Roland Piquepaille, author of ZDNET’s Emerging Tech blog, recently wrote an interesting post on laser-aided software for tunnel construction. To take action against the potential danger of landslides along California’s beautiful oceanside Highway 1, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is assisting the state’s Department of Transportation, a.k.a. Caltrans, in building a kilometer-long tunnel under the infamous Devil’s Slide landslide.

Working under dangerous, life-threatening landslides may not sound appealing to you — or anyone for that matter — which is why Caltrans is being aided by an “ultra precise” laser scan software tool, referred to as a gVT (geotechnical Visualization Tool), to improve the safety of those working and push along the overall construction progress.

Piquepaille details how the gVT that was originally created for a National Science Foundation Information Technology Research Initiative project. He quotes the NSF:

[T]he gVT “converts imagery of millions of rock-surface points-collected at a safe distance by a laser scanner-into easily manipulation web of information.”

The data collected by the laser scanner then becomes a permanent digital record of the exposed material they uncovered.

NSF goes on to say this:

The scan data, at a resolution of 5 millimeters, provides information that the software program packages into enormous visualizations incorporating up to 10 meters of excavated tunnel.

After this data is collected, the engineers working on the tunnel can use the gVT to spot weaknesses in the rock that could create a potential collapse, the NSF said.

The precision offered by the gVT construction software has taken everyone by surprise — even the engineers who developed it. Piquepaille points out that Joseph Dove, the lead developer of the gVT at Virginia Tech, stated that “the information is so detailed that researchers can observe where rock layers are separating and how fractures are oriented. In addition, the software allows researchers to recreate sections of rock that have fallen.

Another plus for this software is its portability. The data can be used from an engineer’s home base, far away from the tunnel — and harm’s way.

Above all, what’s most unique about this construction project is the way the gVT is being used. On-site construction estimating software is generally used for measuring large things, such as a hill that is being leveled to make a road. Additionally, software like the gVT is generally used above ground, not under tons of landslide-prone rock.

Using the gVT to create these tunnels under Devil’s Slide was a brand-new idea. Ultimately it will save time for future underground construction projects and enhance the safety of those working on them.

(Editor’s note: This is the first blog post by Kara Brosnan, who will be helping us out on ConstructionSoftwareReview.com throughout the summer. Welcome aboard, Kara!)

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Construction industry news and trends, Estimating software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.