Digital Miner
“When we develop new technology, both technical and social systems must work. Only when the social and the technical are in balance – in harmony – can we say that we have designed good technology.”
– Joel Lööw, LTU
· Pave the way for future mining – vision for workplaces on human terms
· Build social acceptance for European sustainable mining
In my work I research the effect of new technology on the work environment. I’m very interested in understanding the role of technology and humans in creating attractive and socially sustainable workplaces. I also teach a lot. This autumn, we are launching a Master Programme in Engineering, in Sustainable Production, for which I am programme coordinator. My big interest is technology. In my free time I read a lot of science fiction and make small programs to help me do boring things.
We’re developing a vision for the future − the Digital Miner − as well as a roadmap for making this miner reality.
Why this matters
Technology has a very important role in the future mining industry, but technology will not remove humans from mining. In fact, human roles may become more important and critical in systems of high technological sophistication, even if they are fewer in number. Yet, humans are often forgotten in the development of new technology, which contributes to bad work environments and non-acceptance of new technology.
How we work
We work with the partners of NEXGEN SIMS as well as other stakeholders in developing a vision for the future − the Digital Miner. We use workshops, surveys, interviews and other methods to gather material for constructing our vision.
Our challenges
Everyone looks differently at the future, and all see different benefits from the new technology. How do we balance different views and interests? How do we handle trade-offs? And how do we make sure our vision is grounded in reality, while at the same time inspiring development beyond what is possible today?
Our Goals
Our goals in NEXGEN SIMS is to find an answer to the question, “How do we design mining workplaces and technology on human terms?” By developing the vision of the future, digital mining, we want to show what socially acceptable and sustainable technology in the mining industry can look like.
Digital Miner vision interactive story!
Welcome to the vision of the digital miner and mining workplace. The vision is an interactive story of how it could be to work with maintenance of the autonomous systems developed within the NEXGEN SIMS project. With this vision we want to show how it could be to work with digital technology in interactive ways with both colleagues and machines. The story takes about 5-10 minutes to complete depending on the choices you make throughout the narrative.
Future workplaces in the mining industry
Future mining work may look more like office work
Garpenberg, Control room
Photo: Boliden/Tomas Westermark©
