China and Thailand partner in smart mining market

China's smart mining technology and service provider Waytous has signed a cooperation with relevant parties to build the first overseas project in Thailand, in the field of autonomous driving in the mining industry.

The Chinese and Thai parties involved in the smart autonomous driving mining project include Thailand Siam Cement Group, Thailand Advanced Info Services Public Co Ltd, Huawei operator in Thailand and Zhengzhou Yutong Mining Equipment Co Ltd.

The project, located in SCG's Salaburi mining area, with an investment of $10 million (69.7 million yuan), will be built into a new type of green, smart, efficient mine, relying on comprehensive application of cutting-edge technologies including 5G, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, cloud computing and new energy power batteries.

With a self-developed parallel mine operating system with a full model, multi-mine and full scene adaptation, Waytous will provide smart and unmanned technical services for the project, helping realize self-driving, smart dispatching and new energy mine vehicles, according to the company.

It will be the first overseas project in the field of autonomous driving in China's mining area, the company said.

"Building the first smart mine in Thailand will certainly become a model of regional cooperation between China and Thailand in the fields of 5G, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and new energy," said Chen Long, chief executive officer of Qingdao Waytous Smart Machine Co Ltd.

Waytous, incubated by the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed its overseas business strategy in 2021, according to Chen.

"We will work with partners to develop relevant standards for green smart mines, precipitate superior patents, explore advanced models and inject green and smart future genes into the mining development of Thailand and even Southeast Asia," said Chen.