Supplier News (January 01, 2007)

Lamp lets underground miners send text messages

NL Technologies (NLT), a communications equipment maker, recently received Australia’s safety certification for a cap lamp that allows miners to communicate underground via text messages, in much the same way people communicate everyday on cellular phones.

Most of the work done on the approval process for the Northern Light Digital Messenger cap lamp was conducted by NLT’s Australian subsidiary, NLT Australia.

The lamp employs a keyboard-like device that lets miners send text messages, even under emergency conditions. The lamp does this by using the same 802.11 wireless technology found in many laptop computers.

The wireless technology in each lamp connects to a larger wireless network underground. Every lamp has its own identification code and management can track a miner’s whereabouts by using the supplied software.

“The ability for workers to send messages back to the surface has huge implications for safety — not only during rescue operations, but during daily operations as well,” says Tim Haight, managing director of NLT Australia.

NL Technologies says it will focus on selling the lamps to coal mining companies based in Australia.

NL Technologies (NLT) builds communications products for underground miners.