The Application of the Automated Transit System to Construction Sites

We introduced the outline of the remote-control type automated transit system in a paper presented at the 11th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, entitled ""The Development of a remote-control transportation system for use in underground space"". This system is used to convey excavated soil, materials and tools to the construction site of a subway in Tokyo, Japan. At this construction site, there were very difficult obstacles to construction work, such as soft ground, many buried structures, and severely restricted space for the construction work above ground. Very good results were achieved by the introduction of the underground tunnel-conveyance system to this subway construction site. Because this system which operates grab buckets and hoists of the suspended travelling type, automatically by a remote-control device, has been developed over a long period of time, it is applicable to very soft ground. It has still enough operation ability even in spite of some restrictions at the entrance to carry in and out. As it well maintains the safety and improves the working environment in a tunnel. It was operated smoothly even under severe construction conditions, and as a result, there was a drastic reduction of labor and the completion of the phase of the project was achieved. This paper reports the application example of the automated transit system to this construction site.