US technology start-up Otonoma’s decision to make its initial offshore foray in Western Australia with its flagship “internet of work” product underlines the state’s global prominence in mine automation and ESG-driven critical minerals development, according to its first Australian employee.
“We are seeing a continued convergence of mining and energy companies and technology and this will only increase with advances in AI, machine learning and data analytics,” says Peta Chirgwin, vice president global industrial markets with Jim Harding’s Otonoma, formerly Grokit Data.
Harding led teams that created Amazon’s Merchants and Marketplace platforms and has been a key figure in other tech start-ups.
A respected name in Australia’s mine automation and remote operations space, Chirgwin says Otonoma’s Paranet secure skills network for human-to-machine and machine-to-machine collaboration adds a pivotal layer to the tech starting to reshape mining processes.
“Mining is ripe for digital transformation with opportunities to streamline workflows, improve efficiencies and leverage data for predictive insights,” Chirgwin says.
“The Paranet can address challenges like interoperability, sustainability, operational costs and safety.
“There are numerous factors that make now a significant time for a tech company to move into mining and energy in WA, including the global demand for critical minerals.
“There are requirements for ESG commitments including our transition into clean energy, existing and future advancements of automation and calls for zero entry mines.
“Tech companies, in particular companies like Otonoma, can support all of these initiatives.
“Accessing large volumes of data and breaking down barriers for systems, IoT devices, people and data to collaborate in real time to make advanced, intelligent decisions without risk of compromising IP or security will fundamentally change our current mining processes and work design in mining.
“The Paranet will also open up an opportunity to create products and streamline processes that we have yet to consider.”
Chirgwin, who has been involved with numerous pioneering equipment fleet automation and remote operations projects in Australia in a plus-20-year career in the industry, completed the first available PhD in mining automation and remote operations focusing on human factors.
She says she was introduced to Otonoma by a contact at a large miner.
After talking to the team I could really see they were onto something big and I wanted to be a part of it,” she told InvestMETS.com.
“Many sectors, including mining, are already extensively using and experimenting with new technologies, including AI.
“In mining, Western Australia is leading the world in its uptake of new technologies but to ensure we stay ahead of the race and meet societal, economic and regulatory obligations we need to be open to advances in technology and be willing to take the necessary risks on new innovators.”
Chirgwin says significant inroads by tech companies into mining have generally been made by “large, well-known brands” but smaller companies were also getting more traction.
“I think the industry is starting to realise that if they don’t move faster they will be left behind,” she says.
“It can be difficult for a startup to demonstrate tangible benefits such as cost reduction, increased efficiency, or enhanced safety to justify investment by mining companies when most mining companies either want to be followers or laggards in introducing new products.
“Digital literacy, especially when we are talking about new language models and completely new protocol, is a challenge.
“It is also one of the reasons we are working with global universities to create Arparnet.ai, the discounted research offering of the Paranet.”
The University of Utah, one of the first universities to contribute to Arparnet.ai development, is doing significant, relevant research in the fields of renewable energy, critical minerals and automation, according to Chirgwin.
“We are currently speaking with a number of universities on creating a consortium for Arparnet.ai, at least one of which, I hope, is an Australian University, preferably here in WA,” she says.
“We are about to embark on a [Paranet] proof-of-concept with Curtin University where we will be co-contributing to research and product development for control systems, eventually feeding into the Green Electric Energy Park and their COPA project.
“Development of Arparnet.ai with universities will require some funding which we hope to source with projects for the Paranet for co-development between industry and academia.
“This funding will allow us to provide the Arparnet.ai at the lowest cost to those researchers and support us in training a new wave of computer scientists and workers on paraflow, the language of the Paranet.”