How a virtual fence could make dangerous work safer
High hazard industries could be a little less hazardous in the future, if researchers can find a way to thwart the biggest challenge to promising new technology: trees.
The same kinds of collision-avoidance technologies used by self-driving cars could help workers monitor their surroundings through a mobile virtual fence, or geofence, according to NIOSH-funded research at the University of Idaho. Geofences could be used to maintain safe work areas in logging, for instance, by sending alerts of approaching hazards.