Medium Frequency Wireless Tracking of Miners

矿工的中频无线跟踪

• 批准号: 7609214
• 负责人: Hans Gregory Schantz
• 金额: $ 49.9万
• 依托单位: Q-TRACK CORPORATION
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2008-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7609214
• 关键词: Medium; Frequency; Wireless; Tracking; Miners

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recent tragedies at the Sago Mine, the Aracoma Alma Mine No. 1, and the Darby Mine No. 1 have focused renewed attention on an old problem: situational awareness in mine emergencies. Improved communication is a partial, but not complete, solution to the problem. Mine emergencies often involve dense smoke and dust that impair visibility and disorient even those familiar with the mine layout. And miners overcome by carbon monoxide cannot communicate useful information to potential rescuers. Location awareness is an important aspect of the overall problem of situational awareness. In too many cases, mine fatalities might have been avoided if rescuers knew the location of trapped or disabled miners. The more quickly a rescue team can reach miners at risk, the more likely the rescue operation will be successful. Currently, there is no technology capable of determining the precise location of underground miners with reasonable accuracy and cost. The principal benefit of the proposed effort lies in bringing to fruition a technology that can provide critically needed location information and thus aid in rescuing miners in emergency situations. Q-Track is the pioneer in Near-Field Electromagnetic Ranging or "NFER(R)" technology. NFER(R) systems operate in the MF band under Part 15 limits as low-power unlicensed transmitters. By using relatively low frequency, long wavelength transmissions, NFER(R) signals can propagate in complicated industrial environments with minimal impact from multipath. Furthermore, because these systems operate in the near-field zone, they have available much more tracking information than comparable high frequency or microwave systems. The specific aim of the Phase II effort is to develop prototype NFER(R) systems for wireless location in mines. The anticipated outcome of the proposed Phase II effort will be a prototype miner tracking system with the following characteristics: Range: >400m Accuracy: 10m or better Support for integration of sensors and transmission of low data rate telemetry. Public Health Relevance: Miners are not the only workers in dangerous environments who would benefit from location information. Soldiers, nuclear and chemical workers, and emergency responders all face comparable dangers and would all be helped by the availability of location data. By sponsoring the proposed effort, NIOSH will not only promote miner safety but also promote worker safety in a wide variety of secondary industries.

描述（由申请人提供）：西马矿，Aracoma Alma矿山和1号的近期悲剧，已将重点放在了一个旧问题上：我的紧急情况中的情境意识。改善沟通是解决问题的部分但不是完整的解决方案。我的紧急情况通常涉及浓烟和灰尘，这些烟雾和灰尘会损害可见性，甚至熟悉地雷布局的人。一氧化碳克服的矿工无法将有用的信息传达给潜在的救援人员。位置意识是情境意识总体问题的重要方面。在太多情况下，如果救援人员知道被困或残疾矿工的位置，可能会避免矿山死亡。救援队越快接触矿工的风险，救援行动的成功越大。当前，没有技术能够以合理的准确性和成本来确定地下矿工的精确位置。拟议的努力的主要好处在于实现一项可以提供急需的位置信息，从而有助于在紧急情况下营救矿工的技术。 Q-Track是近场电磁范围或“ NFER（R）”技术的先驱。 NFER（R）系统在第15部分的限制下以低功率无执照的发射器的形式运行。通过使用相对较低的频率，长波长的传输，NFER（R）信号可以在复杂的工业环境中传播，而多径对多径的影响很小。此外，由于这些系统在近场区域运行，因此与可比的高频或微波系统相比，它们的跟踪信息更多。 II期努力的具体目的是开发用于矿山无线位置的原型NFER（R）系统。拟议的II期工作的预期结果将是具有以下特征的原型矿工跟踪系统：范围：> 400m精度：10m或更好的支持传感器集成和低数据速率遥测的传输。 公共卫生相关性：矿工并不是危险环境中唯一会从位置信息中受益的工人。士兵，核和化学工人以及应急人员都面临可比的危险，所有位置数据的可用性都将有助于。通过赞助拟议的努力，NIOSH不仅会促进矿工安全，而且还可以促进各种二级行业的工人安全。