GroundProbe has launched BlastVision, a “world-first solution that delivers actionable blast performance insights for optimal safety and productivity,” the company stated.
The crucial data aids in the detection of potential misfires and out-of-sequence firing and in identifying and tracking flyrock. Intra-blast monitoring also adds valuable wall control insights, such as monitoring and mapping instantaneous blast damage to slopes and identifying movement on significant structures.
GroundProbe is a member of blasting solutions provider the Orica Group, while GroundProbe specializes in geotechnical monitoring.
GroundProbe’s Chief Executive Officer David Noon said that GroundProbe leveraged this partnership to gain information around current blast monitoring methods through interviews with engineers.
“Through talking to mine site engineers responsible for blasting on the ground, we identified that many sites were still using quite simple and sometimes unsafe methods for blast analysis,” he stated. “Techniques included recording blasts with ground-based camera systems and conducting visual inspections of this footage to determine areas of concern. From this, the idea of using drone footage and automated algorithms to quickly identify key areas of interest was born.”
BlastVision takes custom high-speed drone footage of a blast as it happens. Using world-first advanced proprietary algorithms and modern AI frameworks, BlastVision converts the footage into analytics data. Data is remotely analyzed in the company’s custom software platform, with insights swiftly reported back to the site. From these insights, mine site personnel can optimize blasting and monitor the impacts of blasting, improving both safety and productivity.
GroundProbe’s Vice President Technology Fernanda Carrea said that no other solution provides the range of insights from the whole blast area that BlastVision provides, from start to finish.
“BlastVision provides an increased level of safety, efficiency, accuracy and productivity through our software algorithm automatically identifying key areas and issues,” Carrea stated. “Data is also able to be captured before, during and after a blast, and covers the blast area in its entirety. We can proudly say that this patent-pending technology is a world first.”
BlastVision has been tested, trialed or demonstrated across over 60 mine sites around the globe. As a result, BlastVision has positively impacted hundreds of drill and blast team members across these mine sites.
GroundProbe also announced plans to build a second dedicated manufacturing facility in Tucson, Ariz., marking a new chapter in its commitment to better serve their customers in the Northern hemisphere.
Announcing its plans at the recent International Slope Stability Symposium in Arizona, Noon said the new facility will open its doors in early 2023.
“As our global footprint and customer base continues to grow, so too does the volume and variety of products that we produce,” Noon said. “We saw it as an absolute necessity to bolster our offering and extend our manufacturing capability from Asia Pacific to the Americas. It means that from early 2023, we will be able to more readily deploy our safety-critical systems – systems that are integral to their ongoing operations and productivity – to our Northern hemisphere customers.”
GroundProbe, www.groundprobe.com/product/blastvision