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[VIDEO} Colorado DOT Tests World’s First Self-Driving Construction Vehicle

via Royal Truck & Equipmentvia Royal Truck & Equipment

via Royal Truck & Equipment

“Just in the last four years, there have been 26 incidents where a member of the traveling public struck a CDOT impact protection vehicle — that’s almost seven per year,” said Shailen Bhatt, CDOT Executive Director in a press release. “This is a dangerously high number when you consider that in some instances, a CDOT employee is sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle that was hit. By using self-driving technology, we’re able to take the driver out of harm’s way while still effectively shielding roadside workers.”

Using a driverless vehicle to take impact makes logical sense, but how does it work? Through a system of GOS receivers, computers, a compass, and a transceiver, the driverless follower vehicle automatically adjusts speed and direction to keep up and stay a safe distance from the leader vehicle, which is operated by a human.

In conjunction with Colas (an infrastructure company in the UK), the Colorado DOT and Royal Truck and Equipment recently deployed the ATMA truck in a live work zone.  Footage of the driverless truck in action was shared by CIG Public Relations and you can watch below:

Video feeds on a construction site are not only great for timelapse videos, they can potentially help stop intruders who enter your site.

On August 18th, around 200 new tools were showcased at the annual DeWalt Media Event.  This particular event was held in Nashville, Tennessee, where you can’t escape country music no matter how hard you try.

Below are what we thought were the highlights of the event.  Let us know what new release you’re most excited about!

Falls from height is one of the leading causes of death among construction workers and ladders are a major contributor to that number. According to the CDC, falls from ladders caused 64 fatalities and 11,500 injuries in the construction industry alone in 2011. There are many things ladder users can do to make their work safer, like setting it at proper angles on level ground, checking for damage, and maintaining 3 points of contact, among others. One technology company is trying to take some of the thinking out of ladder set up.

When construction companies initially started to adopt mobile technologies like tablets and smartphones, there was a race between many construction technology companies to be the future leader in the area.  As the years rolled on, it became less and less likely that one app was going to be the end-all-be-all, like AutoCAD became in the architectural design world.  There’s not one app out there right now that provides every single function that a construction company needs, because each company is very unique.  The solution? Integration.

In March of this year, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would begin taking orders on their Solar Roof Shingle concept.  Tesla Solar Roof is a solar power roof system that eliminates the need for bulky solar panels installed over top of traditional roof materials.  Instead, the shingles themselves, which come in a variety of different styles, are the solar panels.

At the company’s second quarter earnings report, Tesla announced that the first solar roof installations have been completed.

[guest post] The progress of construction sites is usually captured by taking still photos of different areas that have been subject to change. Documenting a full construction site requires a lot of pictures (usually more than ten per room), and even then not every corner of a room can be captured.

[VIDEO] World’s First Sideways- Moving Elevator Unveiled in Germany

Standard vertical elevators have had it too good, for too long.  After the first cable dependent elevator was unveiled in 1857, not much has changed in the elevator industry.  They’re still using cable systems and still only going up and down. But not anymore.  ThyssenKrupp has officially made a multi-directional elevator a reality.