New automated system installs reflective markers with less risk, cost
Later this month, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology Research Institute (GTRI) will unveil an automated system for placing reflective markers on roads and highways that is designed to reduce risk and cost. The system, commissioned by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), has been in development for three years, and a prototype should be ready in the next few months. GTRI researchers will give a report on the project during the Washington-based National Research Council’s Transportation Research Board Annual meeting in Washington on Jan. 23.
Replacing the raised pavement markers (RPMs) currently involves a six-person crew with five vehicles that must stop while a worker on a seat slung from a trailer near the ground performs the work. “The advantages of our automated system are that it’s less labor-intensive, it’s faster and safer, uses less fuel and causes less wear and tear on GDOT equipment,” says GTRI project manager Wiley Holcombe. The new system requires one vehicle and two workers: one to drive and the other to load RPMs and adhesive into the system. The device can apply the RPMs while traveling at 5 mph.
