S2E024 David Hallett, Sandvik VP Automation: Unlocking 15% Productivity Leap with AutoMine® Aura

<p>Twenty years after introducing AutoMine®, @SandvikMining1 didn&#39;t just update the platform, they rebuilt it from the ground up. In this episode of MineWarp, David Hallett, VP of Automation at Sandvik Mining, explains why a &quot;next version&quot; wasn&#39;t enough and what AutoMine® Aura actually changes: A shift from 2D to 3D perception, AI-assisted muck pile detection for autonomous loading, faster mapping and deployment, and a benchmarked 15%+ productivity gain over the legacy system at @GlencoreVideos&#39;s George Fisher Mine. We also dig into Sandvik&#39;s OEM-agnostic strategy following the 2024 acquisition of Universal Field Robots, how AutoMine® now integrates with the Deswik digital suite (OPS for task allocation, ORB for block cave draw optimization), the real gap between surface and underground automation maturity, and why David thinks AI is still underestimated while quantum computing is overhyped - for now.Topics covered:</p><ul><li>Why Sandvik built an entirely new automation platform instead of upgrading AutoMine®</li><li>Surface vs underground automation: the communications bottleneck and how underground is catching up</li><li>The automation maturity ladder - from assistive features to fully autonomous fleets</li><li>Going OEM-agnostic: the Universal Field Robots acquisition and mixed-fleet reality</li><li>AutoMine® Aura results at Glencore&#39;s George Fisher mine: 15%+ productivity gain in stoping</li><li>2D to 3D sensing, faster mapping kits, and reduced deployment timeIntegrating automation with mine planning: Deswik OPS and ORB</li><li>Safety: 9 million+ LTI-free hours and the shift toward mixed manual-autonomous zones</li><li>The skills gap, deeper deposits, and why automation is becoming a necessity, not an option</li><li>Rapid fire: most overhyped (quantum computing) and most underestimated (AI) tech in mining automation</li></ul>