On September 16th, the main event of the 2023 National Science Popularization Day, jointly organized by China Association for Science and Technology and the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, along with 20 national ministries and commissions, kicked off at Shougang Park in Beijing. The intelligent mining exhibition project, proposed by our university's associate professor Zhang Cun, was the only selected project in the coal mining field. This project aims to provide the public, especially young people, with insights into the development of coal mining technology in China and the significance of coal in the country's economic and social development.
The exhibited project, based on the Intelligent Mining VR Virtual System developed by Professor Zhao Yixin's team at our university, garnered widespread attention in the "Smart Manufacturing Empowers the Nation" zone. This system employs immersive experience technology to recreate the panoramic view of intelligent mining in mines and utilizes virtual human-machine interaction technology to simulate disaster prevention and control in mining areas. Currently, it has been widely applied in classroom teaching, science popularization explanations, corporate promotion, and other areas.
The team from China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing has brought intelligent mining into the public eye with the help of virtual simulation. Through detailed and patient explanations, they have expanded the public's especially young people's understanding of the mining industry, contributing to the establishment of a positive image for the coal mining sector. Simultaneously, the Intelligent Mining exhibition area has garnered attention and coverage from mainstream media outlets, including China Central Television (CCTV), People's Daily, and Science and Technology Daily. This extensive media coverage has significantly propelled the visibility of intelligent mining into the public sphere in China.
The main event of this year's National Science Popularization Day brought together 360 exhibits and activities from 104 units across the country. It included five exhibition areas, namely "Guiding the Way to Brilliance", "Confident and Self-Reliant, Forging the Dream of a Strong Nation", "Science and Technology Benefiting People's Lives", "Science Popularization Carnival" and "Adding Up Science Education". Special exhibits such as the Chang'e-5 lunar mission return capsule, C919 aircraft model, artificial intelligence, and anti-fraud experiences attracted widespread attention from the public. Since its inception in 2004, the National Science Popularization Day has been held continuously for twenty years, with more than 400,000 key science popularization events organized by various departments across the country.
The exhibition project "Intelligent Mining" of CUMTB received support from Professor Zhao Yixin's National Natural Science Foundation popular science project titled "Popular Science Activities on Safe Intelligent Mining of Coal Resources (42042043)". The participating team included Associate Professor Zhang Cun, Ph.D. candidate Chen Yanhong, as well as undergraduate students Qin Chenyang, Ma Jiaqin, Jia Ceyuan, and Wang Zichen.
