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A friend of mine is permanently disabled because of poor communication between excavator spotters. Had the ground not been soft that day he wouldn't have survi

A friend of mine is permanently disabled because of poor communication between excavator spotters. Had the ground not been soft that day he wouldn't have survived being run over. I definitely welcome innovation in this space. What is the current upper bound for camera drone flight time? Is it feasible to have these operators park a few 3rd person POV drones to switch between? There is only so much you can do with views from the equipment before you need ground-truthing.

btbuildem 6y ago
I can see that working with a rotating crew of light quadcopters. Having an "eye in the sky" would help monitor people and equipment on a site.
- pugworthy 6y ago
  Or just have people drive the forklifts
PeterisP 6y ago
I fear that forklift driving through a computer monitor will result in even less situational awareness than being in the forklift, thus increasing the risk of accidents.
- yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
  It would be easy to argue that more accidents but with fewer human injuries is still a net win.
  - PeterisP 6y ago
    While many forklift-caused deaths involve the driver dying when, for example, a forklift rolls over; forklifts cause thousands of severe injuries each year to people around the forklift. Those people would be threatened and injured even more by a driver that has limited spatial awareness because he/she is not there and is just watching a computer screen. We would see more accidents but with fewer human injuries if automated forklifts would enable a human-free facility, but it's not going to be at that level yet.
- ortusdux 6y ago
  I'm talking about excavators, not fork lifts. Earth movers. There are many jobsites where the only people on the ground are spotters. My friend was a spotter when he was runover by an excavator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tdfizoornI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tdfizoornI
callalex 6y ago
It’s a warehouse, why not take the simple approach of fixed cameras with intelligent video stream selection based on location?

btbuildem 6y ago

I can see that working with a rotating crew of light quadcopters. Having an "eye in the sky" would help monitor people and equipment on a site.

pugworthy 6y ago
Or just have people drive the forklifts

PeterisP 6y ago

I fear that forklift driving through a computer monitor will result in even less situational awareness than being in the forklift, thus increasing the risk of accidents.

yjftsjthsd-h 6y ago
It would be easy to argue that more accidents but with fewer human injuries is still a net win.
- PeterisP 6y ago
  While many forklift-caused deaths involve the driver dying when, for example, a forklift rolls over; forklifts cause thousands of severe injuries each year to people around the forklift. Those people would be threatened and injured even more by a driver that has limited spatial awareness because he/she is not there and is just watching a computer screen. We would see more accidents but with fewer human injuries if automated forklifts would enable a human-free facility, but it's not going to be at that level yet.
ortusdux 6y ago
I'm talking about excavators, not fork lifts. Earth movers. There are many jobsites where the only people on the ground are spotters. My friend was a spotter when he was runover by an excavator. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tdfizoornI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tdfizoornI

callalex 6y ago

It’s a warehouse, why not take the simple approach of fixed cameras with intelligent video stream selection based on location?