PURPOSE:  This project will investigate the feasibility of wearable technologies to reliably collect and display information that will provide an improved awareness to the worker of existing and impending dangers.

RESEARCH SUMMARY:  Miners are constantly exposed to a dynamic and unpredictable hazardous environment. For instance, slipping and tripping hazards are created by mine conditions such as water, mud, uneven floors, and mine-floor obstacles; moving machinery in the confined mine environment creates pinning and striking hazards. We infer from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) data (1999 to 2003) that the most severe underground mining nonfatal lost-time injuries are for the categories of slips/falls and powered haulage because these injuries resulted in the most lost workdays; a median of 29 lost days for each category. Miners must constantly be able to monitor this hazardous environment in real-time so they can be aware of impending and existing hazards; however, current access to this crucial data is limited. The research scope is for underground coal mining face workers, it is expected this research will readily be applicable to other mining methods and commodities.

The specific aims of the research are: 1) identification of hazards for which smart wearable technologies and equipment are appropriate; 2) identification of the uses and limitations of smart wearable technologies with respect to miners in the mine environment; 3) the determination of barriers to effective use of smart wearable technologies. Multiple tasks are defined to realize the specific aims. The first task is to study the mine environment and analyze MSHA accident data in order to determine the crucial environmental parameters needed by mine workers to identify hazards. The second task is to conduct a literature review on appropriate sensor, monitoring, and display devices that will enable the collection, processing, and displaying of crucial hazard information to miners. The third task is to examine and evaluate wearable technologies, as identified by task 2, in terms of wearabilty. The parameters for wearablility include placement, shape, human movement requirements, size diversity, attachment methods, weight, and accessibility. The final task concerns the dissemination of findings through various publications.

The research findings will address the feasibilities and limitations of wearable technology for making miners aware of impending and existing mine hazards. The findings will identify specific mine hazards that could be identified, in real-time, by using wearable technology. The results will be used to determine if additional research is warranted.