{"id":11998,"date":"2026-02-25T14:40:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=11998"},"modified":"2026-02-25T14:41:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:41:55","slug":"advanced-navigation-introduces-chimera-land-3d-laser-velocity-sensor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/25\/advanced-navigation-introduces-chimera-land-3d-laser-velocity-sensor\/","title":{"rendered":"Advanced Navigation introduces Chimera Land 3D Laser Velocity Sensor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Global autonomous system firm Advanced Navigation recently announced the launch of Chimera Land. A new class of navigation, the 3D Laser Velocity Sensor, is specifically designed to solve the primary challenge for underground mining: maintaining precise vehicle positioning in deep, dark, and unmapped environments where GPS cannot reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional navigation relies on GPS signals, which disappear the moment a vehicle enters a portal or adit. To compensate, mines often install expensive fixed infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi beacons or radio tags, which can be time-consuming and costly as they must be regularly maintained to keep up with the rapidly advancing mine face. This makes extending mines difficult and dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a production environment, navigation is critical. When positioning fails, haulage stalls, drill rig alignment drifts, and ore reconciliation become inaccurate. These disruptions create a cascade of operational lag that directly erodes profitability,\u201d said Joe Vandecar, head of Product.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Chimera: 3D lasers to navigate beyond fixed infrastructure<\/strong>
When fused with an Advanced Navigation inertial navigation system, Chimera Land allows underground vehicles to maintain stable navigation over extended distances and time. Instead of needing to \u201cask\u201d an external beacon or satellite for its location, the sensor uses specialized lasers to measure a vehicle\u2019s ground-relative 3D velocity, with unprecedented accuracy. By feeding this precise data into the vehicle\u2019s inertial navigation system (INS), the sensor eliminates the inherent \u201cdrift\u201d that typically comes with standalone INS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This integration is made possible with AdNav Intelligence, the company\u2019s sophisticated proprietary software. Drawing on adaptive algorithms, the fusion engine dynamically weights the input from each sensor, adjusting reliance in real time based on their reliability scores, environmental conditions, and operational context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is a resilient, high-performance, infrastructure-light positioning solution that excels in the high-dust, zero-light conditions typical of underground mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDevelopment areas in mining have long been held back by fragile external infrastructure and complex setups that struggle to keep pace with a moving mine face,\u201d Vandecar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChimera Land changes that. By providing a fully onboard, self-contained solution, we\u2019ve eliminated the \u2018positioning gap\u2019. Even in the deepest, unmapped headings, we turn navigational guesswork into absolute operational certainty, ensuring that autonomous fleets keep moving without interruption.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proven in the depths<\/strong>
To prove its resilience, Chimera Land was demonstrated in Europe\u2019s deepest underground mine \u2013 a 1.4km deep labyrinth \u2013 as part of BHP\u2019s Deep Mining Call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When integrated with Advanced Navigation\u2019s high-performance Boreas D90 INS, the solution achieved a position accuracy of 99.9% of the distance traveled. Crucially, this performance was maintained without relying on any fixed positioning infrastructure, pre-existing maps, or external aiding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key performance benchmarks include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n