Observing Construction: Automated Excavator

As I watch the development of Crane Cove Pack in San Francisco, the idea for an automated excavator came to mind as I watched three men complete the task of “dig a hole, x-wide and y-deep along this painted line.” One human stood in the hole to measure the depth, another was in the excavator digging the hole, and the third was using an instrument to measure length, I believe, not entirely sure what the person was holding.

Caterpillar (CAT), John Deere, Bobcat or one of the other major heavy machine companies should develop an automated excavator. With the utilization of infrared cameras, Bluetooth sensors, accelerometers, geolocation sensors, and other IoT protocols (i.e. ZigBee, Z-Wave, etc.) the excavator would allow the three humans to focus on tasks which continuously change and utilize different sets of instructions needed to complete the task.