William C. Sahm

GPS-Based Earthmoving for Construction

Advances in on-board machine computing, display, and wireless communication technology have revolutionized earthmoving in construction. Efficient construction operation demands that the right people have the right information at the right time. Caterpillars Computer Aided Earthmoving System (CAES) meets this demand by providing real-time integration of planning and operations by providing the means to display plans to the machine operator immediately after they are created. CAES also turns the earthmoving machine into a survey instrument, which is used to continuously survey the terrain as the machine works. In addition to providing terrain data, other information, such as productivity and machine utilization, is available from the Caterpillar Computer Aided Earthmoving System.