9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21

Demonstrations will be performed all morning.

-- 1 p.m. Award presentation: director Steven Velinsky and project engineer Wil White will accept the California Transportation Foundation Tranny Award and the Caltrans Excellence in Transportation Award on behalf of the center.

Engineers will demonstrate a number of machines, including:

-- Cone Shooter: automatically places and retrieves traffic cones.
-- Automated Debris Removal Vacuum: truck-mounted vacuum arm cleans litter from roadsides, around guardrails, under bushes.
-- Automated Litter Bag/Debris Collection Vehicle: extending arm clears larger items such as litter bags, discarded tires and mufflers from roadsides.
-- Crack sealers: allow road crews to repair pavement cracks in safety and with reduced traffic disruption.

Mechanical engineering professor Steven Velinsky, the center's director, and project engineers will be available for interviews.

State assembly representative Helen Thomson and Caltrans director Jeff Morales are expected to attend.

Roadside construction zones are dangerous for both workers and drivers. In the last five years, there have been 30,000 collisions in work zones on California state highways, resulting in 16,000 injuries and 287 deaths, according to the California Department of Transportation. Thirteen Caltrans employees have been killed on the job since 1995. Nationally, over 700 deaths a year are due to crashes in work zones.

The AHMCT center, funded by a $1.5 million grant from Caltrans, develops and deploys machines that make highways safer. These machines allow highway workers to do their job without being exposed to fast-moving traffic.

Machines built by the center are now undergoing operational trials with Caltrans, and some are being licensed for commercial development.

The center also generates fundamental research in areas such as robotics, mechanical design, control systems and mechatronics -- the integration of electronics into mechanical systems.

From Interstate 80, take the UC Davis exit. After crossing the bridge, turn left onto La Rue Road. Parking Lot 47 is on the right, just past Meyer Hall at the intersection of La Rue Road and Bioletti Way.

Media can park free in any nonreserved parking space. If your vehicle is not marked, place a business card or media accreditation on the dashboard.