Huawei-built MineHarmony enters commercial use with 5G+AI

Huawei announced that its MineHarmony OS entered the stage of large-scale commercial use which is powered by 5G+AI technology inspiring smart mining to a new phase. The IoT OS was rolled out commercially only in 2022.

Speaking at Huawei Connect 2022, Ken Hu, Rotating Chairman of Huawei, emphasized the company’s will to work with partners to help industry customers choose the right technology for their needs – and maximize their productivity.  

“To provide our customers with scenario-based solutions that truly meet their needs,” Hu said, “we have to work side-by-side to truly understand the challenges in their industry.”

Hu believes that Huawei’s Mine Team has made solid progress after just one year of commercial beginning.

MineHarmony OS deployment is growing

Particularly, MineHarmony OS is at the center which is a collaboration between Huawei and China Energy Investment Corporation. The system has already seen deployment on 3,300 sets of equipment in 13 mines and one coal washery.

Notably, the system has been deployed throughout the Wulanmulun (Ulan Moran) Mine in Inner Mongolia, where significant progress has been made in connectivity, interface, and data access. The operating system comprises a multitude of innovative scenarios, including smart control of equipment, and auto patrol of fixed sites. Additionally, the innovation also allows online upgrades of equipment. Previously, the time for an upgrade required a whole day which Huawei has now reduced to just 4 minutes.

Digitalization and smart mining transformation require reliable interconnectivity and interoperability of equipment and inaccessibility of data. Finding the most suitable network technologies is a key factor in the industry. Huawei has taken its 5G capabilities and its full optical connectivity with FTTM and IPv6+ underground into the pits. These technologies have low latency and high reliability. They are ideal for multiple scenarios from video backhaul to remote equipment control.

Huawei’s technologies address various challenges in the smart mining sector. Underground coal mines use lots of devices and equipment running on different protocols. Finding a way to connect them all is a major challenge. To overcome this, the Huawei Mine Team and China Energy teamed up with over 30 partners to develop MineHarmony in 3 months. It’s the first Internet of Things OS in the mining sector.

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MineHarmony is smart and versatile

As a leading-edge Industrial IoT OS, MineHarmony provides unified protocols for different equipment and also simplifies operations with unattended inspections. The system covers equipment of all sizes, and uses unified protocols, to enable data sharing between equipment. The interconnectivity between users and devices makes it even more worthwhile.

Besides, 5G+AI video stitching technologies also allow for remote and precise control of mining machines. This enables people to remotely control underground operations, thereby improving their work environment as well as mining safety.

With 5G transmitting real-time video of the main belts and AI algorithms identifying anomalies, the system turns time-phased manual inspections into 24/7 intelligent monitoring. It helps to cut the number of underground inspection personnel by 20%.

With cutting-edge ICTs, the Huawei Mine Team has created a mining Industrial Internet platform that runs on unified standards and frameworks and is dedicated to a unified set of data specifications.

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Huawei’s Mine Team bringing next-gen technologies into the mining industry

Huawei’s Mine Team has built a next-generation IoT with cloud platforms as the core, data as a key factor, and security as a safeguard. The team seeks to forge a new mode of applications that integrate next-generation information technologies into the mining sector for new modalities for mine companies, supply chains, and the industrial chain.

Likewise, the Team will work closely with the sector to unleash new value for the mining industry. Huawei believes its smart mining technologies help the industry to become safer and more efficient while reducing the number of people otherwise mobilized for undesirable and dangerous assignments.

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The digital transformation of industries brings both opportunities and challenges. Huawei looks forward to working with customers and partners in the spirit of openness, innovation, and collaboration. At the same time, Huawei encourages partners to work together to accelerate digitalization, unleash digital, and provide ever-more impetus for socio-economic growth.