Mining3 demonstrates a new dimension in data handling

Imagine being able to control a drone inside a mineshaft from anywhere in the world without fear of it crashing or being able to track the metal material in a car chassis from ore to a finished product. Such things are fast becoming possible using a new 3D-based internet platform known as VoxelNET developed at Mining3.

“VoxelNET is all about a more efficient way of storing, analysing, sharing and visualising spatially-based information,” says Dr Charlotte Sennersten, a 3D system researcher and Technology Leader. “While it is ideal for the mining and minerals industries, it has application in all spatially-based enterprises, aviation and fisheries, for example.”

The internet system we currently use to store, analyse, transmit and display information was built for handling 2D text and documents. It has to be modified with software plug-ins to work and display information in 3D. VoxelNET does this directly.

It can be used to generate a virtual mine and simulate its operation, to store remote-sensing information on the fly, or to track or control equipment or material remotely, all in 3D and able to be shared and accessed by several different devices simultaneously.

At present, VoxelNET is only available in consultation with researchers at Mining3. But next year, a single-point version will be released as a commercial product. And Mining3 is looking for resources to assist with its further development into a multiple-user cloud-based distributed platform. “My vision is that VoxelNET should be as universally accessible as the internet,” Sennersten says.

VoxelNET establishes virtual volumes comprised of voxels, 3D equivalents of 2D pixels on a screen. Voxels are cubes, the size of which can be defined to fit the task at hand. Each voxel in VoxelNET can be located precisely by means of an inbuilt addressing system, known as voxel protocol.

The voxels can hold information, such as density, ore grade or rock hardness. They can be programmed to store, integrate and cross-correlate data from many different sources. They can also act autonomously to find and process data, and to interact with each other in precise ways.

Voxels come in several different varieties. Spatial Voxels, for instance, are linked directly with a precisely defined one-metre by one-metre grid of the Earth’s surface from five kilometres underground to 20 kilometres above ground. So they can be used to simulate reality. The matter within Material Voxels can be labelled and traced wherever it moves.

The voxels and the data they contain can be subject to different defined layers of security. Broad access can be allowed to public information or simulations, while access to more confidential information can be restricted. And data can be spatially tagged or completely anonymised.

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