Resources Technology Showcase 2021: Mobile CUT Mine simulator gives people a taste of life underground

Please don your high-vis vests and safety glasses as you prepare to enter immersive experiences you’d never know weren’t the real thing.

North Metropolitan TAFE and South Metropolitan TAFE will be on hand at the Resources Technology Showcase to show off the latest in training tech for students interested in entering the mining and resources industry.

Visitors will be treated to a chance to experience the Mobile CUT Mine. A miniature replica of the unique simulated underground CUT Mine located at North Metropolitan TAFE’s Perth campus, the mobile “mine” allows visitors to hear and see exactly what you would in a real underground mine but without needing to travel as it has come to the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Available to tour today and tomorrow, the replica is an incredible opportunity for the younger generation to see what the future could hold for them, according to North Metropolitan TAFE marketing and communications manager Katie Whitham.

“It is used to expose our students to a real underground mine environment, prior to them gaining employment,” she said.

The replica was a huge success when it made its off-site debut at the RTS in 2019 with visitors even undergoing an animated induction of the site before entering.

But that’s not all that you can see.

“Visitors will ‘meet’ — through 3D animation — a surveyor, environmental scientist, geologist, metallurgist, VR developer and robotics technician and learn about some of the technologies they use within their jobs,” Ms Whitham said.

South Metropolitan TAFE will also be showcasing augmented reality at the stand with a welding simulator.

The simulator uses 3D objects and overlays with images that have been generated by a computer, creating a safe environment for students to learn in, before they’re skilled enough to move into a real workshop.

SM TAFE managing director Terry Durant said visitors to RTS would get a taste of what their courses had to offer.

“We are proud to be part of the Resources Technology Showcase once again and to have the opportunity to exhibit our cutting-edge technology in automation, defence, resources, applied engineering,” Ms Durant said.

“SM TAFE is leading the VET sector in automation training through our partnership with Rio Tinto Iron Ore for the development of Australia’s first qualifications in autonomous and remote operations. We are always striving to be at the forefront of training in rapidly evolving technologies.”

SM TAFE will also be bringing along mBots, programmable mobile robot trucks which are controlled through an app on mobile devices — and visitors can operate them from iPads at the booth.

This automation display is set to simulate a mine site with the mBot dump trucks collecting and offloading rocks.

Keeping on a similar theme, guests will be able to operate a robot arm at the push of a button.

The Smart Factory Nachi Robot Arm is programmed to pick up a bottle and fill it with liquid to simulate the robotic technology used in factories.

This advanced technology is part of the training for those studying robotics and technical engineering at SM TAFE.

The Resources Technology Showcase is free, and is open on June 21 and 22 from 9am – 4.30pm at PCEC.

For more information visit rtsperth.com.au.