The activity of ground excavation to install new utility lines or repair old lines is an important component of civil infrastructure. However, because of the lack of information associated with the exact location and orientation of buried utility lines, there is a great potential of line damage such as rupturing a gas pipe or large water main. The overall goal of the research project presented in this paper is to provide the technology to protect against accidental damages to underground facilities by developing a method to detect and locate utilities that are presently difficult to detect. In particular, this paper focuses on the development of a set of pulse induction sensors that can be mounted on the end-effector of an excavator to locate buried utility pipes. Results of experiments both in the laboratory and in the field show that this technology is a viable approach to assist the operator in the field in locating buried utilities and avoid potentially disastrous excavation accidents.
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