Will Mines Be The First Industry to Use Edge Computing Heavily?
When we think of industries that have the most need for edge computing technology, mines are a primary candidate.
Large scale mining equipment can be monitored onsite by industrial IoT and edge computing devices.
This is because mines fulfill some of the criteria that make edge computing a perfect choice. These criteria for edge computing are:
Located in remote areas where there may be lack of internet infrastructure or cell tower service.
Industry which uses extensive machinery and equipment that can be monitored by IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) devices.
Has many situations in which status of equipment and processes are monitored visually, meaning there is a need for computer vision technology.
The first criteria of mine locations is probably the strongest argument for mines using edge computers. Mines are frequently located in extremely remote areas. Typically they do not have cell service and rely on local radio communication combined with satellite phone/internet. This means that cloud computing is out of the question, as transmission of large amounts of data is impossible via satellite link. Additionally, on-prem large server computing becomes a concern due to power consumption. Edge computers allow for computing to be done on-site and even on-machinery. This edge data could be transmitted via mesh network to a field office. From there decisions could quickly be made to improve mine operation or only the most important data signals could be transmitted via satellite.
The second criteria that makes mines ideal for the use of edge computing is that there is extensive machinery and equipment constantly in use. This equipment is increasingly being integrated with industrial internet of things devices (IIoT) which are used to monitor equipment health in real time. With edge computing technology miners can fully analyze the implications of the data which their IIoT machines extract from equipment.
The final criteria is that many of the activities happening in a mine are monitored by operators visually. This means that mines are also one of the best places to use modern computer vision technology. With edge computing devices specifically made for computer vision analytics, this visual monitoring can be conducted remotely, improving safety and efficiency of mines. Riaforce has done extensive work in the field of computer vision for mining which can be seen in this video:
As you can see, mines are most likely one of the best industries for edge computing technology to achieve its full potential. We estimate that within 5 years we will see edge computing technology reaching full use and integration at mines around the world. This is due to the large availability of low cost edge computers and industrial IoT sensors.
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