According to Deloitte (2014), the term Industry 4.0 refers to the next development stage in the organisation of the entire value chain process in the manufacturing industry. In the case of the mining industry, complex tasks are increasingly being handled by smart analytics software packages, while smartphones and other handheld devices have transformed the way that workers interact not only with each other but with machines. Advances in robotics and sensor technology now make guided equipment much more affordable and effective. The use of tele-remote, assisted control and fully autonomous equipment is becoming increasingly widespread in the mining industry. These technologies will enable a fundamental shift in the way mining has been done in the past. There will be reduced variability in decision-making and more centralised automated operations that reduce variability in execution (Carter 2017).
CITATION: Mitra, R and Madonsela, S, 2019. IoT application to rock engineering, in Proceedings Future Mining 2019, pp 139141 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).