Improving Safety For Miners By Providing A Wireless Real Time Locating System

描述（由申请人提供）：采矿是危险的，因为它是我们国家的经济福祉至关重要。拟议的研究旨在通过提供一个真实的时间无线跟踪和监控系统（TAMS），显着提高工作场所的安全矿工。每个矿工都将佩戴一个TAMS设备，该设备将提供矿工的位置并实时监测环境危害。由此产生的位置数据对于指导紧急情况下的救援工作至关重要，并将允许在矿山环境中进行滞留工作流程分析，以提高作业安全性。由此产生的环境数据将提供矿工暴露于环境危害的即时和累积计量。通过合并这两个数据集，将可获得关于矿山环境中环境威胁的性质和位置的前所未有的详细信息。 拟议研究的长期目标是大幅改善矿工的工作场所安全。具体目标是确定适合在矿井环境中使用的无线跟踪技术的可行性。TAMS成功的关键是一种有效的无线跟踪技术，能够科普矿井中恶劣的传播环境。拟议的研究将使用突破性的无线跟踪技术进行调查：近场电磁测距或“NFER”。通过理论分析和真实的世界无线电测量相结合，在一个废弃的矿井，拟议的研究旨在建立TAMS概念的可行性。此外，拟议的工作包括概念验证演示，以严格验证系统的初步设计。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Mining is as dangerous as it is critical to our nation's economic well-being. The proposed research aims to significantly enhance workplace safety for miners by providing a real time wireless tracking and monitoring system (TAMS). A TAMS device will be worn by each miner and will provide both the miner's location and monitor real-time exposure to environmental hazards. The resulting location data will be critical in guiding rescue efforts in case of emergency, and will allow detained workflow analysis in a mine environment to improve the safety of operations. The resulting environmental data will provide both an instantaneous and cumulative measure of miners' exposure to environmental hazards. By fusing the two data sets, an unprecedented level of detailed information will be available on both the nature and location of environmental threats in the mine environment. The long term objective of the proposed research is a dramatic improvement in workplace safety for miners. The specific aim is to establish the feasibility of a wireless tracking technology suitable for use in a mine environment. The key to successful TAMS is an effective wireless tracking technology that can cope with the difficult propagation environment in mines. The proposed research will investigate using a breakthrough wireless tracking technology: near field electromagnetic ranging or "NFER". Through a combination of theoretical analysis and real world radio measurements in an abandoned mine, the proposed research aims to establish the feasibility of the TAMS concept. Further, the proposed effort includes a proof-of-concept demonstration to rigorously validate a preliminary design for the system.