Connecting a New Era of Shifting Property with Cisco Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul

What traits does a wi-fi community want to attach transferring belongings? Reply: it is dependent upon the stakes. Occasional lapses in connectivity and a bit latency may be okay for those who’re catching up on e-mail whereas driving a bus, however not for those who’re remotely controlling a 100,000-pound bulldozer on a steep dam slope. That’s why Aterpa, a Brazilian engineering firm employed to decommission Brazil’s tailings dams, makes use of Cisco Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul (URWB) to remotely management heavy gear like bulldozers and excavators.

Distant management of unmanned methods can’t tolerate community latency

Following dam collapses in 2015 and 2019, giant mining corporations dedicated to stopping future catastrophes by launching applications to decommission tailings dams (tailings are mud-like byproducts of ore mining) constructed utilizing the identical development strategies because the failed ones. It’s harmful work as a result of heavy equipment wants to maneuver throughout unstable floor, and missteps can result in accidents. “Dam decharacterization, or decommissioning, is a comparatively new area,” explains Rodrigo Campos, contract supervisor at Aterpa. “It’s worthwhile to take away the tailings within the dam, however you’ll be able to’t enable folks to enter due to the security points.”

To soundly decommission dams within the Brazilian state of Minas Garais, Aterpa determined to make use of unmanned methods. The plan: operators working in a central command heart would view real-time digital camera feeds and sensor information from heavy gear like excavators to remotely management these methods over the community. The tough half was organising a wi-fi out of doors community with the required reliability, low latency, and seamless handoffs. Present mesh options and even the newest Wi-Fi variations aren’t designed for these calls for as minimal jitter and latency can impression operations. If a video feed is delayed by even half a second, for instance, an operator may not see an impediment in time to maneuver round it or brake, presumably sending the gear toppling down the dam slope.

Extremely-reliable wi-fi for transferring gear

Aterpa discovered its reply in Cisco URWB, which gives the ultra-low latency (<10ms), seamless handoffs, and uninterrupted connectivity wanted to remotely management transferring belongings in high-stakes environments. “In our operations heart we’ve recreated the expertise of a standard automobile cab, full with a steering wheel and controls,” says Campos. Operators see what they’d see in the event that they had been sitting within the bodily cab on the slope, permitting them to securely steer gear and take away tailings. “With Cisco URWB, when the distant operator points a command, the gear responds immediately,” Campos provides.

Between September 2022 and April 2025, Aterpa eliminated roughly 1.7 million cubic meters (2.22 million cubic ft) of waste with teleremote operations over Cisco URWB. The communities close to the dams are now not threatened. Operators are safer and the setting is cleaner. “After nearly three years of unmanned operation over Cisco URWB, we’ve seen that when the community is dependable, the operation is dependable,” says Campos. “Our working mannequin has grow to be a benchmark for the business.”

3 ways Cisco URWB stands aside

What set Cisco URWB other than different wi-fi applied sciences for high-stakes operations like this one? First, URWB delivers near-zero (<10ms) latency. Second, when a linked system—say, an excavator, robotic, or practice—roams between entry factors, the connection doesn’t break till the following connection is established. We name that “make-before-break” connectivity. Lastly, URWB sends duplicate copies of packets (like sensor information from transferring belongings and instructions from operators) over as much as eight redundant paths.

Study extra

Discover us within the World of Options at Cisco Dwell to see URWB in motion and register to the PSOIOT-1020 session.

Examine Cisco Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul.

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