SSI Certifies New Gocator Laser
The new Gocator 3D sensors from LMI Technologies, Inc.
(Delta, BC) have been officially certified for road profiling applications by
several Departments of Transportation.
Inertial profilers developed by Surface Systems & Instruments, Inc.
(SSI, Auburn, CA and Manhattan, KS) , equipped with Gocator 2342 wide-beam
lasers, have passed certification under the procedures enforced by the
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Kansas and Texas Departments of
Transportation. These are the first
certifications of road profiling systems equipped with Gocator 3D sensors. The Gocator 2342 sensor was recently
introduced as the next generation of laser line sensors for measuring pavement
roughness and ride quality at highway speed, regardless of outdoor conditions
and pavement geometry.
SSI, a
leading supplier of pavement inspection equipment for walking, light weight and
high speed profiling systems, is a long term user of LMI Technologies’ 3D
sensors for pavement measurement applications.
In advance of the certification process, SSI installed high speed
inertial profiler instrumentation on a standard pickup truck platform. Figure 1 shows the Gocator sensor on SSI’s
CS9100 mid-mount configuration. Two Gocator sensors were installed in
protective enclosures (provided by SSI), with one sensor in each wheel path.
SSI integrated sensor data with accelerometer information at each sensor, GPS
data, and other vehicle sensors with a full suite of electronics for data
acquisition, analysis and reporting.
 |
| Figure 1: Inertial Profiler with Gocator Sensors |
In the first certification process, the Wisconsin DOT
evaluated the system on separate asphalt and concrete test sections. The evaluation process starts with a walking
device to collect a neutral survey profile on each surface, which have the
wheel paths well marked with paint striping to facilitate consistent tracking
of the profile devices. The candidate
profiler then makes five runs on each surface. To pass the Wisconsin test, the
repeated profiles from both wheel paths on each surface must correlate
point-to-point at 92% for repeatability (comparing the five runs for the
candidate profiler to each other) and 90% for accuracy (comparing the candidate
device profiles to the neutral profile). The data is analyzed by Wisconsin DOT
personnel using the “ProVAL” software program sponsored by the U.S. Federal
Highway Administration. After the
Gocator system test runs were collected and analyzed, the equipment was
declared certified. Figure 2 shows the
successful certification on the WisDOT longitudinally tined concrete test
section.
Figure 2. ProVal Certification
Results
Two SSI CS9100 systems owned by Payne & Dolan, Inc.
(Waukesha, WI) and Northeast Asphalt, Inc. (Appleton, WI) passed the Wisconsin
DOT certification. Subsequently, SSI
inertial profiling systems with Gocator sensors passed certification in
Michigan, Illinois, Kansas and Texas.
Dennis Scott, President of SSI, states that cooperation with LMI
Technologies was excellent in undertaking the engineering and testing to add
the new Gocator sensor to SSI’s inertial profiling system. Mr. Scott stated that “We had customers that
knew about LMI Technologies’ new Gocator sensor, and they wanted it. We were fortunate to satisfy requests to
deliver this new sensor in time for DOT certifications and profiler deployment
for the 2013-2014 construction season.”
The new Gocator sensor is the latest technology that
replaces the RoLine sensor previously used for pavement profiling applications.
The RoLine sensor was introduced in 2008 at the Road Profiler User’s Group
(RPUG) to provide accurate, reliable profile data on coarse textured pavements
(particularly longitudinal tined and diamond ground surfaces). The RoLine
sensor was developed by LMI Technologies, in collaboration with the American
Concrete Pavement Association, the Michigan Concrete Pavement Association, and
the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, to address issues
of accuracy and repeatability of earlier sensors applied to measurement of
coarse textured pavements. Since their introduction, RoLine sensors have proven
very successful in accurately profiling all pavement surfaces. Initially the RoLine sensor was primarily
used on concrete or diamond ground pavements; however more recently, asphalt
pavers have found similar performance improvements, particularly on surfaces
that have wider spacing between aggregate materials.
