Founded in 2004, Motion Metrics is a Canadian technology company that uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to improve safety, productivity, and energy efficiency at mines and quarries worldwide. The company develops all hardware and software in-house, providing intuitive solutions that do not interrupt existing workflows and are supported by local, hands-on teams. Trusted by the world’s largest mining companies, Motion Metrics now has customers across six continents and offices in Chile, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, and Russia to provide fast, localized support.
New technologies provide a significant opportunity for mines to better compete under challenging economic conditions but can only achieve widespread adoption when they are easy to use, affordable, and supported by strong service and support agreements. In addition to understanding unique customer needs and creating value alignment, technology vendors like Motion Metrics need to overcome challenging technical requirements and design solutions able to survive the harsh mining environment. “Developing a great product for the mining industry requires a lot of knowledge, effort, and domain expertise in terms of technology,” says Shahram Tafazoli, CEO, Motion Metrics. The company works closely with customers to address their unique needs, and takes pride in its ability to deliver rugged, reliable solutions that are as intuitive as they are powerful.
The company’s flagship solution is ShovelMetrics™, a complete monitoring solution for all shovels, excavators, and backhoes that improves mine safety and productivity. This modular system provides missing tooth detection, particle size analysis, payload monitoring, and blind spot detection to provide the operator with an added layer of insight and protection. Missing teeth present such a threat to safety that some mines will not operate their shovels without Motion Metrics’ detection solution. The company also provides a missing tooth detection solution for loaders, called LoaderMetrics™ that uses thermal imaging. Both products are powered by deep neural networks trained on mining data from around the world.
Another area in which the company leads the market is particle size analysis – Motion Metrics offers solutions for shovels, trucks, conveyor belts, and in a portable format. Particle size is an important metric for mines to measure when optimizing their size reduction process, and Motion Metrics uses stereo imaging and deep learning algorithms to provide the most accurate solution on the market. “Many companies have tried doing rock segmentation using different kinds of cameras for the last few decades, but we are disrupting the industry with our AI-based method,” says Tafazoli. All of Motion Metrics’ solutions interface with its centralized data analysis platform, MetricsManager™ Pro. With authorized credentials, users can access custom dashboards, data summaries, and in-depth performance reports.
The excellence of its products and quality of its customer support has catalyzed a period of rapid growth for Motion Metrics. This past year, the company achieved 50% revenue growth, opened three new offices, launched a new product, and was named among British Columbia’s Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies by Business in Vancouver. Motion Metrics will continue to disrupt the mining industry in 2020.
