2017 saw volumes of articles being published in both print and online magazines, journals, and blogs detailing emerging “tech trends” to look forward to in the upcoming year. For instance, Forbes magazine alone printed no less than half a dozen articles examining the big trends to follow in 2017, and the usual suspects were all well represented: virtual reality, cloud storage, intelligent apps, drones, AI evolution, cybersecurity and so on.

But what does this mean for the world of underground utility damage prevention? After all, this is an industry where a shovel is still considered a reliable and safe tool to reduce damages. This is also an industry that is seemingly resistant to major change, both on the technological and philosophical side.

Despite these obstacles, some major advances have been made recently in damage prevention technology and there are clear trends emerging in this market. Whether they become adopted as everyday standards remains to be seen, but in this issue of American Locator we will examine some of these forward-looking trends, and some of the products and devices and ideas that may bring us into the future.