Gocator sensors are LMI Technologies’ latest family of
all-in-one 3D smart sensors, all based on a common platform. The platform
approach allows easy implementation of enhancements and upgrades across the
full product line. All Gocators feature a built-in web server GUI that connects
to common web servers, in multiple languages, regardless of the end user operating
system. This provides ease of setup, configuration and integration. The
platform approach also provides a fully functional sensor that is easily
adapted to specific application needs.
The Gocator 2342 sensor for pavement profiling, Figure 3,
includes all features of the previous RoLine sensors, including dynamic
windowing for very high speed operation, and the same selection of sensor data
outputs, including full profiles over Ethernet, bridged single value, and
Selcom Serial interface as well as external synchronization. Gocator provides
an easy to integrate package with the same outputs as earlier RoLine sensors to
make updating profiling systems simple. Compared to RoLine sensors, Gocator
2342 features an easy to use browser based GUI, smaller package size and
increased speed.
Figure 3:
Gocator 2342 Pavement Profiling Sensor Module
Dennis Scott, President of SSI confirms that several Gocator
equipped profilers are in daily use today, and owners of the systems report
reliable performance with no significant support issues to date. For example, Brett Stanton, Quality Control
Manager for Payne & Dolan, Inc. reports “We rely heavily on our new SSI
Gocator system for extensive profile testing throughout all phases of our
paving projects. The system has worked
well from the start. We have not had
problems or downtime.”
Mr. Scott states that the plan is to continue to seek DOT
certifications for quality assurance testing in other states. With
certification, Gocator sensor equipped profilers provide repeatable and
accurate profiling data for all pavement surfaces.
Author:
Dr. Walt
Pastorius
Marketing
Consultant
LMI
Technologies Inc.
www.lmi3D.com
# posted by Scott Rock : 6:24 AM
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
0 comments
SSI at 2012 World of Asphalt
We are excited to announce that SSI will be attending the World of Asphalt Conference on March 13-15, 2012, at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can find all the info about the event and where our booth will be here. We hope to see you there!
# posted by Matthew : 12:32 AM
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
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SSI at 2012 World of Concrete
SSI will be attending World of Concrete on January 24-27th, 2012 at Las Vegas. You can find us in the Central Hall, at booth number C6390. Be sure to come see us!
For more information on the conference, visit www.worldofconcrete.com
# posted by Matthew : 12:30 AM
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CS8800 Walking Profiler Achieves Improved Performance Objectives
Please see "CS8800 Proof of Performance".
# posted by Matthew : 12:28 AM
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Profiling System Variances in Detecting Localized Roughness
Please see this document.
# posted by Scott Rock : 6:11 PM
Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Visit us at the World of Concrete 2008!
Be sure to visit our booth at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas, NV on January 22-25, 2008. We will be exhibiting in the South Hall, Level 1 at Booth S12754. See you there!
For more information on the conference, visit http://www.worldofconcrete.com
# posted by Scott Rock : 11:04 AM
Friday, January 04, 2008
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2006 Concrete Profiling System Technology Update
- SSI completes integration of new Selcom RoLine 100 point (4 inch lateral line) laser for concrete pavements onto lightweight profiling system and multiple purpose profiling sytem (trailer mounted).
- SSI lightweight profiler with RoLine laser sensor achieves equal or better performance than Ames Engineering lightweight profiler on Iowa DOT concrete research surface testing.
- SSI profiling system with RoLine laser sensors demonstrate superb accuracy and repeatability on independent DOT certification tests.
- 2006 Concrete Pavement Profiling System Comparison testing shows that Ames "Triods" lightweight profiling system is not a Class I profiler under ASTM E950.
- Significantly improved profiling system technology than presented within 2005 ACPA Repeatability Tests.
- New SSI lightweight profiler and multiple purpose profiler (trailer mounted) commercially available with RoLine sensor configured for concrete pavement testing.
Concrete Pavement Profiler Update--October 2006
# posted by Scott Rock : 6:12 PM
Thursday, October 12, 2006
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Laser Profiling Systems Update
http://www.smoothroad.com/repeatability_tests.pdf
# posted by Scott Rock : 11:05 AM
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
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Welcome!
Welcome to the SSI blog. This blog will contain important information on SSI's products.
# posted by Scott Rock : 10:32 AM
Saturday, July 08, 2006
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