Tag Archives: internet of things

Topcon IoT Construction

IoT for Construction

Greater interconnectivity is transforming the way we go about construction. Probably the best definition of the Internet of Things (IoT) appears in a Forbes magazine article written by the futurist Jacob Morgan; it’s the concept of “connecting any device with an on and off switch to the internet (and/or to each other).” This includes everything from...

Finnish startup IndoorAtlas uses a building’s magnetic distortions, a floorplan, and a smartphone’s magnetometer for indoor location.

Indoor Positioning

The next frontier in personal navigation poses both limits and promise. Imagine that you’re disembarking from an airplane at Chicago O’Hare airport. You have a connection to Seattle for an important customer meeting. Your smartphone begins to buzz; you’re informed that your connecting flight is pre-boarding. But you’re not worried. Your smartphone provides indoor directions...

This heavy excavator (left) resolves orientation via GNSS antennas on the counterweight, and a series of tilt sensors calibrated to the moving sections of the boom provide highly accurate feedback to the operator (inset) as to progress of the bucket towards design grades per the 3D model uploaded into the controller. Another level of productivity gains comes from the telemetry fed into the site-management software and its virtual-reality viewing tools that provide real-time visual status of all equipment on the site.

The Digital Site

The complete digital site is more than just machine-controlled heavy equipment. Recent advances in heavy civil have been profound in connectivity, automation, and visualization. How long has automation played a role in heavy civil construction? As far back as the late 1980s when early GPS-guided (or informed) systems began to reach the market. But it...

An Intro to Internet of Things

Internet of Things and Internet of Where-Things-Are Your field measurement instrument is connected to the internet as is your data collector; plus your phone and perhaps your watch; your home’s thermostat, security system, and lighting; your television, game consoles, entertainment system; your car, your kids, maybe even your dog’s collar; and soon, too, things like...