Virginia Work Zone Employs High-Tech Protection
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Smart Work Zone system capabilities have expanded to meet the safety needs of an Albemarle County, Virginia, work zone deployed at the roundabout intersection of Route 151 and Route 250.
“This is a great collaboration opportunity between the institute and the Virginia Department of Transportation,” said Jean Paul Talledo Vilela, senior research associate at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). “We added a new sensor fusion technology based on radar and cameras to detect speeding vehicles and provide enough warning time for workers to move to a safe location. The goal of using this enhanced technology is to save more lives by making work zones safer.”
Previously deployed in Wise County and in the Northern Virginia area, reports The Roanoke Star, the Smart Work Zone system includes wearable smart vests for construction workers that accurately transmits their GPS position and predicts potential hazards from passing motorists. A mobile base station then broadcasts work zone information to connected vehicles and uses smart cone devices to automatically define work zone boundaries. This extends the wireless communications link between workers and the base station when they are not in its line of sight.
Read the article.
Source: The Roanoke Star
About the Author
Frank RaczonFrank Raczon
Frank Raczon has covered and influenced the equipment industry for 35 years, including 15 years as senior editor of Construction Equipment, and marketing, advertising, and public relations work with the industry's top manufacturers. In addition to authoring "Caterpillar: Modern Earthmoving Marvels" (Motorbooks, 2015), he has won numerous awards in his career, highlighted by nods from the Construction Writers Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Business Marketing Association, and BtoB magazine. Raczon has also won a number of awards from publishing peer groups such as ASBPE and TABPI.