An Automation Journey (4:22min)
RCT’s autonomous technology solution for surface-based mobile mining equipment is taking shape thanks to the hard work and innovation of some of our brightest minds from across the company.
The new solution forms the next major step in our autonomous technology offering for global mining companies, who for decades now have benefitted from our Line-of-Sight, Teleremote and autonomous underground technologies.
The autonomous package has been fitted onto a Polaris ATV which is being used as a testbed for our collection of LIDAR, GPS and data technologies.
The work is being spearheaded by Kevin Winchester for Product Management, Tom Egling from PoCWorks and Jayden Rickert from Operational Technologies. Head of Product Management Brendon Cullen says the Polaris will showcase the solution to clients.
“Going forward, we can easily demonstrate the Polaris’ capabilities and show that our technology integrates with a battery electric vehicle, which is an area of interest for many mining companies.”
“We can put the Polaris through its paces locally and test scenarios and access data without having to access a mine so testing on a smaller, more compact vehicle it is a lot more beneficial for our workflow.”
Brendon said they are developing the solution to integrate with dozers and wheel loaders to suit niche applications, with the first dozer solution to be deployed within a year.
“By rolling out this technology on a mine our clients will start to see enhanced fleet activities and improved productivity whereas our LOS and Teleremote solutions were more focused on safety improvements.”
50 years ago, Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was number one on the Billboard charts, the infamous Watergate Scandal was just beginning and for around $18,000 you could buy a house in Australia. 1972 was also the year Kalgoorlie resident and young electrician Bob Muirhead opened the doors to his very own electrical business.
It wasn’t long before Bob created the first of his many game-changing products. That product was a fail-safe engine protection system that became known as the Muirhead® Engine Protection system and is still used today by heavy equipment fleet owners around the world.
The philosophy of innovation, quality craftsmanship and a customer-first approach that gave rise to the Muirhead® Protection range remains strong half a century later with RCT now boasting hundreds of solutions across its other established brands: ControlMaster® Automation, EarthTrack® Data, SmarTrack® Information and AusProTec™ Electrical Equipment.
In addition to this, the company provides training and most importantly 24/7 customer support to its mining and industrial customers around the world – making it the full-service company.
Today, RCT is widely recognised around the globe as the Smart Technology leader in the open pit, underground and industrial sectors. RCT currently has seven branches, supported by more than 270 staff and trusted technology partners delivering solutions in 72 countries and six continents with a reputation for being the best in the business and experts in the field.
“It’s fantastic to have seen the business grow over the years – from such humble beginnings to the worldwide company it is today – it’s just incredible,” said Mr Muirhead.
“RCT’s ability to continue to innovate and adapt to a forever changing industry and being able to foresee what our client needs to streamline activities and increase productivity and profitability.”
Throughout its long history, RCT has been known as numerous business names as its innovated and expanded. Some people will recognise the company when it was called Bob Muirhead Electrical before changing to Automotive Industrial Supplies and then Remote Control Technologies and now of course, people know that company as RCT – a name that encompasses the broad range of solutions the company provides clients with today.
To date, RCT has installed the most machine-controlled solutions than any other global supplier and it’s standard-setting automation solution has clocked more than 8 million, incident-free automation hours – showcasing RCT is still at the forefront. RCT is constantly creating and developing purpose-built solutions beneficial to our customers in increasing efficiency and profitability.
RCT’s Executive Director and CEO, Brett White has been with the company for over 10 years and even in this time he has been impressed by what the company has been able to achieve and is looking forward to what the future holds for the global tech innovative company.
“The company has come leaps and bounds since it started. We are unique to the market as we are able to provide an array of cutting-edge solutions that are easily installed on any machine, regardless of make or model,” said Mr White.
“We are constantly innovating and therefore always relevant to the market and equally importantly we support our clients on their technology strategic journey.”
Here’s to the next 50 years… watch this space…
