Recent advances, challenges and future trends for the applications of low power wide area networks (LPWANs) technologies in underground mines

Abstract

Technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), Industrial Communication Systems (ICS), Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Communication, Extended Reality (XR), Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) are becoming an integral part of the future of underground mines with applications in health and safety, productivity, energy efficiency and cost optimisation. These technologies rely heavily on their efficiency to establish seamless wireless connectivity to perform optimally. For a long time, underground mines relied on the short to medium range network systems such as the wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee, Bluetooth and ultrawide bandwidth (UWB) for data transmission. However, in typical underground mining environments, these technologies suffer from limited range, poor line-of-sight (LoS), signal fading and multipath effects, they consume more power and are relatively high-cost systems. Around the 2010s, Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) communication systems were revitalised and emerged to overcome these challenges. These technologies are characterised by wide area coverage, low power consumption and operate at low cost. However, this is achieved at the expense of reduced data rates. This allowed the LPWAN technologies to thrive in a number of industries operating on surface and outdoor environments. These technologies have also succeeded in indoor environments due to their good penetration through walls. Recently, they are gaining good traction in the mining industry including underground mines. However, very little is known about their successes in underground mines. This study examines and provides a status update of the current and some emerging LPWAN technologies.