Satellite technology runs equipment.

Construction firms soon may be able to use satellite-based technology developed at Ohio State University to help save time and money when surveying and preparing building sites. Researchers have developed software that works with the Global Positioning System (GPS) - a U.S. navigation satellite system - to survey construction sites and determine blade positions for bulldozers during the grading process.

This will cut the time needed to map and stake a site by 60 to 70%, enabling companies to trim production costs and offer lower bids on projects, notes George Dedes, a research specialist at Ohio State's Center for Mapping. It also will allow crews to grade the land within a few centimeters of the project design and eventually could be able to complete the entire grading and staking process with the touch of a few computer buttons.

At the first stages of a project, a GPS receiver is mounted to a vehicle and an operator drives over the site to be leveled. Signals from the GPS are gathered by the receiver, and the information collected is used to formulate a map and construction plan.

Once grading has begun, the GPS monitors the progress of the bulldozers and other equipment and guides machine operators using a TV-like monitor in the vehicle's cab. GPS antennas are mounted on the blade of the construction equipment used in grading. This allows a computer operator to drive the equipment from a...