Comprehensive Collision Avoidance System for Buried Utilities

Society is often guilty of taking our buried utilities for granted. However, just like every other type of infrastructure, their neglect can have catastrophic effects. Therefore urgent attention is needed in order to facilitate and improve upon the current buried utilities maintenance techniques. The underground world is sometimes denser than the above-ground world. A classic example of this is Hong Kong where there are around 37 km of underground utilities under each kilometer of road. This figure is 8 times of that in the United States (Hong Kong Institute of Utility Specialists 2006). Unlike other types of infrastructure, buried utilities are difficult to locate and often even the act of accurately locating the utility poses a significant problem. Several accidents are caused due to mislocated or unmarked utilities. A system that helps in accurately locating as well as assisting in routine maintenance tasks of buried utilities is a top priority. This paper presents ongoing research at the University of Michigan that is investigating the use of high-accuracy Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS), combined with Geospatial Databases of subsurface utilities to design a new visual excavator-utility collision avoidance technology. 3D models of buried utilities in the vicinity of an operating excavator are created from available geospatial data. These models and their corresponding attribute information are then superimposed (i.e. projected) over the excavator’s work space using geo-referenced Augmented Reality (AR) technology to provide the operator and the on-site spotter with visual information on the location and type of utilities that exist in the vicinity of the excavator’s digging implement. Additionally, the paper also introduces future goals of having a sensor augmented GIS system that would help warn database managers as soon as anomalies are detected. It is our belief that the combination of these systems would help in tackling the current difficulties experienced by maintenance personnel and contractors alike.