mine
Latest
Volvo's self-driving trucks will haul limestone from a mine
Sometimes, it's the least glamorous uses of self-driving tech that can be the most important. Volvo has struck a deal that will have six of its autonomous trucks carrying limestone from a Brønnøy Kalk mine in Norway to a port roughly 3 miles away. That might not sound exciting on the surface, but the company isn't just selling the trucks and moving on. This is Volvo Trucks' very first end-to-end autonomous offering -- the mining company is paying for every metric tonne Volvo delivers. In other words, Volvo has a strong incentive to make sure its driverless tech works as promised, as it won't be paid otherwise.
The Kafon Drone clears minefields 20 times faster than people
The manufacture, dissemination and use of anti-personnel mines were effectively banned in the late 1990s when 133 nations signed the Ottawa Treaty. But despite that international agreement, an estimated 100 million mines remain buried beneath former war zones where they kill or maim an average of 10 people per day. Using conventional methods -- whether that involves detector animals, human deminers or armored vehicles -- we'd need more than millennium to deactivate them all. The creators of this mine-hunting UAV, however, figure they can get it done in a little over a decade.
Google Mine service reportedly leaked, lets Google+ friends share real goods
Google is big on sharing all things virtual, but it hasn't done a lot to spread the wealth in the physical world. That could change soon: Google Operating System claims to have spotted an in-development Google Mine service that can simplify lending tangible goods. Users can list what they're sharing, offer items to their Google+ circles and keep track of who has what. The web version can reportedly show a collection in 3D through a WebGL viewer named Katamari, and there's also an Android app in tow. The feature set sounds ideal for generous Google+ users; the real question is whether we'll get to use any of it. Mine is supposedly limited to internal testing for now, and only some of Google's initiatives ever leave its campus. Google hasn't confirmed the effort, but the company tells us that it's "always experimenting" with features and doesn't have anything to share "at this time." Connected borrowers will just have to be patient, then -- assuming the service launches at all.
Building the perfect fortress in Camelot Unchained [Updated]
The Camelot Unchained team has just released a new video dev blog for Kickstarter backers outlining some fairly ambitious plans for mining and construction in the upcoming PvE-free sandbox. The system will involve combinations of custom and prefab cells in which players so inclined can build up the empires and trading posts and fortifications of their dreams. And in a nod to games like Minecraft, the construction mechanics are built on a foundation of supplies procured through co-op mining gameplay. Ahead of the reveal, we asked City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs a few questions about the systems he's proposing, from the influence of Mojang's popular sandbox to whether mining will become my new part-time job. Read on for the complete interview! [Update: As of Monday, CSE has also released the document form of the housing plans.]
Alt-week 27.10.12: ancient texts, super-Earths and special-ops mice
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. If, like us, you struggle to read the front of the Corn Flakes box of a morning, you likely gave up any hope of cracking ancient codes long ago. If you didn't, however, then your time might be now -- as one of the oldest scripts know to man is still up for grabs. Prefer just to observe? No problem, as we've got super-Earth-searching satellites, military mice and vertical farms, all for your viewing reading pleasure. If you hadn't guessed already, this is alt-week
Smartphone-powered mine detectors readied for field-testing in Cambodia (video)
Red Lotus Technologies is now refining and pitching its PETALS technology for real-world use around the world. Short for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Landmine Sensing, the system connects acoustic sensors to smartphones, outputting a silhouette of what lies below onto the phone's screen. The company has expanded from an initial research project that paired mine-detecting sensors with the processing clout (and availability of) smartphones. It's now developed some tablet-based training equipment for de-miners and, working alongside the Landmine Relief Fund, aims to field-test the devices in Cambodia before launching them next year.
US Navy deploys SeaFox submarines to Persian Gulf for universal mine control
Tasked with mine detection and eradication in the Persian Gulf, the US Navy has sent a fleet of unmanned submarines to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open in Iran. Dubbed the SeaFox, each vehicle houses an underwater TV camera, sonar and a dose of explosives. Tipping the scales at less than 100 pounds, the subs are about four feet in length and are controlled via fiber optic cable that sends the live feed back to the captain of each ship. SeaFoxes can dive to depths of 300 meters and boasts a top speed of six knots. The units are thrust into action from helicopters, small rubber boats and off the rear of minesweepers and are capable of disposing of the aforementioned weapons of both the floating and drifting sort. There is one small catch: the $100,000 submarine destroys itself in the process, making each successful trek a suicide mission of sorts.
Mine of WorldCraft blockifies Azeroth
YouTube user and Minecraft enthusiast Haasth22 has replicated some of the human starting experience in popular indie title Minecraft, complete with blockified tier 2 Judgement armor and quest NPCs. Sure, it's heavily edited, but who doesn't love seeing Azeroth all blocky with that recognizable Minecraft charm? Whatever you do, don't watch the movie while playing WoW, because you will alt-tab into game to see if you got a message or a whisper (like I'm doing right now) while listening to the sounds of the video. If you've got other cool recreations of WoW in Minecraft, we'd love to see it. You can always use our tip line to send us videos, questions, and suggestions. Heck, you could even shoot us a compliment. We love compliments.
