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Problem Identification
Every mine site has its own safety plan regarding the interaction between; vehicles, fixed obstacles and pedestrians, detailing safety measures such as vehicle priorities, two-way radio communication protocols, and minimum travelling distances. Despite all safety measures, several incidents have fallen into one of three categories; a near miss, an injury, or death. The following video demonstrates an example of an incident.
Objective
The objective is to design a Collision Awareness System (CAS), for surface mining operations, that can alert a vehicle operator of; other vehicles, fixed obstacles, and pedestrians, within close proximity. It is important to note that there is a difference between a Collision Awareness System and a Collision Avoidance System. Both systems can alert the operator however, a Collision Avoidance System takes an extra measure by toggling the vehicle’s braking system in a particular scenario(s).
Design
The CAS uses Global Positioning to track the location of a vehicle, fixed object, or pedestrian, for surface mining operations.
Figure 1 is a Google Maps image of the Super Pit mine in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. As can be seen, there are three vehicles on the haul road; a Light Vehicle (LV) ute and two Heavy Vehicles (HV) dump trucks, each travelling considerably apart from the other. Each vehicle can be assigned a unique electronic ID and share its GPS coordinates via radio frequency with other vehicles, to enable proximity between each vehicle to be calculated. Doing some coordinate maths, between both trucks reveals a distance of approximately 100 meters line-of-sight. The stop sign on the right-hand side and the pedestrian, black dot, are hypothetical and only used for demonstration purposes. The location of the stop sign, a fixed obstacle, is approximately 30°47’04.3″S 121°30’47.8″E. This coordinate can be programmed into the hardware of the CAS of each vehicle, alerting the operator of a vehicle of an upcoming ‘STOP’ sign. The pedestrian can carry a GPS tracker that shares their location, 0°47’03.9″S 121°30’42.5″E, with vehicles, alerting the operator of each vehicle of a pedestrian in the area. If a vehicle comes too close to; another vehicle, a fixed obstacle, and/or a pedestrian, a warning can be issued to the operator of the vehicle via; an OLED display, an alarm, and flashing lights. Near misses and incidents can be recorded detailing the; location, speed, time and date, and proximity.
The design of the CAS falls into two main categories; hardware and software. Figure 2 is the PCB schematic, which consists of six elements; power supply, battery management, radio, GPS, display, and the Microcontroller Unit (MCU). Table 1 contains a list of electronic components used in the PCB schematic. Table 2, containing components of similar value to that of Table 1, can be used in conjunction with the schematic to build the breadboard design, which provides a useful platform for testing and developing electronics hardware and software.
<PCB schematic>
Power Supply
The power supply consists of two main elements; the synchronous boost regulator, MCP1642B-50I/MS, and the Low Dropout (LDO) voltage regulator, MIC5209-3.6YS. The power supply to the boost regulator can either be from the; 5-volt power rail or the 3.6-volt Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. If the 5-volt power rail is active, the voltage from the Li-ion battery will be overridden and power will be supplied to the linear charger, MAX1898EUB42+T, for the Li-ion battery. The boost regulator supplies a clean 5-volt output, using two decoupling/bypass ceramic capacitors placed at the input and output to minimise voltage ripple. The LDO voltage regulator is powered by the boost regulator and uses two decoupling tantalum capacitors placed at the input and output to minimise voltage ripple. The output of the LDO provides a clean 3.6 volts to…..
