The device created by University of Arizona senior engineering students is suspended from a mobile armature can be positioned over an excavation made by a backhoe or other excavator and accurately measure the depth and volume using laser range finders (lidar?). This keeps the operator away from the excavation and allows for a more accurate measurement compared to using a tape or rod. The team of senior engineering students wrote their own software from scratch. The Caterpillar Proving Grounds in nearby Green Valley, AZ will be using the technology immediately and working on a more advanced version soon. [Source: Arizona Daily Star. Image: CAT]
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[Editor] National Science Foundation (NSF) Press Release – June 30, 2008. Screenshot Credits: Jeramy Decker, Kiewit Corp [/Editor]
Running for more than 1,000 kilometers along picturesque coastline, California’s Highway 1 is easy prey for many of the natural hazards plaguing the region, including landslides.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is currently building a kilometer-long tunnel to bypass one of the most landslide-prone stretches of the highway, the Devil’s Slide, to help ensure drivers’ safe passage.
Using a new software package developed by researchers at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., project engineers are getting a detailed 3-D view of the rock exposed in the excavation, adding a new tool for improving both safety and construction progress.
[Editor] Click through for the rest of the press release. [/Editor]