Brisbane-based roading equipment manufacturer Arrowes has launched an innovative automated cone truck (ACT) which removes traffic control workers from the line of fire.
Developed over the last three years at the company’s manufacturing facility at Brendale, the ACT uses proprietary mechatronics to automatically deploy and retrieve cones from work sites with a single operator, removing two people from being exposed to the risks of live traffic.
With a capacity of 400 cones, the ACT can retrieve cones from both sides of the vehicle while driving forward or reversing and is equipped to close over 9km of highway without stopping – this is over twice the capacity of most conventional cone trucks.
Cones can be deployed and set at one every five seconds and they can also be placed at any set spacing. When deployed with 12m cone spacing, the ACT can place cones at 8km/h or at 24m spacing at 16km/h.
One kilometre of lane closure only takes the ACT seven minutes, much faster than a worker on foot.
The control software provides a simple, easy to use interface, reducing training requirements and limiting driver fatigue. Cone spacing can be set manually, or the user can configure an automatic deployment profile with the required spacings and distances.
Arrowes executive director Ken Ea says the company has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in research and development over the last three years as part of a five-year technology road map.
It has also recruited young talent from the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology to deliver the latest game-changing innovation.
“The ACT is set to become the new norm for safe and efficient cone deployment and retrieval and is our most significant innovation to date,” Ea says.
“Our focus and DNA is centred on pioneering and investing in technologies that can improve safety for the roading community.
“We have relentlessly questioned and explored numerous concepts to create new solutions that deliver tangible results from day one. Our focus and DNA is all about pioneering and investing in technologies that can improve roading safety.”
Fulton Hogan NZ traffic management national manager Damien Houlahan says he welcomes the launch of the new automated cone truck “as it will undoubtedly improve the safety of road workers responsible for cone deployment”.
“I have been in traffic management over the last 13 years and have witnessed many failed attempts to automate the setting and collection of cones. The Arrowes team have pulled off a ground-breaking innovation with the ACT – a true game-changer.”
“We are always seeking new innovations to put people in safer positions while they are undertaking road works, to illuminate the risks associated with putting them in live unpredictable traffic. Traditionally, many core tasks have been carried out on foot and it is here that we have a massive opportunity to improve safety and save lives,” he says.
Arrowes collaborates with industry leaders, interstate clients and safety experts from the private and government sectors with its technology.
The company manufactures roading safety products and traffic management systems for road authorities, national traffic control clients and infrastructure and construction companies across Australia and New Zealand.