Gemini-Scout robot can scope out mining accidents, may save lives (video)
We've seen robots capable of entering hazardous nuclear plants and dangerous buildings, but engineers at Sandia Labs have now unveiled a new rescue bot that's explicitly designed to enter and investigate collapsed mines, as well. Measuring just two feet tall and less than four feet in length, the Gemini-Scout Mine Rescue Robot packs a set of gas sensors, a thermal camera and a two-way radio, allowing it to detect dangerous underground materials and relay critical information to above-ground rescue workers. Its can also navigate across rocky terrain, tight quarters, or flooded tunnels, and is sturdy enough to carry food and other supplies to trapped miners. Operators, meanwhile, can manipulate the Gemini-Scout using only an Xbox 360 controller, which was incorporated into the system on the strength of its intuitive design and UI. Sandia's engineers demoed their bot last week in DC and are hoping to begin licensing it to rescue agencies by the end of next year. Crawl past the break for a video of their creation, along with a full press release.
Metal detectors and smartphones make beautiful, mine-sniffing music together
Harvard researchers have married a smartphone to a metal detector to create PETALS, a low cost way to improve mine detection in third-world countries. Traditionally, locating land mines has required a carefully trained ear to distinguish deadly explosives from, say, a can. This new system removes some of the guesswork by mapping the beeps on a cell phone screen, creating a silhouette of whatever is beneath the surface. Similar results have been accomplished using acoustic sensors, but so far they've been relegated to research projects and would likely be too expensive for use where they're needed most. Not only should the simplicity of PETALS (which stands for Pattern Enhancement Tool for Assisting Land mine Sensing) make it cheap and easy to deploy but, in tests novice de-miners were able to improve their performance by 80 percent -- that's a least a few less brave humanitarians going "boom" in the field.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a Miner
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the twenty-eighth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class (or profession!) well, without embarrassing yourself. Mining is one of the strangest professions in the World of Warcraft. This may seem counterintuitive in the face of such odd professions as alchemy, and more particularly, engineering. But when you think of it, mining is equally strange in its own way.Mining in the World of Earthiness is by and large a capitalist venture, where the people getting rich off of the various precious metals in the world are never ever the same people who actually go out and dig the stuff out of the ground. No, the rich people find other people do to the actual digging for them, and then compel those diggers to hand over the fruits of their hard work for a mere fraction of the work's actual value. Furthermore, precious metals here on Earth are not simply lying about at the surface for anyone with a pickaxe to come along and collect -- otherwise those metals wouldn't be precious anymore. Mining on Azeroth is more like collecting interesting seashells than it is anything similar to what humans do on Earth. Below, we will find a few ideas about why in the world only the very greatest adventurers with the best training can go around picking up shiny ore nodes sticking up out of the ground, as well as what it might mean to your character to do so.
Mining mechanics changed, one hit per node
The updated 3.0.8 patch notes released today have an interesting, yet significant, change to mining.Miners will now only hit the node once to get all the ore and associated loot.This change might seem mundane but it actually carries some significant weight. Farmers regularly fly or run around zones, stopping at every node they see. Under the current system most nodes required between two and four hits to extract all the ore, sometimes even more for the rich nodes. An ore farmer would spend a portion of his time ensuring the mobs were cleared around the node enough so that he would be able to hit it multiple times, and then actually spend the minute sitting on the node farming it.With the one hit method that is now being implemented in 3.0.8, the process becomes significantly easier. Point, click, wait a second, fly off to the other destination, profit. There's no "???" in there, just a pure and easy way to make money.
Morality and legality in EVE Online
One of the strengths of EVE Online is that the game's professions can be freeform. Many players take the standard route of being a miner or a mission runner. However, new and deviant professions have arisen in a kind of symbiosis with the more established trades in the game. This is the focus of an article called 'Morality and Legality', written by ISD Magnus Balteus of CCP Games. 'Morality and Legality' looks at two of the sketchier professions that sprang from EVE's more standard career paths. Mining has given rise to ore theft, which boils down to theft that has the side benefit of potentially baiting the victim into combat, even in high security space. If the ore thief or 'can flipper' is successful, he or she can make off with the ore that someone else mined plus the modules looted from the miner's ship wreck. The morality of this type of career doesn't even enter into the equation... this is EVE. CCP's unwillingness to change the game mechanics involved in can flipping means that this is not an exploit, it's a valid profession, albeit not in the mind of the miner victim.
Camera kit smartens up Claymore land mine
Like most underground anti-personnel mines, above-ground Claymore land mines (notorious for having "front toward enemy" spelled out on their housings), are considered "dumb," since they're incapable of distinguishing innocent bystanders from the enemy. Claymore Camera Kits add the brains that Claymores have been missing since their introduction over 50 years ago, transforming the weapon from tragically stupid to useful and intelligent (or at least as useful and intelligent as something that's designed to kill and maim can be). The compact camera unit is mounted atop the mine, enabling command-detonation upon proper identification of the target. A motion-detecting sensor can be added to ensure that no one sneaks past the mine and there's even an option to record video feedback with GPS positioning. The infrared camera has outputs from 380 to 600 TV lines and connects to standard Giraffe tactical ruggedized display units with cable reels ranging from 50 to 200 meters in length -- not exactly new technology, but at least you can see who you're blowing up.
iPod homage seen from space
Sometimes even his Steveness is guilty of having too much time on his hands. Apparently, Mr. Jobs won an abandoned mineral mine in Australia in a game of poker (or so the digg post says). So what does Steve do with the land? Why, construct the world's largest homage to the iPod, of course! The site can be seen from space (Google Maps link) and still looks to be a work in progress - but wow. I wonder if this is Apple's attempt at putting little white music players in the hands of little green men.
