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Robot might make construction sites safer

robotic crane
The robotic crane is tested at the National Institute of Standards and Technology
RELATED VIDEO
CNN's Rick Lockridge reports on construction by Internet.
Windows Media 28K 56K

Wireless data transmission can direct cranes to do their work.
Real 28K 56K
Windows Media 28K 56K
 
December 11, 1998
Web posted at: 9:53 a.m. EST (1453 GMT)

From Correspondent Rick Lockridge

(CNN) -- Researchers at the U.S. Commerce Department are developing remote-controlled cranes in hopes of making construction sites safer places.

A building site can be a dangerous place to work, due in part to heavy equipment, heavy loads that can dangle from cables, and working in close quarters with lots of people.

Often, the equipment operator can't actually see what he or she is doing, and has to rely on hand signals or guidance sent by two-way radio.

But the department's experimental crane could reduce some of that danger.

"This is a crane that allows you to look at objects and manipulate them very precisely, more so than you could with any existing type of crane," explained Bill Stone of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Conventional cranes can only maneuver loads in three directions.

But, the experimental crane controls its load in eight directions, making it easier to keep it from swinging out of control. The increased ability to control the load also reduces the need for workers to guide it by hand.

The experimental robotic crane incorporates technology that can send live data from the construction site to a command center. The information can be used in a variety of ways.

The robotic crane uses sensors, video cameras and the global positioning system to see where it's going and what it's doing.

"We are sensing the location, the position and the orientation of the machine in real time," Stone said. "That information is wirelessly transferred off the machine to a receiver at the construction site shack. It then goes from there down the Internet to a receiving station."

crane operator
The crane operator doesn't have to be in the same location as the crane  

That means the crane operator doesn't have to be in the crane cab, or on the construction site -- or even in the same city.

In addition, the data sent from the robotic crane to the construction shack can be used to control the machine, monitor progress and plan ahead.

"It allows us to simulate ahead of time, planning without actually moving the object on site" Stone said. (Audio 408 K/18 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

The U.S. Navy will be giving the experimental crane its first big test. The crane will be used to automatically deploy welding robots used for Navy shipbuilding.


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