Abstract:  The virtual simulation technology of mining and transporting equipment in the fully mechanized mining face is based on an ideal horizontal floor, which could not realistically simulate the operating status of the mining equipment in the complex working conditions of the floor unevenness. In an attempt to solve this problem in the virtual reality engine Unity3D, the present study focuses on the key technologies of virtual operation of shearer and scraper conveyor under complex conditions. By establishing the virtual reality scene of the mining equipment and combining with the virtual positioning method of the shearer on the scraper conveyor, we put particular emphasis on the key technologies of the virtual bending of the scraper conveyor, the coordinate analysis of the pin shaft of the shearer’s supporting slipper and the virtual operation of the shearer. The prototype system was developed and experimentally verified. The experimental results show that the error of the shape and actual arrangement of the virtual scraper conveyor is less than 15 mm, and the inclination error of the shearer body is less than 2°, which meets the accuracy of the actual work requirements. The system could truly reproduce the dynamic matching relationship and operating state of shearer and scraper conveyor under complex conditions, and lay a foundation for the establishment of remote monitoring system of fully mechanized mining face.

Key words: virtual reality, mining equipment, virtual simulation, Unity3D technology