They're going to be so pissed off in Chile when they get down the mine and only find Bart

Simpson's walkie-talkie (1), but luckily it probably wont be the humans digging. Best Robotics
has brought some attention to the mining industry, not only basing its game on it but also have
the teams create written research essays on it, similar to this one. Robots, as this is being read,
are being tested and built so that we can make it much safer for humans to mine. If its not clear
this essay is about how robots and the mining industry work hand in hand, so to speak. It will
discuss how robots will improve the safety of miners, robots that have already been released, a
robot that are being upgraded, and how BEST is helping develop the next generation of
engineers.
In 2010 there was an

Figure 1; Taken from ABC News Report. April 7, 2010

explosion in the mine shafts of

the West Virginia mining
company; it was caused by a
buildup of methane gases.
Over 29 miners died and it
ruined a lot of lives, this can
be prevented by using robots
instead of peoples, instead of
losing lives we can lose robots
which can be replaced (just
dont give the robot artificial intelligence). Currently robots are being developed to prevent
scenarios like these, humanity has been slowly working towards having an automated world,
where humans are no longer in danger. The concept for these lifesaving robots is based off the
mars rover, so it will be remotely controlled, which will keep the miners even farther from
danger. This is important because, while humanity is growing in numbers, putting Earths
citizens in danger for what humanity wants is not a proper option and should not be chosen. (2)

Robots will be used to reach higher and more cramped spaces that no one has ever been able
to get to before; this will allow miners to collect more resources and stop overlooking what
cannot be reached or gathered. Robots can also shorten the time span in which it takes to gather
theses resources; this will contribute to developing science on the chemicals within the resources.
These robots will be able to go deeper underground than any man could allow scientist to
discover new minerals and expand the periodic table. Robots can also down to areas that have
become toxic for humans, which will, again, allow more resources to be retrieved. There is a
deep need for robotics in everyday life, its still required in the everyday life in the not so
everyday person.
One of the not so everyday people is a coal miner, people often overlook the coal mining
industry, but it happens to be one
(relating to Figure 1). Thats why

Figure 2; Taken from Carnegie

Mellon University's Robotics
Institute website

of the most dangerous jobs

it needs to be upgraded so badly,

once robots become the primary

factor in the industry, incidents

like the one is West Virginia can

easily be avoided. Theres still a

lot of controversy between

whether we need robots or

whether it will just put thousands

of miners out of the job and on the

streets, but it really wont. Miners

can be trained to pilot the robots

remotely, so they can keep their

jobs and stay out of danger, this is

not what people assume it to be at

all.

"You can think of the robotic

technologies that are coming as

[ones] that are going to be able to supplement mine operations and certainly be able to work their
way into rescue situations," said Chuck Whittaker (2). Chuck Whittaker is a test engineer for
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, he seems to believe that these robots will not
only be able to mine, but also rescue miners (or others) and hes definitely right. Coal mining,
an unglamorous business known mostly for accidents and bitter strikes, is going high tech, and
the resulting productivity gains are important for a nation that is using up its other fossil fuels.
(3)

This was stated in a New York Times article and its another example of people taking notice

to the coal mining business and how well its doing tech wise. Based on the dates of these
articles, the coal mining business has been doing very good for a very long time.

Robotic technology, in particular, holds much

promise, McAteer says, especially when it comes to
mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners (4) this
short excerpt is only another example of someone
explaining why robots are a useful tool in the mining
industry. Mining robots are supposed to be able to
track and map tunnels as they pass through them, but
they have much more potential, like mining rescue missions. Many people would be surprised on
how advanced theyve become over time and what theyll soon be capable of, theyre limitless.
Some people believe that a bulldozer was the first mining machine; it was actually a pick, a pick
is a simple machine used for chipping minerals out of rock or chipping rock off of minerals.
Simple machines are machines too.
Simple machines are how you win the BEST competition, which is the goal of White Sands
Middle Schools robotics team. Its also the goal of all the other teams, but this one wants it the
most and happens to be willing to go above and beyond to win (no cheating though). Simple
machines are how the mining industry has advanced for years, now its been taking a few leaps,
but in the end its still using simple machines and so will White Sands, because everyone is in it
to win it.

Bibliography
1) SickPedia. 2 June 2015. Web. <http://www.sickipedia.org/in-the-news/mining/theyre-goingto-be-so-pissed-off-in-chile-when-684730>.
2) Heussner, Ki Mae. "Coal Mining: Could Robots Do Humans' Dirty Work." ABC News 7 Apr.
2010. Print.
3) Wald, Matthew. "Robots Transform Coal Mining." The New York Times 8 Feb. 1990, Buisness
sec. New York Times. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/08/business/robotstransform-coal-mining.html?pagewanted=1>.
4) Weiner, Eric. "Could Robots Replace Humans in Mines?" NPR News 9 Aug. 2007, Technology
sec. NPR. Web. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12637032>.

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