Advanced Research Center Celebrates National Transportation Week
May 18, 1999
For 10 years, researchers at UC Davis have been devising machines that will help highway maintenance workers stay safe and work more efficiently. These machines assist with jobs such as dispensing traffic cones for lane closings, selectively spraying weed-killer on roadsides, inspecting the hard-to-reach undersides of bridges, and clearing roads of mudslides and avalanches.
The UC Davis research unit is named the Advanced Highway Maintenance and Construction Technology Research Center. It was established in 1989 and is largely funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). Its partnerships with Caltrans, the Federal Highway Administration and private industry make it possible to tackle very large research projects.
Facilities of the AHMCT research center include a fabrication laboratory, robotics laboratory, computer design facilities and field facilities for testing full-size prototypes. About 20 graduate students work on thesis research in the center each year.
One of every seven jobs in the United States is related to transportation. UC Davis and the AHMCT Research Center are proud of their role in helping those workers build and maintain the safest, most efficient transportation system in the world.
Machine Developer and Status Description
TAMER (teleoperated and automated maintenance equipment robotics)
Developed by UC Davis and Caltrans. Deployment testing began in August 1998. A remotely controlled front-end loader -- which lets the operator stand at a safe distance and clear roads of mudslides and avalanches.
Automated Cone Machine Developed by UC Davis and Caltrans. Deployment testing began in 1999. A truck that automatically places and retrieves 10-pound traffic cones on the roadway -- which reduces the number of people required and is far safer than hand-dispensing the cones.
Tethered Mobile Routing Robot Developed by UC Davis and Caltrans. Deployment testing began in 1999. A robot, controlled from the safe confines of a support vehicle, that cuts channels in the pavement surface to prepare it for sealing -- which eliminates strenuous, dusty, slow and dangerous work previously done by patching crews.
Smart Herbicide Applicator Developed by UC Davis and Caltrans. Deployment testing began in 1997. A truck carrying tanks of herbicide and a detector that identifies and selectively sprays green roadside weeds -- which reduces herbicide use and workers' chemical exposure.
Advanced Snowplow Developed by UC Davis and Caltrans. Deployment testing began in 1998. A snowplow with radar to warn of vehicles that lie ahead, even in whiteout conditions, and magnetic sensors that help the driver stay safely on course.
Aerobot Developed by Moller International Corp., UC Davis and Caltrans. Under development. A vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft that carries cameras and other sensing devices for inspecting hard-to-reach structures -- which means workers do not have to hang from a tether or ride up on a crane arm.
For more information, visit the Web site at National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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