Experimental plant guidance and control by kinematic GPS

Laser levels are now commonly used in civil engineering as a replacement for traditional levelling procedures, particularly as they enable certain construction operations—such as earthworks and paving—to be automated. However, the advent of real-time kinematic GPS techniques has opened up a whole new field of dynamic control and guidance applications. This paper outlines the recent advances in GPS technology that have made real-time three-dimensional positioning possible. It then reports on a series of recent tests on construction plant, which prove that GPS technology can be successfully used to control and monitor plant to an accuracy of within a few mm.