Landslide Monitoring Methods: Application of Existing Technologies to Long-Termand Real-time Monitoring of Slope Movements

MoDOT project # TR202016Various landslide monitoring techniques were applied concurrently to a known cut-slope landslide and a previously unknown fill slope failure, both on the Ozark Mountain Highroad (Missouri Route 76) near Branson, Missouri. Both subsurface and drone-based monitoring techniques were employed so that the strengths and weaknesses of the various monitoring techniques could be compared. Slope inclinometer casings and vibrating wire piezometers were installed at the three borings drilled in the project area. An in-place inclinometer was installed in one boring to demonstrate the effectiveness of instrumented landslide monitoring. Dataloggers were connected to a cellular modem to enable real-time monitoring of the instruments through a web-based interface. LiDAR data was collected by drone annually. The research team developed a subsurface geometry for both slides and identified movement triggering events. The team also compared the various monitoring techniques to provide guidance for future selection of long-term monitoring methods at other unstable slopes

From Construction to Production: Enablers, Barriers and Opportunities for the Highways Supply Chain

The report presents the initial findings of a project part of the Lean Collaborative Research at Highways England with academia that aims at understanding enablers, barriers and opportunities to transform the current highways construction supply chain into a more manufacturing-like environment, where the benefits of production thinking can be achieved. The focus of the project is mostly on the adoption of off-site/modular (O/M) construction systems and advanced technologies, under a greater vision called “manufacturisation” of the highways supply chain

Intelligent pothole repair vehicle

This thesis presents an endeavor to design and construct a prototype of an automated road repair vehicle called the Intelligent Pothole Repair Vehicle (IPRV). The IPRV is capable of automatically detecting and filling potholes on road surfaces without operator assistance. An easy-to-construct mechanical means of pothole detection was employed to reduce costs and complexity that have thus far been the primary disadvantage of automated road repair vehicles. A network interface to an Ethernet was designed based on the transmission control protocol (TCP) to enable remote operability of the IPRV. A laptop computer was used onboard the IPRV for control and interfacing using a data-acquisition card installed on it. The Visual Basicî programming language and the Windows application programming interface (API) were used for all the programming requirements of this thesis. The IPRV employs feedback mechanisms for position control and path following. Operation has been designed to incorporate safety mechanisms that ensure that the IPRV automatically stops in the case of a loss of communication link or large network delays. Experiments were performed to test and calibrate the IPRV. The IPRV was designed to detect potholes that have a maximum depth greater than 2 cm

Climbing and Walking Robots

With the advancement of technology, new exciting approaches enable us to render mobile robotic systems more versatile, robust and cost-efficient. Some researchers combine climbing and walking techniques with a modular approach, a reconfigurable approach, or a swarm approach to realize novel prototypes as flexible mobile robotic platforms featuring all necessary locomotion capabilities. The purpose of this book is to provide an overview of the latest wide-range achievements in climbing and walking robotic technology to researchers, scientists, and engineers throughout the world. Different aspects including control simulation, locomotion realization, methodology, and system integration are presented from the scientific and from the technical point of view. This book consists of two main parts, one dealing with walking robots, the second with climbing robots. The content is also grouped by theoretical research and applicative realization. Every chapter offers a considerable amount of interesting and useful information

MUSME 2011 4 th International Symposium on Multibody Systems and Mechatronics

El libro de actas recoge las aportaciones de los autores a través de los correspondientes artículos a la Dinámica de Sistemas Multicuerpo y la Mecatrónica (Musme). Estas disciplinas se han convertido en una importante herramienta para diseñar máquinas, analizar prototipos virtuales y realizar análisis CAD sobre complejos sistemas mecánicos articulados multicuerpo. La dinámica de sistemas multicuerpo comprende un gran número de aspectos que incluyen la mecánica, dinámica estructural, matemáticas aplicadas, métodos de control, ciencia de los ordenadores y mecatrónica. Los artículos recogidos en el libro de actas están relacionados con alguno de los siguientes tópicos del congreso: Análisis y síntesis de mecanismos ; Diseño de algoritmos para sistemas mecatrónicos ; Procedimientos de simulación y resultados ; Prototipos y rendimiento ; Robots y micromáquinas ; Validaciones experimentales ; Teoría de simulación mecatrónica ; Sistemas mecatrónicos ; Control de sistemas mecatrónicosUniversitat Politècnica de València (2011). MUSME 2011 4 th International Symposium on Multibody Systems and Mechatronics. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/13224Archivo delegad

Cumulative index to NASA Tech Briefs, 1986-1990, volumes 10-14

Tech Briefs are short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This cumulative index of Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes (subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief number) and covers the period 1986 to 1990. The abstract section is organized by the following subject categories: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, computer programs, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences

Genetic-Based Optimisation Technique for the Development of Automated Inspection and Restoration Systems for Bridges

Automation and robotics are receiving significant attention in the field of inspection and restoration of steel bridges. However, the success level of the field implementations depends on numerous technological factors. This dissertation addresses aspects of the design, development and subsequent implementation of such on-site devices. The restoration process poses a high level of health hazard and carries environmental pollution risk. For these reasons, it is high on the consideration list for automation. The varied scale and geometry of bridges are some of the limiting conditions for performing the inspection and restoration tasks. Further aspects of concern are access provisions, the diversity of tasks required in the assessment and restoration of a bridge and compatibility between the operational characteristics of the automated device, tasks layout and direction of approach. The key factors, which arise as a result of the above analysis, are access, mobility, navigation, manipulation, probe change and control. In order to efficiently produce design alternatives, based on the industry (customers and designers) requirements, the engineering design framework is adopted. Due to the growing complexity of the required devices, new methodologies and approaches are needed. This dissertation presents a design methodology to generate alternatives for further considerations. The author's work combines: (i) research and suitability assessment of the existing enabling technologies, (ii) extensive task selection and analysis, (iii) incorporation of the industry requirements for generating the set of design criteria, and (iv) an innovative application of Genetic Algorithms. GA is used as a tool for simultaneous optimisation of the robot’s kinematic parameters, based on the criteria of collision and singularity avoidance, percentage of coverage, productivity and dexterity. Analysis and justification of a two-step approach is presented, with the former combining all the parameters, and the latter handling the chosen criteria. The methodology is then tested and verified on an existing construction robot (MPIR) from Technion. Finally, it is applied to two case studies, spherical and articulated manipulators performing a range of restoration activities on a selected bridge geometry model. A sensitivity analysis was also carried out on each case study in order to identify areas where improvements could be made. In general, the methodology is successful in choosing the more task-suitable manipulator and optimising the ranges of its kinematic parameters. This could be extended to optimise other parameters according to a set of alternative criteria. In doing so, it can bridge over several phases of the engineering design with a single approach