Automated Object Detection and Change Quantification in Underground Mines Using LiDAR Point Clouds and 360° Image Processing

Details

• Journal Article:
  Applied Sciences
• Personal Author:
  Tejada Peralta, Ana F. P. ; Bakzadeh, Roya ; Siahidouzazar, Sina ; Roghanchi, Pedram
• Description:
  Underground mining environments pose significant challenges for automated hazard detection due to low illumination, restricted visibility, and the absence of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) coverage. These factors limit situational awareness and delay inspection efforts, particularly after disruptive events when rapid assessment is essential for safety. This study addresses this problem by developing a dual-pipeline framework for 2D-3D detection that uses 360° imaging and LiDAR-based machine learning to identify people, vehicles, and positional changes in underground settings without requiring personnel to re-enter hazardous areas. The objective was to create a system capable of recognizing objects and monitoring spatial changes under real underground mine conditions. The 2D component used a Ricoh Theta Z1 camera to collect panoramic images, and a YOLO (You Only Look Once) v8n model was fine-tuned using datasets representing low light, shadowed underground scenes. The 3D component employed an Ouster OS1-070-64 LiDAR sensor, and point clouds were processed through denoising, ICP alignment, surface reconstruction, manual annotation, and 2D projection. A YOLO-based model was then trained to detect objects and measure displacement between LiDAR scans. Results demonstrated strong performance for both components. The fine-tuned YOLOv8n model reliably detected personnel and vehicles despite challenging lighting and visual clutter, while the 3D pipeline localized objects in the registered LiDAR frame and quantified vehicle displacement between consecutive scans by comparing 3D bounding-box centroids after ICP alignment (displacement vector and magnitude). These findings indicate that the combined 2D-3D system can effectively support automated hazard recognition and environmental monitoring in GNSS-denied underground spaces. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Machine Learning Mining Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Underground Mining; Object Detection; LiDAR; 360-degree Imaging; Machine Learning; YOLO Underground Mining; Hazard Recognition; Automation; Situational Awareness; Imaging Techniques; Monitoring Systems; Sensors; Machine Learning;
• Source:
  Appl Sci 2026 Mar; 16(5):2337
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  2076-3417
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Birmingham Region [OSHA] ; Kansas City Region [OSHA] ; Kentucky ; Missouri
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  23 pdf pages
• Volume:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071630
• Contact Point Address:
  Pedram Roghanchi, Department of Mining Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
• Email:
  pedram.roghanchi@uky.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Performing Organization:
  Missouri University of Science and Technology
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20230901
• End Date:
  20270831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2110cc7a56c1f79466cd45c41b23ec3778a5a3d128d6b118cc9df5cbf94422c773357946a7bd2485777b869e4dbe780ad9d6d4764558dc312199d67d8d121eb4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259405/cdc_259405_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 7.01 MB ]