Herman Hamersma | University of Pretoria, South Africa | ISTVS Terrabite
Channel: ISTVS
Date: 2023-08-03

Off-road advanced driver assist systems in the South African mining industry

Newly promulgated regulations in South Africa require technology to slow and stop earth-moving machines when there is a significant risk of collision. This regulation is unique to South Africa; no other region is mandated to use technology to slow and stop earth-moving equipment on mines.

​Numerous suppliers are entering the market with poorly designed products with limited performance. A contributing factor is the hostile mining environment, presenting several challenges to safely and repeatably implement advanced driver assist systems such as autonomous emergency braking. Conditions such as wet, undulating dirt roads, gradients, side slopes, widely varying payload, tyre wear and dust contribute to varied performance.

​The Vehicle Dynamics Group at the University of Pretoria is assisting the industry by defining what these products should do and how to test them safely. The talk will focus on current technical challenges and ongoing research and development to address them.

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