A number of drones will be housed near major traffic hotspots in Sydney and controlled by pilots more than 50km away in an Australian-first aiming to improve responses to emergencies and traffic incidents.
The New South Wales government on Wednesday announced that drone-in-a-box technology will be installed along the M1 at Mooney Mooney and the Hume Highway at Narellan.
They will be deployed to get “an eye in the sky faster” when there is a traffic incident, and will be controlled remotely by accredited pilots from the Transport Management Centre nerve centre.
This is the first time in Australia that drones have been given approval to be piloted remotely without a line of sight.
The NSW government currently has a fleet of around 80 drones, but these are operated by pilots with a visual line of sight on the devices.
The new drone technology will be used to provide real-time situational awareness of accidents and incidents, pushing information to drivers in the area through variable signs and apps.
NSW Regional Transport minister Jenny Aitchison said the technology provides a “smarter, safer way to bust congestion on some of our busiest roads after crashes or other incidents”.
“This program, funded by the NSW government Drones for Roads program, will cut response times, helping keep our roads and highways moving,” Ms Aitchison said.
“Drones are already helping us guide emergency responders through traffic to reach those who need help, set up detours and get an overview of the situation streamed directly to those who need that information, the drone-in-a-box makes the response quicker.”
The NSW government is also looking to place drones in key regional corridors in the future.
The drones can cover distances of 8km from its base, and can charge in just over half an hour.
They will be fitted with extra fail-safe measures, have approved flight areas and onboard diagnostics.
The Drones for Roads program was launched last year by the NSW government.
The NSW government’s fleet of drones have responded to 150 road incidents in the last year, including more than 120 where there were full lane closures.
Do you know more? Contact James Riley via Email.