Artificial intelligence robots especially designed for the mining sector have reportedly been widely used in coal mines in the city of Ordos – located in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – to bolster the upgrading and transformation of their productivity.

The city's Madiliang coal mine is often cited as being an archetypal example of the trend towards the use of the intelligent devices.

The AI robots are equipped with high-precision sensors, which can transmit real-time readings of the concentration of gas, carbon dioxide and dust back to an intelligent dispatch and control center at the mine. 

In the intelligent control center are dozens of large LCD screens which display real-time images of different sections such as underground roadways, electromechanical chambers, the coal mining platforms and coal conveyor belts.

Technicians in the center can remotely control the underground robots to carry out mining.

Tao Peng, safety supervisor at the Madiliang coal mine, said that before the new technology, a single team – one of many – comprised 30 men for mining and operating hydraulic supports.

Nowadays, by contrast, the mine is basically operated by AI robots and only five people are needed for tasks such as monitoring equipment.

In addition, a 5G network is now in place, so miners can contact operations staff at any time, greatly improving the production efficiency. 

The AI robots are said to have effectively solved the problem of the previous poor coal mine production environment, high safety threats and high-intensity labor – realizing green, efficient and intelligent production.