696
2 THE IDEA OF THE DESIGN
For a long time, in the process of mine production in China, the new information technology
failed to be integrated into the core business and process of safety production. Besides, the business flow and information flow failed to reach the deep fusion and connection, which affected
the effect of the work on informatization to some extent (Zhang et al., 2010). It is difficult to collect the information of mine safety production effectively. It is difficult to guarantee the accuracy
of the data as various kinds of safety data and information are filled manually. The authenticity
of information and the accuracy of data are difficult to be guaranteed. The mine safety monitoring data has not been effectively utilized and mined. A large amount of data is wasted.
At present, the new energy technology revolution, Industry 4.0 and China Manufacturing 2025 all profoundly affect the various aspects of coal production. For the mine safety, the
advanced perception based on the IoT should be achieved. The safety equipment develops
toward the direction of “big, micro and intelligence”. The sensing part and the perception part
should be strengthened emphatically. We need to bring the concept of network virtualization,
that is, software defined network. The information security is a part of mine safety. At present
the mine lacks the unified perception and the high efficient service. We need to expand the
interdisciplinary content, refine the key technology on the foundation of fusion and clarify the
difference between the IoT for mines and the comprehensive automation. For designing the
top layer of the IoT for mines, we need to consider the current situation and make plans for
the future. We also need to consult the experts and provide the platform based services. Specifically speaking, the guidelines include several aspects. Firstly, we must clarify that the goal of
the top-level design of the IoT for mines technology is to start the overall design from the high
end of the mine. Secondly, we need to avoid several problems, e.g. the network independence,
the lack of unified planning and standards, the duplication of investment, the isolated system
in the applications of IoT for mines. Thirdly, the overall planning and design is not aimed at a
particular mine. It only puts forward the general goal of the design. Fourthly, we need a unified
and open platform for IoT services (Zhang & Zhang, 2013) to achieve the interoperability and
seamless links between the people and the objects and between the object and the object. We
need to implement the real-time control system of the mine and achieve the accurate managements and scientific decision-making. Meanwhile, the platform can be used to support the
researchers from different disciplines to carry out research work, and can be accessed by different service providers. Finally, the IoT for mines, which is essentially about the service, is a platform to support the services (Yao et al., 2016). All kinds of mine applications aim to provide the
services on this platform. The supporting technologies for these application services include the
network technology, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and so on.
3 THE MAIN CONTENTS OF TOP LAYER DESIGN
3.1 The architecture of the contents
Figure 1 shows the main contents of top layer design of IoT technology for mines, including
the development status, the opportunities and challenges in the development of IoT for mines,
the strategic goals, the key development areas of IoT for mines, the safeguard measures and
construction routes. Among them, the development status, opportunities and challenges are the
starting point of design. The strategic goals are the blueprint. The key development areas are the
core. The safeguard measures and the construction roadmap are the implementation strategies.
3.2 The development status and challenges of IoT for mines
To clarify the development status of the IoT for mines is the premise of the top layer design.
Although the IoT for mines has shown good adaptability to the mines and has the broad application prospects, the overall status is more about “sensing” and “transmission”. There are too
few studies on “awareness” and “application”. We need to broaden and deepen the research
on the perception level, the transport layer, the application layer and the public technology.
2 THE IDEA OF THE DESIGN
For a long time, in the process of mine production in China, the new information technology
failed to be integrated into the core business and process of safety production. Besides, the business flow and information flow failed to reach the deep fusion and connection, which affected
the effect of the work on informatization to some extent (Zhang et al., 2010). It is difficult to collect the information of mine safety production effectively. It is difficult to guarantee the accuracy
of the data as various kinds of safety data and information are filled manually. The authenticity
of information and the accuracy of data are difficult to be guaranteed. The mine safety monitoring data has not been effectively utilized and mined. A large amount of data is wasted.
At present, the new energy technology revolution, Industry 4.0 and China Manufacturing 2025 all profoundly affect the various aspects of coal production. For the mine safety, the
advanced perception based on the IoT should be achieved. The safety equipment develops
toward the direction of “big, micro and intelligence”. The sensing part and the perception part
should be strengthened emphatically. We need to bring the concept of network virtualization,
that is, software defined network. The information security is a part of mine safety. At present
the mine lacks the unified perception and the high efficient service. We need to expand the
interdisciplinary content, refine the key technology on the foundation of fusion and clarify the
difference between the IoT for mines and the comprehensive automation. For designing the
top layer of the IoT for mines, we need to consider the current situation and make plans for
the future. We also need to consult the experts and provide the platform based services. Specifically speaking, the guidelines include several aspects. Firstly, we must clarify that the goal of
the top-level design of the IoT for mines technology is to start the overall design from the high
end of the mine. Secondly, we need to avoid several problems, e.g. the network independence,
the lack of unified planning and standards, the duplication of investment, the isolated system
in the applications of IoT for mines. Thirdly, the overall planning and design is not aimed at a
particular mine. It only puts forward the general goal of the design. Fourthly, we need a unified
and open platform for IoT services (Zhang & Zhang, 2013) to achieve the interoperability and
seamless links between the people and the objects and between the object and the object. We
need to implement the real-time control system of the mine and achieve the accurate managements and scientific decision-making. Meanwhile, the platform can be used to support the
researchers from different disciplines to carry out research work, and can be accessed by different service providers. Finally, the IoT for mines, which is essentially about the service, is a platform to support the services (Yao et al., 2016). All kinds of mine applications aim to provide the
services on this platform. The supporting technologies for these application services include the
network technology, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and so on.
3 THE MAIN CONTENTS OF TOP LAYER DESIGN
3.1 The architecture of the contents
Figure 1 shows the main contents of top layer design of IoT technology for mines, including
the development status, the opportunities and challenges in the development of IoT for mines,
the strategic goals, the key development areas of IoT for mines, the safeguard measures and
construction routes. Among them, the development status, opportunities and challenges are the
starting point of design. The strategic goals are the blueprint. The key development areas are the
core. The safeguard measures and the construction roadmap are the implementation strategies.
3.2 The development status and challenges of IoT for mines
To clarify the development status of the IoT for mines is the premise of the top layer design.
Although the IoT for mines has shown good adaptability to the mines and has the broad application prospects, the overall status is more about “sensing” and “transmission”. There are too
few studies on “awareness” and “application”. We need to broaden and deepen the research
on the perception level, the transport layer, the application layer and the public technology.