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MINExpo 2016: Cat introduces proximity awareness system

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World Coal,


Caterpillar has introduced Proximity Awareness, a new collision avoidance system for surface vehicles. Part of the Cat MineStar Detect capability set, the new system uses the latest peer-to-peer communications from the automotive industry. The system delivers fast and reliable communications between vehicles and presents collision avoidance information to operators without the need for a robust radio network covering the site.

The onboard hardware can be fitted to light vehicles and to any brand of opencast mining equipment. Fewer components are required compared to the previous Cat Proximity Awareness system, which uses a WiFi network. The result is reduced space required onboard vehicles, fast installation and lower cost.

The onboard display can store up to 24 hours of incident data. This data is sent to the office for storage and analysis through strategically-located communications hot spots onsite. Incident capture, playback and reporting are independent of Caterpillar’s fleet management system, MineStar Fleet.

Cat MineStar Fleet, Proximity Awareness and the company’s MineStar Detect Object Detection system can run on a single, in-cab display. The new Proximity Awareness system also features alarm tones that operators can easily distinguish from alerts delivered by other systems.

When combined with Fleet in the office, enhanced reporting includes operator performance, as related to the number of safety incidents. The new system retains the many features provided by the previous system, such as avoidance zones, speed zones, highly configurable machine envelopes and projected paths, operator notifications, incident capture and playback for training or incident reconstruction.

The new system also retains the previous system’s ease of use for operators. The Proximity Awareness system presents information to the operator via an intuitive graphic display in the cab. The system provides three onboard alarming levels. The zones, which define alarming, are customer configurable.

Alarming priority ranges from low to critical. Low priority indicates that the projected path of a machine is on course to collide with another machine or that it is following another machine too closely. Critical alarms occur when two or more machines have their closest zones intersect. If machines routinely are in close proximity, such as loading and hauling vehicles, alarm filters can be implemented between machines classes to silence non-critical warnings.

Edited from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/mining/26092016/minexpo-2016-cat-introduces-new-proximity-awareness-system-2016/

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