Emesent has developed cutting-edge stope mapping technology that harnesses the power of AI, autonomy and data visualisation.
With state-of-the-art mapping systems and breakthrough advancements in autonomous exploration, Emesent is one company transforming the way mines around the world approach safety, efficiency and decision-making.
At the heart of this transformation is Emesent’s Hovermap, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mapping and autonomy payload mounted to drones, designed specifically for GPS-denied and challenging underground environments.
With the latest advancements to Hovermap Autonomy, which is powered by Emesent’s Cortex software and communicated through its intuitive Commander application, Emesent is on a mission to elevate the concept of autonomous exploration in the mining sector.
The end of manual surveying?
Mining operations can face critical challenges in underground stope mapping, including inefficiency, safety risks and restricted access to complex environments.
Traditional stope mapping methods rely on manual intervention, exposing surveyors to potentially dangerous environments while often missing key data points due to blind spots.
Emesent’s Hovermap, however, aims to completely transform this approach by introducing full autonomy.
Hovermap’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered autonomous exploration allows drones to scan a defined area without the need for human interaction.
Instead of requiring constant manual control, Hovermap autonomously explores within a user-defined bounding box, adjusting dynamically to obstacles and other environmental variables. This true autonomy represents a leap from traditional drone-based surveying systems that often necessitate manual pilot control or frequent mode-switching.
By autonomously navigating through tight spaces – some gaps as small as 2.4m – Hovermap dramatically reduces the risk of incidents such as drone crashes or miscalculations due to human error.
“These innovations reduce operational downtime, enhance safety by keeping personnel out of hazardous areas, and simplify deployment with minimal training required,” Emesent co-founder and chief strategy officer Stefan Hrabar told Safe to Work.
“By leveraging advanced SLAM (simultaneous location and mapping)-based perception, real-time LiDAR processing, and allowing seamless integration with third-party software, Hovermap ensures complete and accurate underground mapping.
“Emesent’s breakthrough in AI-powered autonomy is not just a change to workflow; it’s a major leap in underground mapping, setting a new benchmark for efficiency, safety and digital transformation in the mining industry.”
Real-time data processing
Emesent’s technology shines with its onboard data processing capabilities. Traditional underground surveying systems often involve the time-consuming process of collecting data and transporting it to the surface for processing and analysis. This delay can lead to costly downtime and slow decision-making.
Hovermap, on the other hand, allows for immediate data visualisation while still underground.
Using onboard computing power, Emesent’s Hovermap processes the captured LiDAR data, creates point clouds, and allows viewing of on-site via Commander.
This innovation provides surveyors with an immediate, final data product, ready for integration with mine planning tools.
The power of AI
Traditional mining surveying methods often rely on human reasoning to make decisions about the best way to capture data, and pilot-assisted drones frequently struggle to collect accurate data in complex environments.
Emesent, however, has integrated AI into Hovermap’s autonomy system to help enable smarter, more efficient exploration of hard-to-reach areas.
Hovermap’s AI algorithms autonomously adjust flight paths, detect obstacles, and optimise data capture with a level of precision that many manual operations simply cannot match. As a result, mining operations benefit from a more complete and accurate 3D model of the underground environment, which directly supports better resource estimation, geotechnical assessments and hazard detection.
Hovermap is a highly versatile platform, meaning it can be deployed on various types of drones, ground robots, and even vehicles such as load haul dump (LHD) machines or trucks. This multi-platform capability allows mining operations to adopt Emesent’s technology with minimal disruption to their current systems.
“Emesent’s AI-powered autonomy goes beyond existing drone solutions by combining advanced SLAM-based perception, real-time decision-making, and plug-and-play versatility,” Hrabar said.
“Emesent reduces the need for pilot expertise, allowing anyone in a mining crew to operate the system with minimal training.
“By radically enhancing safety, increasing efficiency, and unlocking previously inaccessible mining areas, Emesent offers not just an incremental improvement – it is a transformative leap forward in underground autonomy.”
A lasting impact
By removing personnel from dangerous environments, Emesent is helping to reduce the risk of injuries and incident in mines. Fewer workers need to enter hazardous stopes, ore passes, or unstable areas, helping to create a safer working environment for all involved.
“Emesent’s stope mapping solution transforms underground mining by enhancing safety, efficiency and accessibility in stope mapping,” Hrabar said.
“These advancements significantly impact the industry by eliminating traditional limitations, reducing operational risks and optimising decision-making processes.”
Autonomous exploration reduces the time required to collect and process data, enabling mining companies to operate more smoothly with fewer delays. The result is not only a reduction in downtime but also the ability to make quicker, more informed decisions about mine planning, resource extraction and safety management.
Fully autonomous navigation also helps to ensure that even the most difficult-to-reach areas are fully scanned, eliminating blind spots and providing a more accurate and complete data set. This can lead to better mine planning, improved resource estimation, and a greater ability to anticipate and mitigate potential risks.
“For example, say a mining operation struggling with incomplete CMS (cavity monitoring system) scans deploys Hovermap,” Emesent co-founder and chief technical officer Farid Kendoul told Safe to Work.
“Within minutes, a fully autonomous scan captures a detailed model, reducing the time spent underground and providing actionable insights for mine planning.”
Full autonomy, full value
Kendoul said Emesent’s advancements in autonomy and AI-powered technology offer measurable business value.
“By reducing mapping-related downtime, mines have seen cost savings of up to $500,000 per year, depending on operation size,” he said.
“Additionally, mines using Emesent Hovermap have reported a 60–80 per cent reduction in the time required to capture and process stope data, allowing for faster operational decision-making.
“One mining operation using Emesent Hovermap saw a 40 per cent reduction in personnel entering hazardous areas for data collection, directly improving workplace safety.”
This reduction in exposure to potentially dangerous environments can directly translate to fewer costly incidents and improved workplace safety.
“The benefits of Emesent’s fully autonomous stope mapping are clearly measurable, with significant improvements in safety, efficiency, cost savings, and data accuracy,” Kendoul said.
“These quantifiable gains enable mining operations to make data-driven decisions, reduce risks, and optimise productivity, marking a new standard in underground mapping technology.”
Powering up a new era
Emesent’s fully autonomous exploration and mapping powered by AI is not only on the cutting edge of transformational mining technology, it paves the way for broader applications across multiple sectors.
From infrastructure inspection and disaster response to defence and smart cities, the potential of Emesent’s autonomous exploration extends far beyond underground mapping.
The combination of AI, SLAM, and LiDAR technology is helping to create safer, more efficient, and more reliable surveying systems, with Hovermap now making a difference in over 200 mines worldwide.
“Emesent’s advanced, AI-powered autonomous solutions are not just a leap forward in underground mining technology, they are a bold step toward a future defined by greater efficiency, improved safety and groundbreaking innovations across industries,” Hrabar said.
“As we move further into an age of automation, Emesent is paving the way for smarter, more sustainable and safer operations in the most challenging environments.”
This feature appeared in the May–June edition of Safe to Work.