Contact: Bob Ratliff
The United States always has been a nation on the move. Today, cars and planes move people; big trucks, barges and trains move freight, and electric and gas transmission lines move the energy sources that keep them all in motion.
At Mississippi State, a team of engineers is beginning to explore how the space-based technology of remote sensing can be applied to planning, building and operating various methods used to transfer people and products. The research project is funded by a nearly $500,000 grant from MSU's Remote Sensing Technologies Center.
Remote sensing uses satellite signals to collect data about objects on the ground and produce highly detailed maps of what is recorded. The technology can help manage and plan for the construction of highways and other transportation routes, among other things.
"We will be working with several companies, the Federal Highway Administration and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to find activities associated with the design, construction, maintenance and use of transportation systems that can be improved or replaced by remote sensing," said industrial engineer John Usher.
Joining him on the project are industrial engineering colleague Royce Bowden and civil engineer Dennis Truax. They are assisted by MSU graduate students in various engineering areas.
Railways, roadways, pipelines, and power transmission lines are the primary systems on which the team is focusing.
"What we hope to have at the end of the study is a set of guidelines for application of remote sensing technology to these areas that will result in safer and more reliable transportation infrastructures," Bowden said.
"Ultimately, the primary benefactors will be travelers, shippers and consumers," he added.