Drone technology is being used in New South Wales to help rapidly respond to incidents and keep traffic moving.
In an Australian first, Transport for NSW will be able to fly drones alongside and across highways for remotely piloted scheduled flights, without spotters, enabling them to rapidly respond to incidents near Greater Sydney traffic hotspots.
The first drone-in-a-box units will be installed along the M1 at Mooney Mooney and the Hume Highway at Narellan.
From the Transport Management Centre (TMC) nerve centre, accredited pilots will deploy and supervise drones housed more than 50km away, which Transport for NSW said would slash the time it takes to get eyes on an incident.
In a first of its kind approval by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, teams will be able to carry out beyond visual line-of-sight operations beside traffic travelling at highway speeds of more than 100km/hr.
“This program, funded by the NSW Government Drones for Roads program, will cut response times, helping keep our roads and highways moving,” said Minister for Regional Transport, Jenny Aitchison.
“We’re rolling out these drone-in-a-box units across key routes in Sydney, and we’re exploring opportunities for more drone-in-a-box units in key regional corridors.
“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.”
