Robofuel’s automated refuelling involves the application of a robotic arm to refuel conventional mining equipment to both increase productive hours and efficiency of trucks and reduce cash costs on site.
Typically, traditional fuel tanks are manned by at least one person at all times and trucks can spend up to one hour per day travelling to refuel in isolated areas away from the pit.
As there is no manning required for an automated refuelling solution, refuelling stations are able to be placed “on the circuit” or even “in-pit” so trucks can significantly reduce the amount of time dedicated to and from fuel stations each day.
Scott Automation & Robotics Robofuel system uses a state-of-the-art vision sensing and detection system which allows the robot to locate the position and orientation of the truck’s fuel tank. This information is used to couple the fuel nozzle with the tank. Fuel spillages are minimised through the controlled coupling and pumping, mitigating the risk of environmental contamination.
