CAM-395

Someone is still inside the blast zone

Mid-afternoon at the bottom of the pit. The blast pattern is already charged and marked out with yellow tape and cones. The whole perimeter is fenced with red and white bunting and blast zone signs. A worker in a hi-vis vest and white helmet has crossed the bunting and is walking inwards. A white pickup and a haul truck are still inside as well. IRIS counts how many people and how many vehicles remain inside the area.

CAM-395 · BLAST ZONE · PERSON INSIDE

What IRIS understands

What it recognises in this scene

worker who has crossed the bunting
blast pattern already charged
blast zone sign
pickup inside the fenced area
drill rig on the edge of the zone

What this camera measures

An alert says something is happening. The reading says how much.

1People inside the area
2Vehicles inside the area
38 sTime since the crossing
48Holes marked in the pattern
17:24Time of the last count

The figures on this screen are an example from the illustration, not any client's measurement.

The rule

You decide once. IRIS applies it always.

a person or a vehicle is still inside the bunting during the exclusion window

Then

alert the shotfirer with the camera, the time and the point where they came in
save the video of the crossing and the count of the area
repeat the count every minute until the area reads zero

The instruction that set it up«Before every blast, tell me how many people and how many vehicles are left inside the bunting, and warn me if anyone else goes in.»

What changes

What changes for whoever answers for the plant

Before a blast, somebody has to confirm that nobody is left inside. Today that is done by radio and by eye, and the answer depends on who picks up. With the camera, the shotfirer has a count of the area: how many people, how many vehicles, at what point and since what time. The count is made the same way every time, is recorded with its video and can be reviewed afterwards. If the number is not zero, the order waits.

What people usually ask

Does IRIS decide when the blast can be fired?

No. IRIS counts what it sees inside the area and shows it with the image: how many people, how many vehicles, at what point and since what time. The firing order is always given by a person, following their procedure and their checks. What changes is that the count beforehand no longer depends on a radio round and on the memory of whoever made it: it is done the same way every time, with its time and its video.

Is that count of people auditable?

Yes. Counting is not set up by talking: it is set up by drawing the line or the area on the image, which is why the number comes out the same every time and can be repeated. IRIS people counting is certified by the Spanish Metrology Centre. Every count of the area is kept with its time and its video, so it can be reviewed days or weeks later, alongside the blast report.

Does it recognise who the person who went in is?

No. IRIS does not identify anyone and does not compare faces against any database. It sees that a person has crossed the bunting into the blast zone, at what time and where. Who that person is comes from the blasting supervisor looking at the video and the crew sheet. What reaches the alert is a situation, not a name.

Other cameras

A different case every time

A camera looks. IRIS understands what it sees.

An extract of the real screen, no voice-over and hands-free. Each round poses another situation. What sits behind it is a good deal bigger than what you see.