microHUB

The All-in-One intelligent mining solution

microHUB is designed to be a ruggedized multipurpose surface vehicular controller, data communications hub and black box data recorder. The microHUB provides a universal interface for Trackless Mining Machine (TMM) and Collision Warning System (CWS). It increases productivity and improves mine safety with the intelligent use of CRAWL and STOP processes as well as providing uniform and secure records to promote operational efficiency

Design Features

−20 °C to + 125 °C Auto Monitoring
Ingress Protected IP67
Compact and Tamperproof
Shock rated to ±10 g impact
Gore-Tex Humidity Protected
Configurable Auto Electrical Interface
Multiport Radio Interface
High Feature Density (Value)

Communication

Wi-Fi Access Point or Client
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
UHF or VHF: Surface Mobile Radio Modem and Underground Cable – Leaky Feeder
GPS
LoRa (Private Network)
RS 232
RS 485
CAN BUS (open CAN/J1939)

Data Logging

CWS Commands Instruction, Request Logging
Machine Response to CWS Requests
AES128 Data Encryption
Data and Event Recorder
Recording Options on Mobile, Laptop, Server/Client
Dynamic Sampling Rate
Efficient Use of Deep Memory 16GB

Mining Use

CAS/TMM interface

Communications router

Operational monitoring

Engine protection

Black box recorder

Anti-rollback

Full or part speed-brake interlock

Production monitoring

Facilitate crawl and stop

Driver access control

Compatible with conventional engines

CAN Bus, modbus & conventional protocols

Compatible with all known CAS systems

Bi-directional logging of M2M data and events

Descriptive functionality

In addition to the bonding of multiple networked devices, microHUB is also responsible for data logging functions. Short term memory and Deep memory logging functions are realized within this sub-system since all data passes through microHUB at some stage during the information flowing through the machine. The microHUB has specially developed Step Change, Rate of Change and Periodic Sampling capabilities that allow the capture of Big Data and Little Data live on the fly.

The microHUB processor is further responsible for on-machine analytics since the automation system requires live real-time measurements to make critical decisions. The calculation and interpretation of the load in the bucket of the machine during automatic scooping is an example of one such on-machine analytic necessary to aid in the process. Presenting cumulative and integral measurements of metrics necessitated as input to the automated decision-making process is accommodated by the microHUB analytics calculation engines..

The microHUB also integrates multiple radio communication technologies. LTE, LPWAN, Wi-Fi, LoRa and neroMESH radio sub-systems are optionally integrated directly into the microHUB wireless connectivity bank via modular M.2 plugins. These radio communication systems facilitate simultaneous high bandwidth – short-range as well as low bandwidth – long-range connectivity.

The connectivity is provisioned between the machine and the mining communication infrastructure, and for machine-to-machine (or Vehicle to Vehicle) connectivity. Specialized high-level protocols allow data to transact opportunistically as well as continuously so suit all possible data networking models.

The microHUB also integrates an array of high-performance internal sensors, including machine roll, yaw, pitch, vibration, temperature, humidity, acceleration, angular velocity and 3D magnetometer sensors. These sensor measurements are for on the fly operation decisions, such as limiting the speed down declines, built-in test and protection monitoring, as well as for remote viewing purposes.