When choosing a tracking system, clients always want to know one thing: what exactly will it look like at their site? It's one thing to read about the features in the description. It's quite another to see how everything moves on the map, how notifications work and how the report is ultimately generated.
That is why we have created an open demo of the Tags solution. It features several popular indoor and outdoor scenarios for asset tracking, which demonstrate how the system works in practice.
There are two ways to explore each case study. The first is to follow a step-by-step guided tour with explanations. Second: skip the tour and explore the functionality on your own. You can also switch to live data or create your own case study and specify the required number of objects, buildings and layers.
There are four ready-made scenarios with guided tours in total: mining, retail, a logistics centre and a hospital. In this article, we'll look at the first one - an underground mine.
How the mine is set up in the demo
This is a model of an underground mine. On the map, it's shown as a single 'building'. All tracking takes place underground.
The scenario demonstrates three things at once:
- how machinery and people can be viewed in real time across three levels
- how crossing a zone triggers an automatic alert
- how to then summarise a week's activity into a single report
What has already been configured: 1 building, 24 gateways, 23 anchors, 35 sensors, 29 assets, 3 layers and 6 zones.
Three underground levels
The mine has three layers, from top to bottom. Each has its own floor plan, against which the zones and device locations are calibrated. People and cargo move between levels.
Level -3. Haulage level (ore haulage and crushing). Zones: Crusher Station and Ore Haulage Drift.
Level -2. Working level (mining). Zones: Active Stope and Drill Bay.
Level -1. Access level (infrastructure and safety). Zones: Electrical Substation and Refuge Chamber.
In addition, the map features two geozones: Site Perimeter (the entire perimeter of the site) and Portal Entrance (a circle with a radius of 18 m at the entrance).
Why Wirepas Mesh works underground
There is no GPS underground, so positioning is based entirely on a mesh network. The devices connect to one another automatically and relay data down the chain until it reaches the gateway.
In this case study, the network looks like this:
- 1 hub (Mesh Hub, Rūdninkai Ore Mine). This is the gateway through which the network connects to the cloud.
- 23 anchors, 8 per level (including the hub). These are fixed devices, manually positioned on the site plan.
- 35 sensors attached to people, machinery and equipment.
What we are tracking
In this case study, there are 29 assets and 6 separate environmental sensors. Each asset is linked to its own sensor.
- Haulage and crushing (level -3)
Heavy machinery is in operation here: a dump lorry travels along the haulage tunnel, whilst a loader operates near the crusher. The operator walks around the crusher, occasionally ascending in the lift to the level above. The stationary crushing plant equipment is situated nearby. In addition, loads being transported by the machinery are monitored: for example, a skip or the crusher lining.
- Mining (level -2)
Two miners, with lights on their helmets, walk around the working face and the drilling rig. The drilling rig, a fan and a methane detector are also located here. Among the loads, the miners carry a box containing a core sample and a section of ventilation duct.
- Infrastructure (level -1)
The shift supervisor walks from the refuge chamber to the substation, whilst the electrician inspects the transformers and switchboards. They take an electrical safety kit and a replacement module for the switchboard with them.
The scenario also tracks environmental conditions underground using two methane sensors, an air flow monitor and a temperature sensor. Two spare trackers are deliberately left silent, so you can also see how the no connection alert works.
Labels
Objects can be grouped using custom labels. The case already contains the labels 'Personnel', 'Heavy equipment', 'Safety' and 'Ore handling'. These make it easy to filter the map and lists. There are separate labels for triggers, these highlight objects on which a trigger is currently active.
Triggers & Notifications
Several triggers and notifications have been set up in this case study. The principle is the same across the board. When a trigger is activated, a label can be assigned to the object, and it begins to pulse in a specified colour on the map and in 3D or 2D view. This makes the problem area immediately visible.
To see this in action, watch what happens when an operator enters the Crusher Station. The 'Zone entry' trigger activates, a notification appears, and the zone crossing is recorded in the operator's history
Reports
You can generate any type of report for the required period. For example, time spent in zones over a week or Portal Entrance crossings over two weeks. You can switch between the Timeline and Event logs views, and the results can be exported to CSV.
Dashboard
'Underground safety' dashboard has two views:
- Personnel
How many people are underground, how many are in the Active Stope (threshold 4) and in the Refuge Chamber, and how many devices are offline. Next to this is a plan of the working face and a shift list, with problematic positions listed at the top. - Equipment & Haulage
The proportion of heavy machinery online. Counters for the Crusher Station, Ore Haulage Drift and Drill Bay. A plan of the haulage level and a list of machinery.
You can view the entire case study directly in the demo. Follow the guided tour for a step-by-step introduction, or explore at your own: switch between tabs, click on objects and try out the features. Choose whichever approach suits you best.