Universal Field Robots

Universal Field Robots Creators of autonomous field robots with extraordinary possibilities.

07/09/2026

🕹️ Opening workforce opportunities through teleremote operation

Universal Field Robots and Sandvik are proud to partner on the DB331 teleremote drill project, which involves retrofitting our autonomy kit onto Sandvik’s mobile drill-and-charge unit to enable:
🦾 Teleremote operation from the surface or a less-hazardous area of the mine
🦾 Line of sight operation using a belly box with an operator out of harm’s way
🦾 Manual override functionality for flexibility when operations require it

Watch our video to hear from:
đź’ˇ Sandvik Vice President, Automation, David Hallett
đź’ˇ Sandvik Business Line Manager Underground Drills Australia & New Zealand, Nathan Cunningham
đź’ˇ UFR Head of Product Line and R&D, Ty Osborne
đź’ˇ UFR Senior Robotics Engineer, Kate Dunne

It has been fantastic to integrate within Sandvik’s AutoMine® ecosystem and the client’s existing safety and operational systems. Discover more via the full-length video: youtu.be/JxLkIIf8INA

Or learn more about Sandvik’s DB331 mobile drill-and-charge unit: mining.sandvik/en/products/…/db331-secondary-breaking-drill-rig

Please join us in congratulating our Product Manager, Ross Clements, on seven successful years at Universal Field Robots...
03/09/2026

Please join us in congratulating our Product Manager, Ross Clements, on seven successful years at Universal Field Robots! 🦾🎉

Ross leads our team that developed the world’s first OEM-agnostic autonomous underground haul truck fleet at GOLD FIELDS’ Granny Smith mine in Laverton, Western Australia.

Ross has been working at UFR since September 2019 in his roles as Mechanical Engineer, Lead Mechanical Engineer, and now Product Manager.

Ross studied Mechanical Engineering at The University of Queensland and was motivated to join the team at UFR because of our work with emerging technologies related to automation in mining.

Discover more about our team: universalfieldrobots.com.au/about-ufr

31/08/2026

🦺🛑 Safeguarding operators with UFR’s barrier control system

It’s critical to separate people from autonomous zones on mine sites. That’s why Universal Field Robots has a barrier control system that can trip autonomous trucks in case someone enters the zone.

The system consists of a light curtain or a laser barrier that must be armed by the charger operators when they finish their shift. They need to ensure that the tagboard is clear so that the trucks can run autonomously over shift change. Once this area has been armed, if the zone is tripped, the trucks stop immediately. The area then needs to be cleared again and rearmed.

The barriers also act as a geofence to ensure that the trucks are always inside the zones. We can’t run the risk of having a truck run either autonomously or teleremotely when it’s not in an expected location. Upon starting up the trucks, the operators are required to localise the trucks by giving them the exact location that they’re parked in, so that we can ensure they’re not operating outside of the area they’re expected.

GOLD FIELDS’ Granny Smith mine has achieved an excellent level of buy-in with this system. There is a lot of discipline around how people arm the barriers and ensure the trucks are ready to roll at the end of the shift.

Our sincere thanks to the team at Gold Fields and Granny Smith mine for their hospitality and generosity during filming earlier this year, sharing their valuable time to discuss project milestones achieved to date and what the future holds.

View the full-length UFR Haulage video to discover more: youtu.be/…?si=l8oar_7yi_tMZG1M

Universal Field Robots was proud to support this year’s Young Mining Professionals Brisbane Gala Dinner as a major spons...
26/08/2026

Universal Field Robots was proud to support this year’s Young Mining Professionals Brisbane Gala Dinner as a major sponsor.

We had a blast last Friday, along with some of the Sandvik and Deswik team, celebrating another year of exciting industry developments with YMP Brisbane members, peers, and friends at the Sofitel Brisbane Central.

This year’s gala theme was Future minds, stronger mines, which celebrates the people, ideas and leadership shaping the next chapter of our mining industry. This theme recognises the emerging professionals who are driving innovation, building capability and strengthening the sector for a safer, smarter and more sustainable future.

