LDR Excavate is designed to scan approximately one metre below the bucket at successive stages of the dig.
Courtesy of RodRadar
From detection to automatic stop
RodRadar’s next step has been to connect real-time underground detection with machine control. Through an integration with Hexagon’s Xwatch safety system, a detection can trigger a depth restriction that prevents the bucket from travelling below a predetermined threshold above the detected object.
RodRadar calls the integrated system Stop Before Strike (SBS), and Barnea compares the progression to automotive driver-assistance technology. First it provides the driver with a warning, then it adds a system capable of intervening. The operator retains authority over the machine and can override the stop.
“It’s [the operator’s] decision,” says Barnea. “But it has to be a conscious decision.”
The Xwatch integration is not intended to be exclusive. RodRadar designed LDR to support integration with other machine control and safety systems, and Barnea says the company is working with other industry technology providers.
Turning underground utility detections into project data
LDR’s detection data can also have value after the immediate hazard has been avoided. LDR Insight is a cloud-based management portal that allows project stakeholders to access data generated in the field.
Connected to the LDR Insight management portal, the LDR Capture mobile app allows contractors to document a detected utility once it has been safely exposed, including information about what it actually is.
RodRadar is also working to add geolocation to detected utilities so that more accurate as-built information can be incorporated into contractors’ project data.
RodRadar expands Live Dig Radar bucket options for excavators
RodRadar’s LDR Excavate solutions span excavators from approximately 1 ton up to 40 tons, and customer demand has also driven development of narrower bucket options for compact machines.
U.K. utility contractor Network Plus asked RodRadar to develop a 12-inch-wide LDR bucket for compact excavators used for repair and maintenance work in congested urban environments.
“We downscaled the solution to a very small bucket that can fit even the smallest machines,” Barnea says.
The system can be installed on new or existing excavators because the LDR Excavate bucket attaches to the carrier like any other bucket. The radar hardware itself, however, cannot simply be added to an existing bucket. The antennas and electronics are incorporated into a purpose-built structure designed to withstand excavation loads and shocks.
RodRadar works with bucket manufacturers, including AMI and TAG, as well as attachment system manufacturers, such as engcon and OilQuick. With integrated quick-coupler systems, connecting the LDR bucket also connects its power and data, making it easier for operators to switch between the LDR bucket and other attachments.
Making Live Dig Radar part of the dig
Adding an LDR scan right before digging, and as the excavation progresses, introduces another step into the operating cycle. Barnea says that the added time should be weighed against the downtime that can follow a strike.
“It doesn’t take a long time. I mean, a few seconds of a scan, a few seconds to get the result, then you act accordingly,” he says.
The technology also has to work for the people using it. RodRadar has focused on automating signal interpretation so operators do not need GPR expertise, and training is focused on how to use the system effectively during excavation.
“You can have the technology as amazing as possible integrated into the machine, but if you don’t have these easy automatic algorithms that provide . . . data [that is] very easily understood by the operators, it’s not going to mean anything.”
For RodRadar, the longer-term objective is to make real-time detection another routine layer of excavation safety. The pre-dig locate process tells a contractor what is expected to be underground. Live detection tells the operator what is beneath the bucket as they dig.
This article originally appeared in the 2026 Excavators special issue of Heavy Equipment Guide.
Read the full article here
