Hitachi advances autonomous mining vision

According to Mining News Pro - Hitachi is pioneering this approach to autonomy alongside its support for ISO standards and a drive to encourage new entrants into the industry.

The equipment manufacturer has publicly declared support for standards-based autonomy with this announcement. It will offer interoperable technology to assist mining companies in integrating new vendors into their existing infrastructure.

Hitachi’s support for open, interoperable autonomy is based on the philosophy for its partner-focused Solution Linkage platform.

“Open innovation is the guiding technological philosophy for Solution Linkage,” Hitachi vice president and executive officer, chief technology officer Hideshi Fukumoto said.

“Based on this philosophy, HCM is announcing its commitment to championing the customer enablement of autonomous mining through an open, interoperable ecosystem of partner solutions.

“We believe this open approach provides customers the greatest flexibility and control for integrating new autonomous solutions into their existing operations while reducing associated risks and costs of alternative approaches.”

Hitachi’s Solution Linkage initiative is already available in the construction industry and will now be offered in mining with support from Wenco.

Solution Linkage is a standards-based platform grounded on three principles: open innovation, interoperability and partner ecosystem.

In this context, open innovation means Hitachi’s support for open standards to enable the creation of multi-vendor solutions that reduce costs and increase value.

Hitachi’s capability of interoperability creates simplified connectivity between systems to reduce operational silos, enabling end-to-end visibility and control across the mining value chain.

The open autonomy approach rests on creating a partner ecosystem in which customers and third-party partners can leverage Hitachi’s experience and open platform to provide autonomous functionality and reduce the risk of technological adoption.

Hitachi will reveal further details on its approach to open autonomy and Solution Linkage at the CIM 2019 Convention in Canada next week.