Skip to main content

Smooth sailing for paving with Topcon’s SmoothRide

Topcon Positioning Group’s new road scanning solution SmoothRide can gather highway asset data at highway speeds with no need for lane closures, crash trucks or escorts. SmoothRide is a vehicle-mounted resurfacing solution for paving and milling projects. It uses a combination of core Topcon technologies designed to deliver the smoothest surface possible, while efficiently managing the quantity of material for each project.
April 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Topcon’s Jörg Velten with the RD-M1 scanning unit

7300 Topcon Positioning Systems’s new road scanning solution SmoothRide can gather highway asset data at highway speeds with no need for lane closures, crash trucks or escorts.

SmoothRide is a vehicle-mounted resurfacing solution for paving and milling projects. It uses a combination of core Topcon technologies designed to deliver the smoothest surface possible, while efficiently managing the quantity of material for each project.

With the new RD-M1 scanning unit, the system maps the existing surface elevations - with many more points captured versus what can be expected with traditional tools. This provides more accurate data needed to confidently estimate materials, as well as to form the basis of the final design surface.

The workflow consists of a vehicle-mounted road scan, existing and finish surface design, and machine control using GNSS with sonic tracker sensor guidance.

Once the road information is gathered, operators can use Mobile Master Office point data processing software to recreate the existing surface. Magnet Office with Resurfacing is then used to digitally create a high-resolution model of the required finished mat.

The resurfacing module allows operators to create a design using specific regulatory requirements such as minimum thickness, desired cross-slope, and overall smoothness.

The information is then passed onto a paver or milling machine to allow for variable depth paving to where it is required - with the result being a much smoother road as well as faster completion times, explained Jörg Velten, Topcon Construction’s European support manager.

All videosAll show news

Related Content

  • Advances in asphalt paving equipment coming to market
    June 27, 2018
    Some of the key manufacturers are improving asphalt paving technology with key developments to machines as well as the electronics and telematics systems fitted – Mike Woof writes. Several of the major asphalt paver manufacturers have unveiled new machines and systems that can optimise operations. Improved operating features for the BOMAG BF 800 C-2 paver are said to help increase its output and efficiency when working on-site. An important development is the new traffic light system, which helps improve co
  • Heat scanning system for asphalt paving work
    October 1, 2014
    A road construction project in Minnesota has benefited from improved quality control by using the new PAVE-IR heat scanning technology developed by German firm MOBA. Resurfacing work on Highway 29 near Alexandria, Minnesota called for around 50km of the road surface to be repaved. The contractor, Central Specialities, opted to optimise quality by employing the sophisticated PAVE-IR control package from MOBA. The system monitors mat temperature during paving, providing an accurate picture of work quality
  • Surface quality a key trend in asphalt paving
    March 7, 2012
    Improved surface quality and improved machine design are key trends in the asphalt paving sector, Mike Woof reports There is a big difference in asphalt paving techniques in North America and Europe. In North America, the need to construct long stretches of highway quickly resulted in wide pavers offering high throughput capacity, with compaction equipment then being used to achieve the required density of the various courses. In Europe's highway construction projects, distances tend to be shorter and contr
  • Cat paving technologies lower operating costs
    January 6, 2017
    Caterpillar is incorporating a number of paving technologies into its compaction, cold planning and paving machinery in response to customer request for improved technology. This includes Cat Grade and Slope, standard on many Cat pavers and cold planers, which is engineered to help paving crews to precisely lay and mill material.