Shanxi Province-based Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co Ltd (Yangquan) announced its collaboration with domestic search engine powerhouse Baidu.com in artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud technology on July 11.
With technological support from Baidu.com, Yangquan expects to boost its coal mining, production and logistics capacity.
The collaboration is considered a sign that the Chinese coal industry is transitioning from traditional, old-fashioned production methods to more modern, smart ones.
According to the agreement, Yangquan will build a scientific coal mining system using smart detection and monitoring technology, Internet of Things, and data from Baidu.com.
Instead of depending on a workforce to mine the coal, the company will rely more on automatic machines to ensure greater safety and security and reduce costs.
The president of Yangquan Zhai Hong said that he hopes that the company's collaboration with Baidu.com will help change the public's perception of the domestic coal industry as traditional and old-fashioned.
"Our ultimate goal is to make coal mining accurate and make the manufacturing process smart and intelligent so that mine workers will be able to manipulate the machines on the ground more efficiently," Zhai said.
