Talon Research of Hancock is going to be creating an addition to its BridgeGuard infrared highway inspection equipment thanks to a $44,000 grant the company got from the Business Accelerator Fund.
The grant money will be used for a new product that complements BridgeGuard, which Talon first put on the market in 2010. BridgeGuard is a vehicle-mounted infrared camera imaging system that can detect faults in bridge structures from a moving vehicle, which allows engineers to inspect bridges without closing them.
However, surface crack mapping is something that till now, has still had to be done on the ground. The new product can be used to detect and map cracks on the surface of a bridge without forcing lane or bridge closures.
"Currently the only way to accurately map the cracks in the bridge surface is to close a lane, and have technicians map the entire surface of the bridge," says Talon president Jay Ruohonen. "This is very time consuming, expensive and dangerous. With BridgeGuard's enhanced technology, mapping will be done on every crack in the bridge surface without ever leaving the vehicle. We can do it for less than what it currently costs state Departments of Transportation."
The funding from
the BAF program was competitive, with funds tied to job creation and the requirement that Talon brings the product to market in five months. Ruohonen says the grant money is what's making that short timeline possible, but the technology was needed in the transportation industry.
"Our customers have been asking for this for some time now," he says. "Now we will able to deliver a solution that goes far beyond what anyone else in our industry is offering."
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Jay Ruohonen, Talon Research
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