Development and innovative practice from coal mine mechanization to automation and intelligence: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of Journal of Mine Automation

This paper reviews the general situation of the development and innovation practice of China's coal industry in the past 50 years promoted and witnessed by the Journal of Mine Automation from coal mine mechanization to automation and intelligence. This paper expounds on the innovation process of coal mine automation and intelligence. It focuses on the analysis of the research and development and practice of coal mine information infrastructure, automation and intelligent equipment and systems. The integration and unified hosting of heterogeneous networks is the information foundation for coal mine automation and intelligence. On the basis of the continuous maturity of the heterogeneous network of the backbone network and access network, the wired communication transmission rate has reached over 10 Gibit/s. The wireless communication technologies such as 5G and WiFi6 have been widely applied, providing a reliable communication platform for the intelligent construction of coal mines. Wired communication, wireless communication, IP broadcasting, personnel locaiton monitoring system, and video monitoring system are integrated to build a multi-network integrated communication system, achieving integrated carrier network and unified location service. The development of intelligent automation equipment in coal mines is rapid. It explores adaptive cutting technology based on transparent geology, automatic coal release control technology on the basis of technologies such as memory cutting of coal mining machines and automatic following and moving of hydraulic brackets at coal mining working face. On the basis of achieving profiling cutting, positioning navigation, and remote control, the excavation working face has made breakthroughs in technologies such as drilling anchor integration, multi-machine collaboration, and cutting template planning of roadheader based on geological model, achieving good results. The development of intelligent equipment for coal flow transportation systems is supported by intelligent variable frequency energy-saving transmission. The integrated research and application of coal mine robots are achieved. The mature application of inspection robots is obtained. The breakthroughs in intelligent auxiliary operation robots are achieved. The development of a multi-scene robot cluster scheduling and command system forms a robot cluster. The automation and intelligent construction of coal mines have officially entered the stage of intelligent mine comprehensive control from single system automation, comprehensive mine automation, and the Internet of Things. The realization of intelligent perception, intelligent self-control, high-speed transmission, collaborative control, and intelligent decision-making is an inevitable requirement for the development of intelligence. The paper proposes key directions for the iterative development of coal mine intelligent technology, including the establishment of high-precision transparent geological models, the normal and reliable operation of unmanned operating systems, the construction of intelligent compatibility and collaboration mechanisms for coal mine giant systems, the intelligent collaborative control of the entire process of 'excavation, mining, transportation, washing, and sales', and the optimization of a flexible coal production and supply system.