1999: A wake up call for drivers

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Tags: alumni, engineering, entrepreneurship, mining, summer-2010

Dr Daniel Bongers, BE (hons), PhD

Daniel Bongers with the SmartCap

Predicting things before they happen has been a common career theme for Dr Daniel Bongers.

The PhD graduate completed his thesis on developing a system for fault detection in coal mining machines in conjunction with the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering and the Cooperative Research Centre for Mining (CRCMining).

Using a combination of engineering knowledge and artificial intelligence, the system is able to detect machine faults up to five minutes in advance of the event, allowing operators to change their behaviour and avoid the fault occurring.

Dr Bongers’ latest invention is the SmartCap, a baseball hat with a number of sophisticated sensors built into the cap’s lining that monitor a mining machine operator’s fatigue level via their brainwave information.

If a potentially dangerous fatigue level is reached, a warning message is sent to the driver’s in-cab display, alerting them to the need to stop, rest and refresh.

The SmartCap has been deployed in a number of Australian mines, but Dr Bongers isn’t stopping there.

“The SmartCap was originally developed for the mining industry, but it has the same application in the oil and gas, aviation and public transport industries,” Dr Bongers said.

“But we are also looking into possible application for ordinary car drivers.”

Dr Bongers credits his drive to innovate to the resources provided at UQ.

“UQ’s strong partnerships with CRCs played an integral part in my studies,” Dr Bongers said. “The unique mix of research and industry collaboration resulted in a very stimulating and challenging environment.”

By Andrew Long

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