Magnetic Through-the-Earth Miner Transceiver for Emergency Communications

用于紧急通信的磁透地矿工收发器

• 批准号: 8728673
• 负责人: John Matthews
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: PHYSICAL OPTICS CORPORATION
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2015-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8728673
• 关键词: Magnetic; Through; Earth; Miner; Transceiver

DESCRIPTION: Even as we move into the 21st century, mining accidents are still a regular occurrence, often resulting in the loss of dozens of lives. Many of these fatalities could have been averted had there been a reliable emergency communications system in place to provide life-saving information to search-and-rescue parties and to trapped miners. To address this problem, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to advance the development of our new Magnetic Through-The-Earth Miner Transceiver for Emergency Communications (MATHEMITE) System. This system is a transceiver for two-way through-the-earth (TTE) communications, which was proven feasible in Phase I by demonstrating a 375 ft TTE communication range at the Edgar Mine (Idaho Springs, CO) and at the NIOSH Experimental Mine (Pittsburgh, PA). MATHEMITE integrates a novel zero-power mine transmitter (ZPT) and communication protocol to maintain mine-to-surface communications in all emergency situations. Innovations in the mine transmitter enable maintaining a communication link with a surface receiver through more than 2000 ft of overburden with no external power or batteries required. Application of digital noise-reduction data processing allows the surface receiver to detect the unique signature arriving from the mine transmitter, amid the mine environmental noise. These advantages also make the proposed transceiver commercially attractive, since it is based largely on integration of existing technology. The potential markets for the proposed transceiver include not only mine safety but also construction and energy industries, in addition to numerous military and security applications. As a result, POC's proposed research will significantly and positively impact the safety of personnel involved in underground operations by providing a reliable, compact, through-the-earth communications system. This directly supports the mission of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to improve safety and health of mining workers. In Phase I, POC successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the MATHEMITE system in mine operation with a scaled-down prototype over a 375 ft TTE communication range. The goal of Phase II is to develop and demonstrate a full-scale prototype system with a range of up to 2000 ft. that is completely safe for mine use and does not require additional infrastructure. Besides the prototype development, POC will conduct extensive measurements at mine test sites to accurately characterize the mine environment, including environmental noise and interference. POC will ensure the design meets Mine Safety and Health Administration regulations. Successful development of this technology will result in an entirely new emergency communications system that will overcome the safety, reliability, power, and size issues of current mine communications technology.

描述：即使我们进入21世纪，采矿事故仍然是经常发生的，通常会导致数十种生命的丧失。如果建立了可靠的紧急通信系统，可以避免其中许多死亡，以便为搜索和救援方提供救生信息和被困的矿工。为了解决这个问题，物理光学公司（POC）提议提高我们新的磁性通行矿工收发器的紧急通信（Mathemite）系统的开发。该系统是双向双向通信（TTE）通信的收发器，通过在Edgar Mine（Idgar Mine（Idaho Springs，CO）和NIOSH实验矿山展示375英尺的TTE通信范围，它在第一阶段被证明是可行的（宾夕法尼亚州匹兹堡）。 Mathemite集成了一种新颖的零功率矿物发射器（ZPT）和通信协议，以在所有紧急情况下保持矿山到地面通信。矿山发射器中的创新能够通过超过2000英尺的覆盖层与表面接收器保持通信链接，而无需外部电源或电池。在矿山环境噪声中，数字减少数据处理的应用使地面接收器可以检测从矿山发射器到达的唯一签名。这些优势也使拟议的收发器在商业上具有吸引力，因为它主要基于现有技术的整合。拟议收发器的潜在市场不仅包括矿山安全，还包括建筑和能源行业，除了众多的军事和安全应用外。结果，POC提出的研究将通过提供可靠，紧凑的地下通信系统，从而对地下行动的人员的安全产生重大和积极的影响。这直接支持美国国家职业安全与健康研究所的使命，以改善采矿工人的安全和健康。在第一阶段，POC成功证明了数学系统在矿场运行中的可行性，其在375英尺TTE通信范围内进行了缩小的原型。第二阶段的目的是开发和演示一个全尺寸的原型系统，其范围为2000英尺。这对于矿山的使用是完全安全的，并且不需要额外的基础架构。除原型开发外，POC还将在矿场测试地点进行广泛的测量，以准确表征矿山环境，包括环境噪声和干扰。 POC将确保该设计符合矿山安全与健康管理法规。该技术的成功开发将导致一个全新的紧急通信系统，该系统将克服当前矿山通信技术的安全性，可靠性，功率和规模问题。