From L to R: Jeff Katchmar, Rob Chuipka, Clint Bickel, Andrew Marques, Sean McKenzie, and Bridget Corriveau.

 

It looks like a dog and responds to commands, but Spot isn’t a real canine. Spot is an agile mobile robot designed by Boston Dynamics, and you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking it’s something created for a part in a science fiction movie. 

Spot is the newest robotic member of the Thompson Vale family. Stacy Kennedy, Head of the Manitoba Operations, based in Thompson, Manitoba, said Spot can assess different situations and gather data with a variety of tools. “Spot is a user-friendly plug and play robot that we can use in hazardous environments that we don’t want to put the team in.”   

 

Spot arrived in Thompson in late December 2022, and was brought to each building on site and tested in different environments. So far, Spot is the only robotic dog used by Vale in Canada, and the only one of its kind to be adopted into a mining and milling operation in Canada. It is also a first for Mine Rescue. 

Spot uses an infrared camera and a light direction and ranging (LiDAR) scanner to take data points to form an image of any given area. A LiDAR system bounces laser pulses off objects to locate and measure them. A laser beam transmitter emits the light, which is returned to a receiver. This allows super accurate results to be delivered very quickly. By sending Spot in to scout out terrain, it can deliver data, allowing our teams to plan and prepare for whatever situation is at hand. 

“Spot is quite user friendly and is operated by a Nintendo-like switch console,” Stacy said. “If you command it to walk forward, it can move around an obstacle and still maintain its course. We brought in technicians to train a team of five people at Thompson to operate Spot. We included Maintenance, Learning & Development, Safety, the North Atlantic Business Transformation Group and our Engineering team.”  

There is great potential for Spot to be used in emergency response situations, Stacy adds. It’s a valuable option to have if an emergency event occurs where circumstances make it difficult for people to safely access the area. “Spot can be used in confined spaces, or any environmental or air quality condition that is hazardous for our employees,” Stacy said. “We are willing to try different ways of using Spot to remove humans from potentially dangerous situations.” 

Spot will be used to conduct auto walks in two closed facilities being decommissioned. The auto walk function has been tested in our General Office using the infrared camera, and LiDAR scanning was used to check electrical infrastructure and valves and simply to inspect fire extinguishers. “We are also considering using Spot to scan ball and rod mills eliminating human exposure and other inspections and routine tasks,” Stacy said. 

As with most new technologies, there are some obstacles to overcome. For instance, Spot was not particularly designed for underground use. “Spot can travel 150 feet ahead of the operator in ideal conditions. Underground, we have challenging terrain, varying levels of lighting, often headlamps only, and limited line of sight for the operator,” Stacy said. “Lighting was surprisingly the main challenge and the team solved that problem by strapping a miner’s flashlight to Spot’s belly with duct tape, and it worked! We are still working to resolve other constraints and learn more about Spot’s capabilities and other creative options to ensure Spot is fully effective. Spot has exceeded our expectations underground so far.”  

Not only is Spot in the limelight at Vale, Stacy has reached out to schoolboards and the community of Thompson as well to show this new cutting edge tool. “We are going to bring in the rescue team to various schools to demonstrate how Spot works and let the kids see robotics in action. We have set up a colouring contest with images of Spot and we’ve asked the kids to give Spot a new name.” 

And it’s not just little kids that will be able to see Spot. Stacy has plans to tour Spot at the University College of the North, and show Spot in action to mining companies in the area such as HudBay Minerals  and Tantalum Mining as well as the local RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and City Fire Department.