Tag: drones: Page 5

Technology

FAA releases finalized commercial drone rules, tossing out need for special exemptions

The Federal Aviation Administration today announced that it has finalized regulations on the commercial use of drones in U.S. airspace. The official regulations, which will take effect in August, aren’t all that different from the restrictions businesses agreed to operate within as part of the Section 333 exemption formerly required for all commercial drone flights. The main difference […]

June 21, 2016

Roadbuilding

AASHTO survey finds increase in state DOT drone use for inspections, data collection

State departments of transportation are increasing their use of drones for inspections and data collection, providing a direct bottom line result of cost savings, according to a recent report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). AASHTO found that 17 state transportation agencies have studied the use of drones, while 16 […]

March 29, 2016

Roadbuilding

Highways 2.0: Transportation’s future holds drastic changes for road builders

The Eisenhower Interstate System was a bold plan. It supercharged our economy and provided good, middle class jobs to millions of Americans for more than 40 years. It changed the face and character of America. That’s what we’re calling Highways 1.0. What followed in the footsteps of these big thinkers and world-class builders? Stasis, neglect and […]

March 11, 2016

Technology

AI, robotics expected to claim nearly 500,000 construction jobs by 2020

An estimated 5.1 million jobs are expected to be lost in the next five years due to advances in technology, specifically those in artificial intelligence, machine-learning, 3D printing and robotics, according to a report from the World Economic Forum. Of those job losses, construction and extraction are anticipated to account for nearly 10 percent. The […]

January 25, 2016

Technology

Parrot unveils fixed-wing Disco drone with autopilot and an orbiting “Loiter” mode

Outside of surveying uses, the vast majority of construction applications for unmanned aircraft require multi-rotor drones like DJI’s Phantom series. The helicopter-like function of these drone models allows for way more versatility thanks to their ability to hover and capture images of a given subject at various angles. And though the airplane-like fixed wing models […]

January 19, 2016

Technology

2016 Innovations Awards: Year of the Drone headlines 3 game-changing construction technologies

In the past year, no other technology has shown more potential to impact – and improve – more parts of the construction business than unmanned aircraft, more commonly referred to as drones. There are the obvious applications such as using the aircraft to grab aerial progress shots, but contractors like Rogers-O’Brien have figured out how […]

January 8, 2016

Technology

2016 Innovations Award Winner: Volvo CE Density Direct compaction system

Algorithms seem to rule the world now, with these programming juggernauts turning massive amounts of data into usable concepts. It’s an algorithm that makes Volvo CE’s Density Direct intelligent compaction system stand out among the crowded field of compaction equipment. Introduced at the World of Asphalt show this past March, Density Direct’s key differentiation is […]

January 8, 2016

Technology

2016 Innovations Award Winner: Vermeer Insite productivity tools

As Jon Kuyers tells it, Vermeer team members started to notice something when they visited contractors. “We’d go to a jobsite,” says Vermeer’s senior global product manager, “and our focus was naturally on the equipment and how to make it more productive. But then we’d wait for the job to get organized. It wasn’t the […]

January 8, 2016

Construction Equipment

Ford wants the F-150 to be a “drone base station” for mobile deployment

As we concluded with our 2016 Innovations Awards, no other technology more than drones in 2015 showed more potential to impact the way we do business. Komatsu has started a business around the aircraft that could prove revolutionary to its core business. Contractors are implementing them throughout their workflow, and just yesterday we reported on how Caterpillar […]

January 8, 2016

Technology

Caterpillar studying how drones can enhance heavy equipment production

Caterpillar is continuing the emphasis it has placed on predictive machine analytics in the last year with a collaboration that will explore how drones can assist in the collection of that data and more jobsite insights. The company recently announced a marketing agreement with French drone data analytics startup Redbird that will focus on how unmanned […]

January 7, 2016

Roadbuilding

N. Carolina DOT issues its own drone guidelines for recreational operation

The “First in Flight” state is offering drone user guidelines for all those new to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in time for what could be a heavy gift-giving season for the devices. “We’re proud of North Carolina’s legacy of being first in manned flight,” says North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Secretary Nick Tennyson. “The […]

December 22, 2015

Home

10th Day of Construction Gifts: Blade Nano QX drone for beginners to (crash and) learn with

If you’ve spent any time at all reading this site, you’re likely aware that drones are by far and away the fastest growing technology on construction sites around the country. We’ve seen one contractor increase efficiency by working these unmanned aircraft into just about every aspect of its workflow and now we have a clear picture […]

December 18, 2015