Truck Localisation in a Mine Using Sparse Observations

In mining, Fleet Management Systems (FMS) are useful tools for reporting and improving mine efficiency, though comprehensive FMS are expensive to install and maintain. This paper examines an alternative method using a particle filter algorithm to localise a fleet of haul trucks in a mine, providing most of the functionality of a complete FMS without the expensive hardware and installation. Most FMS require constant radio communication with all haul vehicles. The new method described here uses only node to node communication which requires less hardware and infrastructure to operate. The system has shown to be effective using data collected from two mines.