Develop iPad/Tablet App to Measure Stockpiles
Need statement 726
After disbursing salt, sand, etc., along an assigned route, agency vehicles often return with some remaining material in the truck’s box. At the end of the shift, this can add up to a significant amount. There is a need to better understand methods to inventory this leftover material quickly and accurately. Simply weighing the material is not accurate because when the material is from the end of a route, it is often mixed with ice and snow. It takes a considerable amount of staff time and resources to correctly determine the remaining amount of the material.
There is also an opportunity for this application to provide a way to measure and quantify other stockpiles from rehabilitation or reconstruction projects.
Via apps, newer iPhones/iPad/tablets have LIDAR capability; and drones are used to scan stockpiles to generate volume estimates. Is there existing software, or combination of software and hardware, to accurately measure this leftover material? Ideally, agency staff could dump the material and then walk around the pile and scan it with an iPhone, iPad, or other affordable device to obtain an accurate volume measurement. This would assist agencies with inventory calibration and inventory management practices.
The focus of this study will be to:
- Review and synthesize past research.
- Survey Minnesota agencies to gather information on innovative practices for this type of inventory tracking.
- Develop a list of technologies (apps/software)
- Conduct field testing of a variety of sizes/shapes of stockpiles with known quantities to determine accuracy, ease of use, cost, pros/cons.
Suggested deliverables
- Provide a summary report
- Develop a matrix identifying potential technologies (software and/or hardware) solutions highlighting their attributes.
Previous research
- Using a 2D Profilometer to Determine Volume and Thickness of Stockpiles and Ground Layers of Roads, 2022
- Monitoring Stockpiles of Solid Winter Maintenance Materials: Synthesis Report, Clear Roads CTC & Associates LLC (PDF), 2017
- Maintaining Proper Aggregate Stockpiles, request from the MnDOT Library
- Software Application: Introducing: SR Measure – Our Next Generation App to Enable Faster Company-Wide Inventory Counts
- Software Application: Measuring Stockpiles by Smart Phone
- Drone: Measuring Stockpiles with Botlink
- Drone: How to Use Drones to Measure Stockpiles and Track Volumes More Accurately
- Drone: Keeping Track: Monthly Stockpile Measurements With Drones
- Drone: Drone Mapping for Measuring Stockpile Volumes
Possible members for technical advisory panel
- Matthew Beyer, St. Louis County
- Phil Wacholz, Freeborn County
- Cristi Field, Otter Tail County