This aligns well with what we do at UFR: OEM-agnostic automation and digital mining technologies for both surface and underground operations, including the world’s first OEM-agnostic underground haulage system. Sandvik extends this innovation with global scale, trusted customer relationships, and workflow digitalisation expertise.

Together with Sandvik, we deliver open, interoperable autonomy across mixed fleets, supported worldwide by Sandvik’s service network. Our open and scalable solutions are designed to enhance safety, increase productivity, and create long-term value for mining operations worldwide.

Thank you to the speakers and performers who entertained and inspired us on the night:
🙌 Professional MC, Chris Lyons
🙌 Special guest and welcoming address speaker, The Honourable Dale Last, Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Minister for Manufacturing, and Minister for Regional and Rural Development
🙌 Keynote speaker: PowerSkillsAi Founder and CEO, Lina Gillespie
🙌 YMP Brisbane President, Lochie McCabe
🙌 Live music and high-energy dancefloor entertainment: Vegas Please.

And to our fellow sponsors: Whitehaven Coal, Thiess, Yellowgate Group, Optical Solutions Australia (OSA), Ready Mining, Contract Resources Pty Ltd, Deswik, Komatsu Australia, and Ironbark Marketing.

We look forward to attending future YMP events!

24/08/2026

♻️ More sustainable operations through extended fleet lifecycles

Universal Field Robots and Sandvik are proud to partner on the DB331 teleremote drill project, which involves retrofitting our autonomy kit onto Sandvik’s mobile drill-and-charge unit to enable:
🦾 Teleremote operation from the surface or a less-hazardous area of the mine
🦾 Line of sight operation using a belly box with an operator out of harm’s way
🦾 Manual override functionality for flexibility when operations require it

Watch our video to hear from:
đź’ˇ Sandvik Vice President, Automation, David Hallett
đź’ˇ Sandvik Business Line Manager Underground Drills Australia & New Zealand, Nathan Cunningham
đź’ˇ UFR Head of Product Line and R&D, Ty Osborne
đź’ˇ UFR Senior Robotics Engineer, Kate Dunne

It has been fantastic to integrate within Sandvik’s AutoMine® ecosystem and the client’s existing safety and operational systems. Discover more via the full-length video: youtu.be/JxLkIIf8INA

Or learn more about Sandvik’s DB331 mobile drill-and-charge unit: mining.sandvik/en/products/…/db331-secondary-breaking-drill-rig

🌍🦾 Another machine retrofitted with UFRautonomy™ on the other side of the world!It’s exciting to see UFR hardware (inclu...
19/08/2026

🌍🦾 Another machine retrofitted with UFRautonomy™ on the other side of the world!

It’s exciting to see UFR hardware (including our módulo de control) fitted onto another unit last week. Every install like this is a testament to the hard work, precision, and teamwork that goes into fitting out a machine.

UFRautonomy™ offers the complete autonomy package, including:
🦾 Hardware, computers, sensors, vision, GPS, IMU, 4G, Position, and LIDAR
🦾 Engineering to integrate components and develop bespoke capabilities
🦾 Support of our robotics engineers to assist in setting up and getting you operating UFRautonomy™
🦾 Research and development
🦾 Testing
🦾 Product development
🦾 Operations support

Our team of robotics experts is ready to support customers in implementing UFRautonomy™, to focus on solving industry-specific challenges, delivering customer value, and ensuring a safer workplace.

The team at UFR is proud of everyone who made this happen, from the engineers to the techs on the ground getting it installed safely and to spec. Here’s to many more!

17/08/2026

🚀 Looking to future-proof your operations with OEM-agnostic automation?

Gold Fields and Universal Field Robots proudly partnered to develop the world’s first OEM-agnostic autonomous underground haul truck fleet at Granny Smith mine in Laverton, Western Australia.

We retrofitted our autonomy kit onto their Epiroc MT65 haul trucks, enabling autonomous haulage of ore to the surface during shift change, recovering valuable time that would otherwise be lost. To date, the trucks have travelled over 2,000km.

UFR Haulage affords Gold Fields the flexibility to transition to fully autonomous haulage, mixed fleets, battery-electric and hybrid solutions, and zero-entry mining in the future, enabling significant safety, productivity, and sustainability benefits to the mine’s operations.

