Through-The-Earth Communication® system developer Vital Alert Communication Inc has been selected for an award by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Vital Alert responded to the NIOSH Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Development and Demonstration of Mine Safety and Health Technology with a proposal to enhance the reliability and distance capabilities of its Canary®Link Through-The-Earth Communication system.
The contract is focused on the development of advanced software radio techniques to reduce the effects of magnetic noise.
Vital Alert’s system currently supports real-time voice for a distance of more than 300m and text for over 600m. While power is normally shutdown during mine emergencies, at other times electrical noise from power centres and high-voltage cables can reduce the operational range.
These new techniques will extend the system capability to include daily operational applications, and also allow the system to achieve greater distances for voice, text and data in lower noise environments.
Canary®Link and Canary®GO systems are easy-to-use, effective Through-The-Earth Communication devices that are intended to be an indispensable part of a fully integrated mine communication and safety system. They link to existing communication infrastructure and can be used for everyday, as well as emergency needs.
Products are commercially available and the intrinsically safe (Canary®Link IS) version of the system is currently under MSHA review.