After the cell tower maintenance, construction jobs are the next most hazardous jobs out there. In 2014, more than 100 construction workers died from onsite accidents. Also, this number is not accurate as most of the construction related injuries go unreported.
Two of the top causes of these deaths are a) colliding with something or b) by getting pinned between a machinery and vehicle.
The cause b) happens when a worker walk into the blind spots of a construction vehicle which a vehicle operator fails to spot. Hence, mishap! Construction work is labor intensive which exhausts a person and such mistakes become prominent.
Sumitomo, a Japanese machinery manufacturer, came up with a solution to negate chances of these mishaps. And the solution proposed by them is rather simple yet effective.
One of the recently filed patents by Sumitomo indicates mounting a camera on construction vehicles. These cameras are configured to detect humans in their vicinity. Using multiple wide angle cameras, this system alerts an operator when a construction worker is in vicinity of a vehicle.
The below patent image help you decipher the camera setup in a vehicle:
This solution highlights creativity of Sumitomo’s inventors. This isn’t a breakthrough solution. Google has been using cameras and Lidar to detect human and vehicle in vicinity of a driverless car.
I don’t want to comment on novelty of this patent application as I didn’t research much on it; however, there are fair chances of this patent not getting granted. But that’s a different story and we are not concerned with that.
The awesome thing is: it saves lives which, of course, are precious. Construction jobs are 2nd most hazardous jobs. There is a lot to do to decrease the rate of accidents and such solutions are most welcomed. It is worth implementing.
Do you know? : Like Sumitomo, another company wants to save lives of a lot of Cell tower maintenance worker using drones