Compaction equipment specialist, Conplant, has lifted the covers off its newest safety innovation coined the Integrated Intelligent Collision Avoidance System (IICAS), designed to work with its compaction range.
Much like a car’s auto emergency braking system, the IICAS detects obstructions in the machine’s path and will automatically halt the machine if the obstruction comes too close for it to continue operating safely.
The IICAS took Conplant a couple of years to develop and test in real world applications before it was launched to the public at the National Construction Equipment Convention in Sydney last November.
“Some of our customers asked us to look into safety technologies and this came about as a result,” said Conplant national sales and marketing manager, Andrew Wheeler.
“The IICAS system was developed using a third party software from Europe, and it took us two years to integrate it into the machine,” he said.
“Now it's fully integrated which enables it to control the machine's revs, slow the machine down or apply the brakes to stop the machine.”
The IICAS system consists of True 3D Smart Cameras with intelligent functions to actively detect potential collisions and take appropriate measures to avoid them.
A traffic light system inside and outside the cab is used to warn the operator and people on site of potential hazards.
Green signals that there are no obstructions detected and the machine can continue to operate safely, while yellow means an obstruction is detected within a set radius at which point the machine will start to slow down and audible and visual warnings will activate to alert the operator.
When the red light comes on, it means the obstruction has come too close for the machine to continue operating safely and the machine will come to a complete stop.
System parameters such as field of interest, zone heights and widths as well as slowing and braking distances can be set according to the job at hand.
“For example, in a road construction situation, you want the zone set long and narrow so it’s not picking up vehicles moving up and down the road alongside the compactor, and stop every time a vehicle goes past,” Wheeler explained.
“Similarly, the zone can be made wider if you're in an environment where more people and equipment will be moving around on the site.”
While designed to suit its range of compaction equipment, Conplant said there is potential for the IICAS to work on other heavy equipment as well.
“We're talking to customers now who are asking us to put it on certain machines,” Wheeler said.
“So we're in the process of determining what the customers want and how we can integrate the IICAS into their machines.”