It seems like
only yesterday that we were worried about what computer monsters lay hidden in
the transition to the new milennium…worries fed by guys in suede shoes for the
most part, but the magic date came and went with fewer ripples than when an F-22
Raptor slips into supersonic flight. That was a decade ago—a time many of us
scoffed at the idea that joysticks and computers would replace levers and
mechanical linkages or that we would find ourselves relying more and more on
space-age wizardry to do jobs that only a lifetime of experience would allow us
to approach with total confidence.
Today,
however, we watch as relative neophytes climb aboard modern machines, fire up,
check information relayed to a video display, adjust the volume on the tape
deck, and then trundle off to do a day’s work with speed and precision
heretofore the province of the “old pros.” Does this mean an end to the need for
excellence? No way, but it does open up some exciting
possibilities.
In an industry
certainly more noted for its conservatism than for its forays into the ragged
edge of the technological envelope, you have to wonder what got into the
equipment designers’ Thermos bottles as the last century drew to a close and
when all of this change will slow down and allow us to catch up. I suggest not
holding your breath.
The moment the
equipment manufacturers dipped into their grab bag of tricks and emerged with
digital replacements for their timeworn, analog mechanical systems, we crossed a
magical threshold and stepped into a realm of incredible—I’m tempted to say
infinite—possibilities bound only by our ties to the
past.
Ponder this if
you will: The astronauts who went to and walked on the moon did so with orders
of magnitude with less computing power than we carry in our cell phones. Until
three decades ago, the ability to determine your location in three-dimensional
space was a laborious process that could take hours, and even when global
positioning system (GPS) units became available to the public, another decade
passed before the government stopped dithering the signal and allowed us access
to really useful levels of precision. Today you can go down to your local
shopping center and buy a computer, software, and peripheral equipment that
would rival the best on the planet when the Berlin Wall came down, and you have
in the bare bones of your grader, excavator, dozer, or loader more intelligence
than the Boeing 747 had when it came into service.
What
Do You Want To Do Today?
How about
seeing not only where you are but also where you plan to be when the job is
done? Watch any TV show on modern fighter aircraft and see what magic resides in
the systems at the pilot’s fingertips and in some cases even beyond his
conscious control. Look at the wealth of information available for call-up on a
multifunction display or even on the aircraft's windscreen or canopy. While the
aircraft is waffling around in the dark of night or plunging through fog and
clouds, sensors of various kinds are able to acquire detailed images in
near-daylight clarity and display them in any of several ways that allow the
pilot to perform the mission with confidence and precision. If this isn’t
enough, the pilot can access data from the aircraft’s radar or threat-warning
sensors and project them as overlays to visually enhanced imagery to aid in the
solution of complex tactical problems. Do these capabilities seem too
far-fetched for dirtmoving activities? They’re not. In fact, they are very much
within the capabilities of equipment and technologies in use right
now.
An increasing
number of operators are making use of laser and GPS to guide or actually control
blades, buckets, or the movement of entire machines, and typically these actions
or guidance cues are displayed symbolically on a dash-panel monitor. That’s
pretty neat, but the same information could be placed on the windshield,
presenting the operator with a superimposed view of where to go and what to do
to achieve whatever the plan calls for. How much more difficult is it to imagine
the potential advantages of adding video or infrared imagery to aid operators in
confined or low-visibility situations?
Most of us
gulp at the thought of remote-control equipment running around a job site, but
do you doubt that this is possible and in certain applications desirable if not
downright necessary? Already we see this happening in farming operations where
tractors grind their way over hundreds or even thousands of acres under GPS
control, making furrows or laying down seed. Closer to our activities are a
variety of remote-control robots used to work with dangerous materials or in
lethally contaminated areas, so how much sense does it make for us to put
operators at even a slight risk by having them work in contaminated soils when
we have the ability to accomplish these tasks remotely or even
robotically?