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Last updated: 9 September 2019

Giant robots have long been the stuff of children's fantasies and Hollywood blockbusters; mega machines, such as Transformers, which watch over and protect humankind.

Such futuristic imaginings edged closer to reality in July 2018 when we achieved a significant milestone with the first delivery of iron ore by an autonomous train in the Pilbara in Western Australia.

The autonomous train, consisting of three locomotives and carrying around 28,000 tonnes of iron ore, travelled over 280 kilometres from our mining operations in Tom Price to the port of Cape Lambert. It was monitored remotely by operators from our Operations Centre in Perth more than 1,500 kilometres away.

Our AutoHaul™ team at the Operations Centre in Perth continued to hone the technology, running thousands of hours of tests. The AutoHaul™ project was made fully operational in June 2019, making it the world's first fully autonomous, long distance, heavy-haul rail network.

Lido Costa, principal engineer on the AutoHaul™ project, says the trains are indeed giant autonomous robots because once they are set on their course, they make all the decisions.

"There is a train controller at the Operations Centre in Perth (1,500 kilometres from the Pilbara) who sets the route. But once it's running the on-board computers and the computers at the Operations Centre take over and it makes its own decisions," says Lido.

"The network of computers makes sure the train keeps to the speed limit, makes sure it doesn't run into other trains or other trains don't run into it, makes sure there's nothing obstructing the level crossings," explains Lido.

"And there are a whole lot of other devices in place to protect people and equipment. For instance, if one of the wheels has a fault, the train will be bought to a stop. Or if one of the couplers in the train is broken, the system will pick it up and stop the train."

Safer, more productive journeys

The main advantages to spring from the shift from manually operated trains to a fully autonomous system is safety and productivity.

In a manual system, every time one driver ends their shift and another comes on board, the train needs to stop. On a typical journey a train will stop three times, adding more than an hour to the journey. The trains that move iron ore from the mines to the port for shipping are 2.4 kilometres long.

"The time-saving benefit is enormous because the train network is a core part of the mining operation. If we can prevent those stoppages, we can keep the network ticking over, allowing more ore to be transported to the ports and shipped off more efficiently," says Lido.

"The other major benefit is safety," he continues. "We are removing the need to transport drivers 1.5 million kilometres each year to and from trains as they change their shift. This high-risk activity is something that driverless trains will largely reduce."