“TunnelingGSV (Guide, Sense & Visualize) Onsite control of construction operations made analogous to the experience of playing ”Wii” computer games ” Presented by Dr. Ming Lu associate professor of construction engineering and management in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at U of A . ABSTRACT: PRESENTER: Dr Ming Lu is currently associate professor of construction engineering and management in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at U of A. Dr Lu taught and researched at Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 2000 to 2010. Dr. Lu has forty journal publications to his credit in areas of construction engineering and project management. He has built research strengths in operations simulation, project scheduling, surveying-construction integration, and interdisciplinary engineering integration for construction management. His research has produced construction-oriented software systems [an operations simulation platform (SDESA) and a resource scheduling tool (S3)] and hardwaresoftware integrated automation systems [a tunnel boring machine tracking system for microtunneling and pipe-jacking; a ready mixed concrete delivery optimization and tracking system for dense urban areas]. Infrastructure construction requires large capital investment in heavy equipment. High capital investment in new-generation of construction equipment can only be recovered by materializing its full productivity potential in tackling complexities and uncertainties inherited in infrastructure construction. There is an urgent need to develop sophisticated equipment control systems by integrating positioning, engineering analysis and visualization in real time, thus lending effective decision support to site engineers and equipment operators during the infrastructure construction phase. Dr Lu has led his research team in developing the TunnelingGSV system in the application context of microtunneling and pipe jacking based on integration of automated data collection with real time computing. Put simply, TunnelingGSV turns a complicated underground working environment “visible”. Onsite control of construction operations is made analogous to the experience of playing “Wii” computer games. As a by-product, TunnelingGSV also holds the potential of automatically producing precise asbuilt records for the tunnel being installed. A technical paper on design and testing of the automation system underlying TunnelingGSV is published in the Jan. 2011 issue of Journal of Construction Engineering and Management ASCE. Dr Lu will also share his thoughts on future research and collaboration with industry

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