Designing Autonomous Systems That Eliminate Human Risk in Hazardous Environments
Designing Autonomous Systems That Eliminate Human Risk in Hazardous Environments
Invited talk · UET Taxila webinar (online) · 2026 Speaker: Mary Kuru Sam, M.Sc. Mechatronics Engineering
Abstract
Mining remains one of the most dangerous industrial environments: ICMM member companies recorded 42 fatalities in 2024, and powered haulage caused 39% of US mining deaths in 2025. Personal protective equipment sits at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls: it protects workers inside the hazard zone but cannot remove them from it. This talk makes the case for autonomy as an elimination-level control, using two industrial systems: Komatsu FrontRunner, autonomous haulage at surface mines since 2008 and now over 1,000 trucks, and Sandvik AutoMine, autonomy underground where there is no GPS. It closes with the gaps that remain: vendor lock-in, people still working inside automated zones, artisanal mining and cost.
Topics
- The scale of the problem: global and US mining fatality data
- Why PPE isn’t curbing it: the hierarchy of controls
- Komatsu FrontRunner: autonomous haulage at surface mines
- Sandvik AutoMine: autonomy underground
- Safety standards: ISO 17757, ISO 21815, IEC 61508 / ISO 26262
- Adoption so far and what’s next
Cite this talk
Sam, M. K. (2026). Designing Autonomous Systems That Eliminate Human Risk in Hazardous
Environments [Invited talk]. UET Taxila Webinar.
Sources, credits and licence
All statistics are referenced on the References & credits slide.
- Licence: © 2026 Mary Kuru Sam. Slide text, layout and charts are licensed under CC BY 4.0: you may reuse them with credit.
- Not covered by the licence: third-party material. Photos © Komatsu and © Sandvik, the linked videos © their owners, and the Komatsu, FrontRunner, Sandvik, AutoMine and Caterpillar trademarks belong to their owners.
- Disclosure: the speaker works for Sandvik as a Graduate Trainee. The views here are her own and do not represent Sandvik.