Published in June 2008 Australian Longwall Magazine

The initiative is the latest in the quest to best prepare miners for an emergency situation.

During June the Newcastle Mines Rescue Station used its three virtual reality theatres for three simulations to test the rescue teams: the AVIE, a large 360-degree cylindrical, totally immersive system designed for group training; the AVIE-SC, a large semi-circular system for group training; and the iDOME, a 4m high display system designed for one to three people.

AVIE was used to display the visual effect of an outburst to a competing team which then had to deal with resulting casualties requiring resuscitation and CPR. The iDOMEs were used to test the mine plan reading capabilities of the team, requiring the participants to negotiate their way around a “virtual” underground panel. Roof fall and subsequent treatment of impact injuries were demonstrated and assessed using the AVIE-SC.

“It is so real that I have had experienced miners in the theatre walk up to a piece of equipment that is in 3D and you see them move their head out of the way when the equipment gets closer,” Newcastle Mines Rescue Station North manager Seamus Devlin said.

Devlin said since the Newcastle Mines Rescue Station started up its virtual reality centre in December last year, it has put 5000 miners through the theatres. One colliery even got the station to put 1700 prospective employees through the training as part of its selection criteria.

So far, NewSouth Innovations (NSi), the commercial arm of the University of New South Wales, the technology’s developer, has sold and installed four AVIEs, three AVIE-SCs and 12 iDomes.

NSi is now also looking overseas with the technology and is currently in discussions with an Indian company. It has also received requests from Argentina and China.

“These regions are making huge investments into mining and need ways to train and retrain staff more cost effectively and safely,” NSi general manager Alan El-Kadhi said.

For El-Kadhi the immediate goal for NSi is to set up two commercial companies to extend the scope of the technology. The first company would manufacture, sell, install and support the display systems and the second company would custom develop and sell interactive VR training modules.

For Devlin, he said he and his team have only scratched the surface of what can be done with the technology. Even within the coal industry there are many more uses, with Devlin being approached recently by a mine to see if it could be used to train operators to drive mining machinery.