Technology for deep underground: Jannatec developing wearable modules to monitor heat, connectivity underground.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: Mining

As early as next spring, Jannatec Technologies could debut the first components of its wearable technology, which will help cool underground miners, monitor their vital signs and enhance their overall health and safety.

A contributor to the Ultra-Deep Mining Network, the Sudbury-based company has been working for three years on the technology that will allow miners to work in mines that descend to 2.5 kilometres or more.

As mines get deeper, temperatures are hotter, miners are more isolated, and it takes longer to ascend to surface. Companies like Jannatec are developing technology to combat the heat, isolation and other challenges miners may encounter.

"What we've done is developed a data hub, which is a wearable computer with the same functionality as a cell phone, without the ability to make calls necessarily, and that works as the backbone of the whole thing," said Steffen Luoma, Jannatec's senior research scientist, during a recent open house at the facility.

That data hub "talks" to other modules that all connect to one system designed to serve various functions while underground.

An environmental sensor module measures the temperature and humidity at a miner's location, so that the miner can determine whether they can safety continue to work. It connects to a vest, worn by the miner under their coveralls, with 12 modules that can actually remove heat from the body.

Everyone responds differently to heat, Luoma said, and a miner's temperature could be influenced by things like how well they've acclimatized, or even what they've had to eat.

"You can always check and see what your temperature is and modify your behaviour according to the conditions," Luoma said. "And it can also send out an alert if it's too hot to work."

Sensors in the brim of an integrated helmet can measure the heart rate and skin temperature of the miner, indicating if they are overexerting themselves and need to take a rest. It also comes equipped with LED lights, which emit a bright blue light that's highly visible underground and changes to a red warning light if a vehicle is in the vicinity.

The helmet's camera, which switches off when not in use, can record video clips or photos to the data hub. It's useful if a miner wants to snap a photo of some interesting geology to show a geologist back on surface, or needs a closeup of a piece of underground equipment for the mechanic who will be doing maintenance on the machine.

Eventually, the technology could evolve to...