Dr. Jochen Teizer, assistant professor in civil engineering at Georgia Tech, and Dr. Matt Reynolds, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering at Duke University, were recently interviewed by Anne Eisenberg for the NY Times. The article highlights their SmartHat design, a hard hat containing a tiny microprocessor and beeper that sound a warning when dangerous equipment is nearby on a construction site.
What's unique about the SmartHat is that its beeper and processor operate without batteries. They use use such a small amount of power, they can harvest it from radio waves in the air. These radio waves come from wireless network transmitters, installed on backhoes and bulldozers to track their locations. The microprocessor monitors the strength and direction of the radio signal from the construction equipment to determine if the SmartHat’s wearer is too close.
Dr. Teizer has worked in construction engineering and management, transportation, automation and emerging sensing technology systems since 1997. His research interests include: engineering and management in construction and transportation; automation and robotics; emerging sensing technology; work zone safety; inference management, resource tracking, and productivity; sustainability; data acquisition and processing in real-time; and 3-D modeling, computer vision and image processing. He is currently building the Real-time Automated Project Information Decision Systems (RAPIDS) laboratory at Georgia Tech. The RAPIDS laboratory will be a unique facility that focuses on developing and applying innovative technologies and methods to improve construction and transportation performance. For additional information about the RAPIDS laboratory, visit http://rapids.ce.gatech.edu.
To read the NY Times article, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/business/18novel.html?_r=1&ref=radio
