With ever-increasing productivity targets in mining operations, there is a
growing interest in mining automation. In future mines, remote-controlled and
autonomous haulers will operate underground guided by LiDAR sensors. We
envision reusing LiDAR measurements to maintain accurate mine maps that would
contribute to both safety and productivity. Extrapolating from a pilot project
on reliable wireless communication in Boliden's Kankberg mine, we propose
establishing a system-of-systems (SoS) with LIDAR-equipped haulers and existing
mapping solutions as constituent systems. SoS requirements engineering
inevitably adds a political layer, as independent actors are stakeholders both
on the system and SoS levels. We present four SoS scenarios representing
different business models, discussing how development and operations could be
distributed among Boliden and external stakeholders, e.g., the vehicle
suppliers, the hauling company, and the developers of the mapping software.
Based on eight key variation points, we compare the four scenarios from both
technical and business perspectives. Finally, we validate our findings in a
seminar with participants from the relevant stakeholders. We conclude that to
determine which scenario is the most promising for Boliden, trade-offs
regarding control, costs, risks, and innovation must be carefully evaluated.Comment: Preprint of industry track paper accepted for the 25th IEEE
International Conference on Requirements Engineering (RE'17
