MetaMining: Mining in the Metaverse
Kunhua Liu, Long Chen, Lingxi Li, Huaiwei Ren, Fei–Yue Wang
Abstract
Mines are one of the important energy sources in the world. Due to mining areas are often affected by adverse weather and environmental conditions (sand, dust, extreme cold, heavy snow, etc.), the efficiency and security of mining are low. As a new, efficient, prospective mode, Metaverse has been studied and successfully applied in various industries. However, there is still no research about its usage in mines. In this article, we apply Metaverse to mining and propose MetaMining. We present its definition and analyze the functions it could perform. Furthermore, we propose its development phases and architecture. Specifically, MetaMining is a mode, which aims to achieve high-efficiency, high-security mining in the physical world through the interaction between the physical world and the virtual world. Its development phases involve three steps: 1) digital twins; 2) digital natives; and 3) surreality. Its architecture consists of three components: 1) human world; 2) virtual mining system; and 3) physical mining system. In addition, we analyze key technologies and possible challenges in the construction of MetaMining.