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© Extreme Endeavors 2019

Underground Tracking

Question: How do you track someone who is working in a mine?

Problem: The harsh environment of a coal mine, denied access to GPS, and other factors make this problem difficult enough, but the lack of industrial acceptance makes it even harder!

  • Extreme Endeavors used a combination of inertial navigation sensors and RFID tags embedded in the roof of the mine to track miner footsteps.

  • The inertial navigation sensors were those used for tracking people in the military; however, they failed due to the metal inside the mining boots. Modifications had to be made.

  • Resetting based on the location of RFID tags worked excellent.

  • In spite of the life-saving potential of this technology, the industry opposed it: they feared it would be used to "police" miners and possibly result in wrongful termination. Acceptance was difficult!