Tata Steel has inked a pact with Bengaluru-based drone startup Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS) to develop solutions that will enhance the efficiency and productivity of open cast mining operations.
AUS, which originated in the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, would also provide other Tata Group companies with exclusive drone-based solutions, including mine analytics and geotechnical mapping.
On the partnership, D B Sundara Ramam, vice-president of raw materials at Tata Steel, said drone survey-enabled digitalisation and other technologies would assist the firm in gathering impactful and actionable insights.
“We see enormous potential in redefining core mining processes such as exploration and mine planning using drone data and adequate analytics,” Ramam said.
The company said such end-to-end mining solutions are economical, demand fewer on-foot exploration requirements, and improve production, efficiency, and site safety.
Tata Steel also said that digitalisation would enable the development of targeted strategies using real-time data and data analytics and would provide decision matrix tools to predict failure. It will also help in the optimisation of scheduling and material flow.
Vipul Singh, founder and CEO of Aarav Unmanned Systems, said: “Tata Steel’s trust in us to create end-to-end solutions jointly with them, for the domestic and global mining industry, directly reflects on the vision we share and openness of a behemoth like Tata Steel to partner with a startup to derive the most effective solution.”
With inputs from PTI
