Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/605412
EquipmentWorld.com | December 2015 67 Equipment reviews by owners for owners Equipment World's Reader Reviews is your new go-to source for an in-depth unbiased look at how contractors evaluate the models they own. Current reviews include: • Bobcat S650 skid steer • Case 580 Super N backhoe • Cat 336E L excavator Go to EWReaderReviews.com to find out how contractors rate the machines they own. continued CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY NEWS R esearchers at Virginia Tech think they may have an idea that could cut the 600 con- struction worker work zone fatalities in the country in half. The InZoneAlert vest incorporates radio sensors and GPS tracking that workers wear on or inside the vest coupled with connected vehicle technol- ogy. If a collision is likely, the sensors warn the construction worker and the driver of the vehicle. (To see a video expla- nation of the technology, go to equipmentworld.com, and search "prototype smart vest.") "Any warning we can give them is better than no warn- ing at all," said Kristen Hines, a doctoral student with the Brad- ley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who is helping lead the combined effort of the College of Engi- neering and the Virginia Tech Virginia Tech's prototype "smart vest" has potential to reduce highway worker deaths and injuries environments that drones often face. According to Topcon, the Falcon 8 is well suited for mapping or modeling projects up to 85 acres with high-reso- lution imaging. Topcon has two versions of the Falcon 8: the GeoExpert for sur- veying, modeling and mapping projects, and the InspectionPro for industrial inspection and monitor- ing applications. The GeoExpert has a HD RGB camera payload while the InspectionPro comes with the camera and infrared sensor combi- nation. Both versions can give you real time video and data monitoring, photo tagging, and desktop software to generate easy to edit material. An autopilot safety feature pro- vides three levels of redundancy for protection against performance drop or loss of control. Three inertial measurement devices synchronize all the data sensed by the UAV and compensate when needed. continued on page 68