Autonomous face navigation of a continuous mining machine

The tasks involved in the autonomous face navigation for a continuous mining machine and the navigational information necessary to perform these tasks are discussed. The proposed solution is presented, including the use of a mobile control structure (MCS) to serve as a reference in the face area of laser-based optical scanning units and retroreflective targets to determine the machine's position relative to the reference, and the use of gyroscope to maintain a short-term knowledge of the heading of the machine. An algorithm for fusion of the laser system's data is outlined. Future work on the navigational control software is discussed, and the status of the project is given.<>