US launches new tech vehicle with help from UK CIOB members.
CIOB members are often involved in projects that are more than bricks and mortar and two members have recently been a key part of a test of automated vehicle technology.
Colas, in partnership with US companies Royal Truck and Equipment (RT&E) and Micro Systems Inc (MSI), has developed the world’s first autonomous impact protection vehicle (AIPV) for use on the roads to protect the lives of road workers.
Phil Beaumont FCIOB and Robert Cummings MCIOB – both of whom sit on the Newcastle HUB – oversaw the Colas initiative in the UK.
“Traffic management may not be mainstream construction but without it the construction and maintenance of the road network cannot take place which in turn impacts the whole built environment,” says Beaumont.
The AIPV was launched in Colorado in August after the successful trials in the UK.
Incorporating a “leader-follower” system unused in the transport industry before now, the AIPV is designed to mimic the actions of the designated leading vehicle driving in front of it.
The driverless vehicle has the ability to brake, accelerate and change course in a way that exactly matches the “leader” vehicle, driven by a traffic management operative.
To make this work, the AIPV utilises military-grade technology (previously only used in the US armed forces) including six state-of-the-art cameras, high-precision GPS and optical lane tracking.
Comments are closed.