Monitoring of Inaccessible Areas in GPS-Denied Underground Mines using a Fully Autonomous Encased Safety Inspection Drone

Increasing the depth of either surface mines or underground mines as hazardous places, make mines even more dangerous workplace. Therefore, continuous monitoring is crucial to improve safety in the mines. Monitoring of inaccessible areas in underground mines requires a certified person to inspect the stability of the open cavern areas and conduct air quality tests necessary to protect the safety of the miners. Exploration and monitoring of hazardous areas in the underground environment can expose the miners to potential hazards. This study aims to discuss the possibility of the development of a remote monitoring system to inspect the inaccessible areas in underground mines using a fully autonomous encased drone. The application of drones in underground coal mines can be challenging. Harsh underground environments pose many obstacles to flying drones. The confined space, reduced visibility, air velocity, dust concentration, and lack of wireless communication system makes it extremely difficult for an operator to fly a drone underground. Furthermore, access to unreachable and dangerous locations in underground mines is practically impossible for a drone operator. This study offers solutions to the above-mentioned challenges by proposing design an autonomous spherical micro-drone for the underground mine safety inspection.