The UFR Haulage update video features interviews with:
đź’ˇ Gold Fields Manager Technology Programs, Shannon McDermott
đź’ˇ Gold Fields Unit Manager: Underground Mining, Brodie Edwards
đź’ˇ Gold Fields Coordinator: Communications & Digital Technology, Todd Holden
đź’ˇ Gold Fields Control System Specialist, Troy Williams
đź’ˇ Gold Fields Haul Truck Operators, Jaiden Budding and Leon-Paul Grimbeek
đź’ˇ UFR Product Line Manager, Ross Clements

View the full-length video: youtu.be/…?si=l8oar_7yi_tMZG1M

We offer a seamless, one-platform experience within AutoMine.UFR provides the onboard infrastructure fitted on third-par...
12/08/2026

We offer a seamless, one-platform experience within AutoMine.

UFR provides the onboard infrastructure fitted on third-party equipment, plus the software and interface integration piece, to allow machines to be visible in the AutoMine environment.

The ability to offer an equipment-agnostic approach will see many more equipment types come into designated automation zones, interacting with Sandvik iSeries loaders, trucks and drills, plus allow Sandvik to enter new application offerings like low-profile mining.

For example, one of our customers in Africa is currently running a fleet of iSeries trucks, and they wanted to extend this to also incorporate remote loading in a mixed-fleet environment. We did not have a native Sandvik remote loading option available for the machines that they’re operating, but now, with the UFR and AutoMine integration, we have been able to offer them teleremote loading and autonomous trucking within the same existing system that they have today. The infrastructure didn’t need to be replaced, and, for the safety systems, the back end of the autonomy solution can also be utilised. We can seamlessly integrate the machines directly into the existing system.

Discover more: www.universalfieldrobots.com.au

We’re excited to announce that Universal Field Robots is one of the major sponsors for the Young Mining Professionals Br...
05/08/2026

We’re excited to announce that Universal Field Robots is one of the major sponsors for the Young Mining Professionals Brisbane Gala Dinner 2026.

This year’s gala theme is Future minds, stronger mines, which celebrates the people, ideas and leadership shaping the next chapter of our mining industry. This theme recognises the emerging professionals who are driving innovation, building capability and strengthening the sector for a safer, smarter and more sustainable future.

This aligns well with what we do at UFR: OEM-agnostic automation and digital mining technologies for both surface and underground operations, including the world’s first OEM-agnostic underground haulage system. Sandvik extends this innovation with global scale, trusted customer relationships, and workflow digitalisation expertise.

Together with Sandvik, we deliver open, interoperable autonomy across mixed fleets, supported worldwide by Sandvik’s service network. Our open and scalable solutions are designed to enhance safety, increase productivity, and create long-term value for mining operations worldwide.

Our team looks forward to celebrating another year of exciting industry developments with YMP Brisbane members, peers, and friends on Friday 21st August from 6pm at the Sofitel Brisbane Central.

Secure your tickets ASAP to avoid disappointment: events.humanitix.com/ymp-gala-dinner-2026

03/08/2026

🔀 Do you value automation flexibility and exceptional user experience?

Universal Field Robots and Sandvik are proud to partner on the DB331 teleremote drill project, which involves retrofitting our autonomy kit onto Sandvik’s mobile drill-and-charge unit to enable:
🦾 Teleremote operation from the surface or a less-hazardous area of the mine
🦾 Line of sight operation using a belly box with an operator out of harm’s way
🦾 Manual override functionality for flexibility when operations require it

Watch our video to hear from:
đź’ˇ Sandvik Vice President, Automation, David Hallett
đź’ˇ Sandvik Business Line Manager Underground Drills Australia & New Zealand, Nathan Cunningham
đź’ˇ UFR Head of Product Line and R&D, Ty Osborne
đź’ˇ UFR Senior Robotics Engineer, Kate Dunne

It has been fantastic to integrate within Sandvik’s AutoMine® ecosystem and the client’s existing safety and operational systems. Discover more via the full-length video: youtu.be/JxLkIIf8INA

Or learn more about Sandvik’s DB331 mobile drill-and-charge unit: mining.sandvik/en/products/…/db331-secondary-breaking-drill-rig

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Eagle Farm, QLD
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