{"title":"The Designers’ Perspective on Autonomous Mining Systems and Sociotechnology","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s42461-024-00952-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>Digitalization and automation technology offer new possibilities to increase productivity and obtain higher levels of autonomy in mining operations. Introducing autonomous systems into mining is not only a technical problem in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, nor a problem of safety in human-automation interactions. The systems also need to be designed and developed so that they foster healthy and attractive working environments. The design and development phase of new mining technology has not been extensively studied previously. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated technology developers’ basic assumptions about humans and their interactions with the technology they develop. We conducted five semi-structured workshops within an EU funded project concerned with developing digitalization and automation solutions for the mining industry. The data suggests that many critical functions will still be under human control in future mining systems. The results also indicate increased complexity in the interaction between autonomous systems and humans as the technology becomes more advanced. As a result, we suggest that a human perspective, based on sociotechnical principles, should not only be considered in implementing the technology at mines but also in the early conceptual phases of developing and designing the technology. This will ensure healthy and attractive work environments in the future mining industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":18588,"journal":{"name":"Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-024-00952-0","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"METALLURGY & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Digitalization and automation technology offer new possibilities to increase productivity and obtain higher levels of autonomy in mining operations. Introducing autonomous systems into mining is not only a technical problem in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, nor a problem of safety in human-automation interactions. The systems also need to be designed and developed so that they foster healthy and attractive working environments. The design and development phase of new mining technology has not been extensively studied previously. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated technology developers’ basic assumptions about humans and their interactions with the technology they develop. We conducted five semi-structured workshops within an EU funded project concerned with developing digitalization and automation solutions for the mining industry. The data suggests that many critical functions will still be under human control in future mining systems. The results also indicate increased complexity in the interaction between autonomous systems and humans as the technology becomes more advanced. As a result, we suggest that a human perspective, based on sociotechnical principles, should not only be considered in implementing the technology at mines but also in the early conceptual phases of developing and designing the technology. This will ensure healthy and attractive work environments in the future mining industry.
期刊介绍：
The aim of this international peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) is to provide a broad-based forum for the exchange of real-world and theoretical knowledge from academia, government and industry that is pertinent to mining, mineral/metallurgical processing, exploration and other fields served by the Society.
The journal publishes high-quality original research publications, in-depth special review articles, reviews of state-of-the-art and innovative technologies and industry methodologies, communications of work of topical and emerging interest, and other works that enhance understanding on both the fundamental and practical levels.
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