Smart road pavers

Display showing the Smart Pave assistance system

Automated control and levelling

Automation solutions reduce the workload for machine operators, increase efficiency, promote process reliability and save material. In Grade Assist, AutoTrac and Smart Pave, Vögele offers three clever “helpers”: You control the profile installation as well as the direction and width of the Dash 5 road pavers.

Road construction companies around the world are facing growing challenges today: skills shortages, climate change, rising raw material prices, cost and deadline pressures, high quality requirements and documentation obligations are forcing companies to work efficiently, conservatively and precisely. Construction machinery that integrates automation technologies is a key factor in this regard. They take on routine tasks, reduce the risk of errors and make work processes more efficient. Road pavers, in particular, have great potential because they directly influence the paving process and the paving quality.

Dash 5 generation

In combination with Dash 5 pavers, users can utilise the optional automation solutions Grade Assist, AutoTrac and Smart Pave.

Relaxed paving

The automation solutions reduce the workload for users and assist them with steering and levelling. This allows operators to concentrate on paving and quality monitoring.

Side view of paver with paving team.
Paver operator smiling into the camera from the paver operator’s cab.

Smart helpers for asphalt paving

Paver manufacturer Vögele therefore offers a wide range of digital construction technologies: cloud-based jobsite intelligence solutions help construction companies collect and analyse relevant installation and paving data in real time and optimise the entire paving process. Smart automation solutions, in turn, support machine operators in controlling and levelling. “We design our machines to work optimally with their operators. The pavers take care of routine or repetitive tasks so that operators can concentrate on the actual paving and quality control,” says Bastian Fleischer, Head of Product Management at Vögele. In combination with the Dash 5 generation, Vögele has launched new solutions that automate levelling tasks and control the paving width, direction and position.

Portrait of Bastian Fleischer

“We design our machines to work optimally with their operators. The pavers take care of routine or repetitive tasks so that operators can concentrate on the actual paving and quality control.”

Bastian Fleischer, Head of Product Management at Vögele

Grade Assist: paving profiles automatically

The Grade Assist assistance system simplifies the paving of roof and cross profiles and complements the existing Auto Grade Plus automatic levelling system. Operators manually set the desired profile at a target point, the inclination values and the distance to the point on the plank or paver operator’s console. After starting the function, the automatic levelling system automatically regulates the uniform approach to the target values. Users no longer need to gradually adjust the inclination manually up to the predefined point, which prevents paving errors such as deviations in the asphalt. Automation ensures optimal transitions and an even paving result, especially with changing roof and cross profiles. “By taking control of the inclination, Grade Assist relieves operators and allows them to focus on monitoring the parameters entered and other quality-related factors,” says Fleischer.

“Users get a tool that helps them work in a more relaxed manner – and entrepreneurs get a lever to increase productivity.”

Bastian Fleischer, Head of Product Management at Vögele

Preview image for Edge Control animation.
Preview image for Edge Detection animation.

AutoTrac: Automated control based on physical references

If physical references such as edges, guide wires or borders are present, operators can also use the optional AutoTrac steering and width control system. It controls the paving width and direction of travel of a Dash 5 paver using various sensors that scan real references. Vögele‘s solution consists of four components, some of which can be used individually or in combination: Edge control, steering control, edge detection and fixed screed width.

Tensioned wire as reference

If a tensioned wire is tensioned to level the height, it can also be used for automated control of the paving width. To do this, the paver must be equipped with Edge Control and an ultrasonic sensor. The screed operator activates the corresponding function, after which the screed extension automatically follows the tensioned wire. Only one tensioned wire is required to maintain a constant paving width – the side of the screed without a tensioned wire moves in and out automatically. If tensioned wires are present on both sides, Edge Control also implements a variable paving width. On tracked pavers, operators can also use steering control and an sonic sensor to automatically steer the direction of travel along the tensioned wire.

Edge as reference

If milled edges, kerbs or gutters serve as a reference, paving teams can use Edge Control in combination with Edge Detection. The LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor scans the area in front of the side panel and detects edges with a profile of at least 2 cm. When the screed operator activates the corresponding function, the respective screed extension automatically follows the edge. With this solution, paving teams can also equip only one or both sides of the screed with the edge detection sensor, thus implementing a constant or varying installation width. Exact and precise control along the reference line enables a pass-fit edge profile. If the reference is only present on one side, the automated control avoids excess widths – which saves a lot of material and costs depending on the length of the measure.

Smart Pave: Control using virtual references

Smart Pave goes the extra mile and is the all-in-one solution from Vögele: The integrated system controls the paver’s paving width, position and direction fully automatically using virtual references. The workflow is simple: The surveyor loads the CAD model of the route into John Deere Operations Center™, the digital construction site management system from Wirtgen Group. There, the data is automatically checked for plausibility. Before starting work on the construction site, the operator calls up the verified paving geometries via the touch display on the paver operator’s console. The data is transmitted over the air via a mobile phone connection, and once the job has been activated, the road paver is automatically guided along the defined route.

Precise installation and easy handling

The necessary hardware components are integrated into the paver: The StarFire dual antenna system from John Deere determines the exact position of the paver, while the RTK modem calculates the correction value for the satellite position data, enabling a high level of accuracy of +/- 2.5 cm. “Smart Pave ensures particularly precise paving, which prevents excess width and thus saves material and costs,” says Fleischer. “The solution is also efficient and user-friendly: operators do not have to worry about paving, data handling is simple and transparent, and automatic error analysis ensures the desired result.” Automated control saves time-consuming marking work and increases process reliability during paving. It also promotes user safety: in difficult conditions such as darkness or in confined situations such as flowing traffic, they are relieved, can work more attentively and are more likely to withdraw from the danger zone.

Tolles Produkt
View of a screed and the Big-Multiplex-Ski sensor system.
Little effort, big impact

“Ultimately, we are pursuing one goal with our automation solutions: to make paving processes more precise, faster, safer and more resource-efficient with less effort,” says Fleischer. Grade Assist, AutoTrac and Smart Pave are therefore designed as simple, scalable solutions that can be used individually or in combination and cover a wide range of requirements in new construction or renovation projects. “Users thereby get a tool that helps them work in a more relaxed manner – and entrepreneurs get a lever to increase productivity.”

Automation solutions from Vögele

Press/media kit

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