| Element | Component | Manufacturer ID | Value | Qty. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSU | Regulator (boost) | MCP1642B-50I/MS | – | 1 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 0805ZC106KAT2A | 10μF / 10V | 2 | |
| Inductor | MOS6020-472MLC | 4.7μH | 1 | |
| Regulator | MIC5209-3.6YS | 3.6V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (tantalum) | TAJY106K035RNJ | 10μF / 35V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (tantalum) | TAJB476K010TNJ | 47μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Diode (schottky) | B0520LW-7-F | 20V | 1 | |
| Header (2-way switch) | 10129378-902001BLF | – | 2 | |
| Batt. Mgmt. | Battery charger | MAX1898EUB42+T | – | 1 |
| Header (2way test point & *LED) | 10129378-902001BLF | – | 3 | |
| Fuse | FX0321 | – | 1 | |
| Resistor | CRCW12061K60FKEA | 1.6kΩ | 1 | |
| *LED (charge status) | WP710A10LSRD | 2mA | 1 | |
| Resistor | CRCW12061K40FKEA | 1.4kΩ | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 0603ZC104KAT2A | 0.1μF / 10V | 3 | |
| Diode (Schottky) | B0520LW-7-F | 20V | 2 | |
| MOSFET | FDT458P | – | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 1206ZC106KAT2A | 10μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Battery Holder | 1042P | – | 1 | |
| Resistor | CRCW08051K00FKEAHP | 1kΩ | 1 | |
| Resistor | CRCW0805499RFKEA | 499Ω | 1 | |
| Battery Fuel Guage | DS2782E+ | – | 1 | |
| Resistor (current sense) | WSLP1206R0200FEA | 20MΩ | 1 | |
| Resistor | CRCW0805150RFKEAC | 150Ω | 2 | |
| MCU | MCU | PIC24FJ256GA702-I/SO | – | 1 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 1206YC106KAT2A | 10μF / 16V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 08055C104KAT2A | 0.1μF / 50V | 2 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 08055C103KAT2A | 0.01μF / 50V | 2 | |
| Header (7-way APC220) | 10129378-907001BLF | – | 1 | |
| Header (4-way OLED) | 10129378-904001BLF | – | 1 | |
| Header (2way *LED) | 10129378-902001BLF | – | 1 | |
| *LED (beacon) | C503B-RCN-CW0Z0AA1 | 20mA | 1 | |
| Resistor | RCS060375R0FKEA | 75Ω | 1 | |
| Crystal | ABLS-16.000MHz-20-B-3-H-T | 16Mhz | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 06035A200KAT2A | 20pF / 50V | 2 | |
| Resistor | CRCW120610K0FKEA | 10kΩ | 3 | |
| Jack (programming) | 5555165-1 | – | 1 | |
| GPS | Header (6-way L86) | 10129378-906001BLF | – | 2 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 0603ZC104KAT2A | 0.1 μF / 10V | 2 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 1206ZC106KAT2A | 10μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | 0805ZC475KAT2A | 4.7μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Battery Holder | 796136-1 | – | 1 |
| Element | Component | Manufacturer ID | Value | Qty. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSU | Regulator (boost) | MCP1642B-50I/MS | – | 1 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | FG14X7R1A106KRT00 | 10μF / 10V | 2 | |
| Inductor | 744750560047 | – | 1 | |
| Regulator | TC1262-3.3VAB | 3.3V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (tantalum) | TAP106K010CCS | 10μF / 10V | 2 | |
| – | – | – | – | |
| Diode (Schottky) | 1N5817 | 20V | 1 | |
| Header (2-way) | 10129378-902001BLF | – | 1 | |
| Batt. Mgmt. | Battery charger | MAX1898EUB42+T | – | 1 |
| Header (2way) | 10129378-902001BLF | – | 3 | |
| – | – | – | – | |
| Resistor | MBA02040C1601FC100 | 1.6kΩ | 1 | |
| LED | WP710A10LSRD | 2mA | 1 | |
| Resistor | MBA02040C1401FC100 | 1.4kΩ | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | K104K15X7RF53H5 | 0.1μF / 50V | 3 | |
| Diode (Schottky) | 1N5817 | 20V | 2 | |
| MOSFET (P Channel) | FQP27P06 | – | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | FG14X7R1A106KRT00 | 10μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Battery Holder | 1043P | – | 1 | |
| Resistor | MBB02070C1001FC100 | 1kΩ | 1 | |
| Resistor | RN55C5000FB14 | 500Ω | 1 | |
| Battery Fuel Guage | DS2782E+ | – | 1 | |
| Resistor (current sense) | 15FR020E | 20MΩ | 1 | |
| Resistor | MBA02040C1500FC100 | 150Ω | 2 | |
| MCU | MCU | PIC24FJ256GA702-I/SP | – | 1 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | FG26X7R1E106KRT06 | 10μF / 25V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | K104K15X7RF53H5 | 0.1μF / 50V | 2 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | K103K15X7RF5UL2 | 0.01μF / 50V | 2 | |
| Header (7-way APC220) | 10129378-907001BLF | – | 1 | |
| Header (4-way OLED) | 10129378-904001BLF | – | 1 | |
| – | – | – | – | |
| LED (beacon) | C503B-RCN-CW0Z0AA1 | 20mA | 1 | |
| Resistor | MFR-25FBF52-60R4 | 60.4Ω | 1 | |
| Crystal | ABL-16.000MHZ-B2 | 16Mhz | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | K180J15C0GF53L2 | 18pF / 50V | 2 | |
| Resistor | – | 10kΩ | 3 | |
| Header (6-way programming) | 10129378-906001BLF | – | 1 | |
| GPS | Header (6-way L86) | 10129378-906001BLF | – | 2 |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | K104K15X7RF53H5 | 0.1μF / 50V | 2 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | FG14X7R1A106KRT00 | 10μF / 10V | 1 | |
| Capacitor (ceramic) | FK26X7R1C475K | 4.7μF | 1 | |
| Battery Holder | – | – | 1 |