Massive machinery motoring around minesites is just one of the hazards of resource extraction. Australian scientists have come up with a simple way of warning drivers of potentially invisible objects.

With payloads in the hundreds of tonnes, haul trucks cut a colossal figure on mine roads around the world.

However their sheer size causes significant visibility problems for operators. In a recent accident in South Africa a light vehicle obscured by dust was run over by a haul truck, resulting in several fatalities.

CSIRO Exploration and Mining’s Dr Patrick Glynn is looking to avoid a repeat of such incidents through the development of a radar-based 360 degree proximity detection system.

Utilising a Doppler radar system, the technology will alert drivers when an object is moving relative to the mine truck.

With plans to integrate the system into existing reversing camera and monitor systems, haul truck operators will be able to see where the object is, its speed, in what direction it is moving and whether a collision will occur, in time enough to allow for evasive action if necessary.

So far a prototype has been tested at Goonyella Riverside in the Bowen Basin in central Queensland.

The project was chosen from a field of 175 to receive a 2007 Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP) award for research excellence.