Pitcrew AI is a new system which involves the the use of FLIR thermal imaging along with an AI technology to inspect the tyres of trucking and mining industry.
The system uses an AI algorithm which has a library of thermal images that helps in detecting problems with tyres in the early stages before any damage is caused. This system is a life-saver since it warns about the tyre condition which will help in avoiding major accidents that we hear about.
The technologically advanced system is built by Industrial Monitoring and Control (IMC) which automates the inspection of mining truck tyres. The mining companies invest a huge amount of money in buying mining haul trucks. Buying trucks is a huge investment and its not so simple to get another one or replace. The reason why we are stating this is because if a scenario of tyre catching fire occurs, the fire will have the ability to also burn down the trucks which costs around 5-million dollars.
Last year, there have been multiple cases where trucks caught on fire in Australia which had to be scrapped losing huge amount of investment. Each truck tyre costs around $50,000 to be replaced hence this is where the Pitcrew AI comes into action to save the day.
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Tim Snell, Director at IMC explains the requirement for an improved system. He stated that many solutions have been created in the past concerning safety.
Having a truck tyre which is prone to heat due to the operative conditions , never had a chance to be kept safe from overheating which is the main reason why they catch fire. For many years, there has not been any good solution to solve this problem.
It was further added that training an AI was a monumental task since it required thousands of images. Snell and the team were surprised to see successful results.
He added- "I think the first time we ran the system live on a site, we started getting alerts out of it straight away, it had actually done everything it was supposed to". "Nothing ever works that well straight out of the box."
It is sheer hard work that is behind that success. A decade of coding work has been done by IMC, which has been distributing and integrating FLIR cameras like the A615 for about 10 years.
