{"id":4584,"date":"2019-01-15T08:00:28","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T13:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/?p=4584"},"modified":"2025-10-24T12:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T16:39:16","slug":"minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/","title":{"rendered":"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Joe Arico, Principal Product Manager<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Imagine living your life strapped to a mining machine! Blistering hot sun, choking dust, rain, hail and snow: vibration and shock severe enough to rattle your fillings out! This is the life of a computing module used in the mining environment. It\u2019s arguably the most hostile environment on earth for a piece of electronic equipment and it\u2019s all in a day\u2019s work for our new Core LP and Core HP modules.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4587\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4587\" class=\"wp-image-4587 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core2-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4587\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rugged and versatile: HxGN MineDiscover Core<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Designed from the ground up, HxGN MineDiscover Core LP and HP modules combine extreme ruggedness with unsurpassed processing power to provide the most powerful, reliable machine computing platform in the industry. The product culminates years of work and the new modules join the recently released Display 9 to complete the HxGN MineDiscover product family.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most exciting things about working in the mining industry is the drive for innovation.\u00a0 Every percent of efficiency gained in operational performance matters. The amount of technology that can be fitted to a machine today is vast; fleet management, machine guidance, fatigue monitoring, collision avoidance and reverse guidance, to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>Modern machine computing solutions must not only be rugged and powerful but must scale and integrate like never before. These fundamental requirements were at the heart of our development efforts to ensure customers possess a solution that can be built upon to achieve their technology goals.<\/p>\n<p>From the beginning our objectives were clear: Build a hardware platform that could take our machine solutions into the future. Fundamental to those objectives were:<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4591\" style=\"width: 712px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5601.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4591\" class=\"wp-image-4591 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5601-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"702\" height=\"936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5601-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5601-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5601.jpg 907w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4591\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The new modules join the recently released Display 9 to complete the HxGN MineDiscover product family.<\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Processing power<\/li>\n<li>Reliability<\/li>\n<li>Scalability<\/li>\n<li>Connectivity<\/li>\n<li>Integration<\/li>\n<li>Compact design<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The starting point was to choose a processor that could not only meet the requirements from a power perspective but that would also be rugged enough to work reliably in the mining environment. After thorough analysis, a quad core, 1.9 GHz Intel processor was chosen. It met our requirements perfectly and allowed significant scope for future application support.<\/p>\n<p>Once that decision was made and all the ports required to support machine interfaces defined, we set about designing a feature-rich package that was as compact as possible. The design included many connectivity options \u2013 dual WiFi, cell modem and UHF radio &#8211; all integrated into one \u201cbox\u201d half the size of our previous UHP product. For Core HP, we even added a high-quality chassis sensor inside, further demonstrating our commitment to compact design.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4589\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5597.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4589\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4589\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5597-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5597-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5597-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/hgnminingblog.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_5597.jpg 907w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-4589\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Core units can run multiple applications on one module. If necessary, they can be connected simply and elegantly over Ethernet.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Throughout the design, we conducted extensive environmental testing to ensure reliability in the real world. Extremes of vibration, shock and temperature were all tested in the lab to the appropriate MIL and IEC engineering standards. We conducted IP tests to meet both IP66 and IP67 standards, ensuring all the smart bits inside remained free of moisture and dust.<\/p>\n<p>In theory, the units were shaping up to be incredibly robust. But as the saying goes, \u201cTheory and practice are the same &#8211; except in practice\u201d!\u00a0 Nothing tests the reliability of a product like real-world practical testing. It\u2019s always the acid test. In this case, the theory supported the practical results. More than 20,000 hours of testing were completed on mining machines across multiple continents without a single failure! It\u2019s an outstanding result that reflects the team\u2019s professionalism and commitment to achieve the reliability goals. It\u2019s never a given, regardless of what the theory says!<\/p>\n<p>The Core units can run multiple applications on one module. If necessary, they can be connected simply and elegantly over Ethernet. Each module has two Ethernet ports that allow units to connect with minimal cabling. This immediately doubles the capability of the machine platform in every respect. The solution has been specifically designed for scalability and integration. It can scale in software (running multiple applications on one module) or, if required, it can scale in hardware, as described above. This is a unique feature and eliminates the anxiety of potentially being unable to support ever-increasing machine solution technology demands.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m very proud of our HxGN MineDiscover products. They reflect the efforts of the team and they set a new benchmark for hardware in the mining industry!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Joe Arico discusses HxGN MineDiscover Core.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Joe Arico, Principal Product Manager Imagine living your life strapped to a mining machine! Blistering hot sun, choking dust, rain, hail and snow: vibration and shock severe enough to rattle your fillings out! This is the life of a computing module used in the mining environment. It\u2019s arguably the most hostile environment on earth<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\" title=\"Read More\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":4599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[378,377],"tags":[417,449,415,585,586,583,584,588,587],"class_list":{"0":"post-4584","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-in-the-field","8":"category-tech-talk","9":"tag-collision-avoidance","10":"tag-fatigue-monitoring","11":"tag-fleet-management","12":"tag-hxgn-minediscover-core","13":"tag-innovation","14":"tag-machine-computing","15":"tag-machine-control","16":"tag-machine-guidance","17":"tag-operational-performance"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Joe Arico, Principal Product Manager Imagine living your life strapped to a mining machine! Blistering hot sun, choking dust, rain, hail and snow: vibration and shock severe enough to rattle your fillings out! This is the life of a computing module used in the mining environment. It\u2019s arguably the most hostile environment on earthRead More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hexagon - Mining Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-15T13:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-24T16:39:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core-and-display.3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"6352\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"4912\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Neville Judd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Neville Judd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\",\"name\":\"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-15T13:00:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-24T16:39:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f2e58f1da3a0995be147cef04af207e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Hexagon - Mining Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f2e58f1da3a0995be147cef04af207e4\",\"name\":\"Neville Judd\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Nev_300x400-150x150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Nev_300x400-150x150.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Neville Judd\"},\"description\":\"Neville Judd was a journalist for 25 years before becoming manager of content and communications for Hexagon\u2019s Mining division. He is the linchpin for the company\u2019s life-of-mine narrative, sharing stories of customer partnerships and digital transformation.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/author\/neville-judd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog","og_description":"By Joe Arico, Principal Product Manager Imagine living your life strapped to a mining machine! Blistering hot sun, choking dust, rain, hail and snow: vibration and shock severe enough to rattle your fillings out! This is the life of a computing module used in the mining environment. It\u2019s arguably the most hostile environment on earthRead More","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/","og_site_name":"Hexagon - Mining Blog","article_published_time":"2019-01-15T13:00:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-24T16:39:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":6352,"height":4912,"url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/core-and-display.3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Neville Judd","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Neville Judd","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/","name":"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing - Hexagon - Mining Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-01-15T13:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-24T16:39:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f2e58f1da3a0995be147cef04af207e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/minediscover-core-a-new-benchmark-for-rugged-machine-computing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MineDiscover Core: A new benchmark for rugged machine computing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/","name":"Hexagon - Mining Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f2e58f1da3a0995be147cef04af207e4","name":"Neville Judd","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Nev_300x400-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Nev_300x400-150x150.jpg","caption":"Neville Judd"},"description":"Neville Judd was a journalist for 25 years before becoming manager of content and communications for Hexagon\u2019s Mining division. He is the linchpin for the company\u2019s life-of-mine narrative, sharing stories of customer partnerships and digital transformation.","url":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/author\/neville-judd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hexagonmining.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}