the robot, as a preparation for the first official UX-1 swim that finally happened on the 14th. All the necessary sub-systems for navigation and motion (e.g. ballast system, SLS, thrusters, IMU, multibeam-sonar, computer control) were tested on the 14–15th of June in 2 to 5m deep water, and autonomous motion and navigation tests started on the 15th.

During the weekend, the UNEXMIN team moved their base to the deep part of the lake, where the underground tunnels are located. It is in this area that the UX-1 robot will perform its autonomous operations during this week.

Besides the testing, the UNEXMIN team have also been busy with a growing interest from the media, translated in some interviews. One Finnish national TV and four newspapers, and one international TV (Euronews) were present at the site to learn more and share the UNEXMIN project to their readers and viewers!

To keep updated on the UNEXMIN activities at the Kaatila test site, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

UNEXMIN team at Porto Follow-up meeting. Photo in front of INESCTEC lab building.

Porto follow-up Workshop

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UNEXMIN partners met in the beautiful city of Porto during the 28th and 29th of July.

The reason for this reunion was a UNEXMIN follow-up meeting on the project where every currently running Work Package (a block of the work breakdown structure) coordinator presented a review of the work done until now, and a planning of respective future developments.

There were also many relevant discussions on topics related to UNEXMIN’s overall advancement, such as project organisation and the development of UX-1, the multi-robotic platform.

UNEXMIN team discussing UX-1 developments

The UNEXMIN team discussing UX-1 developments

One of the main points from this meeting was the debate concerning the first prototype’s construction and development. The questions raised about the project’s progress will have a final and determinant answer when UNEXMIN partners meet in Tampere in September, where they will take part in a one-week-work agenda totally devoted to clarify the next steps to take regarding UX-1.

UNEXMIN meeting: autonomous robotic system that goes into the sea floor.

TURTLE – a robotic autonomous deep sea lander – made from other INESCTEC european project

UNEXMIN partners also visited the labs of INESCTEC (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência), one of the partners from the UNEXMIN project consortium, who are specialists in sea robotics, and who have past experience in this field related to UNEXMIN. In the labs the consortium could see and learn how the past and current experience in deep sea robotics from INESCTEC will positively impact the UNEXMIN project and the development of a new technology trend – to have a multi-robotic platform capable of mapping flooded mines that are currently inaccessible.

UNEXMIN team at Porto Follow-up meeting. Photo in front of INESCTEC lab building.

UNEXMIN team at Porto Follow-up meeting

UNEXMIN members visiting Sandvik Mining and Construction test mine

UNEXMIN at Tampere Workshop

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From the 24th to the 26th of May, UNEXMIN partners held a meeting in Tampere, Finland. The meeting, entitled “End-user requirement specification workshop”, aimed to define and specify the technical features of the autonomous multi-robotic explorer in order to best serve end-users who will enlist UX-1’s services in the future.

Discussions included everything from the robot’s size, weight, shape, its autonomy, navigation, survivability under harsh conditions such as underground mines, to the instruments it will carry for geological data collection and post-processing on its future missions.

During this meeting, six workshops were attended by the consortium members in order to discuss and decide the best solutions for the robot’s developments and construction. These workshops were:

Interactive discussion on one of the workshops

Interactive discussion on one of the workshops

  • Design requirement and environmental consideration
  • Navigation and tracking (including vision sensor configuration)
  • Structural layout and safety/survivability considerations
  • Structural and subsystems design
  • Essential means for successful geological data collection
  • Data processing and post-processing

Every topic of great importance for the project’s development was discussed in these workshops, so everything was covered to ensure things are going in the right direction.

On the last day, the consortium members visited a Sandvik Mining and Construction test mine in which drilling tests and monitoring are performed autonomously, similar to one of the technologies UNEXMIN is adapting and developing during the project lifetime. There was also a tour of the TUT laboratories, where the robot’s hull will be constructed.

One of the many laboratories in TUT – Tampere University of Technology.

One of the many laboratories in TUT – Tampere University of Technology.

This meeting allowed the UNEXMIN group to define a specific strategy for the robot’s developments, taking into account different factors such as end-user requirements, materials and instruments availability and navigation, autonomy and survivability constraints. In the end, it was a productive and enjoyable meeting which will get us closer to the final objective of creating an autonomous multi-robot platform!

UNEXMIN members visiting Sandvik Mining and Construction test mine

UNEXMIN members visiting the Sandvik Mining and Construction test mine