Multi-functional coal mine safety system: visualisation of events (mining processes) form the miner's workplace
The paper reviews the use of mobile video monitoring equipment in coal mines. The most common option is the use of stationary video cameras with real-time video streaming to the mine dispatcher's control monitor via cables. Despite all the benefits of the information obtained, this method has certain limitations due to the specific features of the mine atmosphere, i.e. high humidity and dust levels, as well as the impossibility to organize video monitoring over the entire length of the mine workings. Therefore, mobile video monitoring equipment, both portable and vehicle-based, is efficient supplement to the stationary video cameras. The portable devices include smart phones and the battery-powered head lights with an integrated video camera, which have recently become very popular. In both cases, an important consideration, in addition to the actual video capturing, is the issue of transmitting video data to the top level, i.e. to the mine dispatcher's control panel. The following options are possible: connection to the mine wireless network hotspots via radio channel, reading the information in the lamp rooms when leaving the mine and real-time broadcasting from the mine to the top level. The assumption is made that in order to implement the fastest (and the most efficient) way that works without delays between capturing and transmitting of video data to the daylight surface, such as the latter of the options above, a communications infrastructure based on wireless and cable networks needs to be deployed in the mine workings. The required infrastructure is present in a number of systems designed to locate miners inside the mine workings as part of a multifunctional security system, which enables continuous radio communication of individual devices with infrastructure nodes and, therefore, real-time video data transmission.