Industries minister TRB Rajaa said drones have been pressed into action to get incidental data, which will be used to tackle pending issues, help clean up works and mitigate floods.
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CHENNAI : In order to get crucial data to tackle floods in the future, the industries department in tandem with the higher education department has deployed drones around Pallikaranai and Velachery to gather real-time data.
Industries minister TRB Rajaa said drones have been pressed into action to get incidental data, which will be used to tackle pending issues, help clean up works and mitigate floods
Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation director and CEO Prof Senthil Kumar told TNIE that a team of 15 people and five drones has been deployed to get live data in Velachery and Pallikaranai areas severely impacted by the floods.
“After the impact of Cyclone Michaung, we had plans to use drones for rescue efforts. Since the data was available through social media platforms, the government decided to use drones to collect data to mitigate floods. Five teams have been formed to perform a pre- and post-flood analysis,” Prof Kumar said. “We will take pictures of affected areas. We also have existing data for some areas. The key focus is flood preparedness and planning,” he said.
Prof Kumar said the survey data would be accurate as compared to satellite data. “Drone survey is better than videography. The drones will collect images and the data will be analysed using artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
He also highlighted the unmanned traffic management (UTM) feature for use of drones during disasters to supply food and other materials. “UTM will enable multiple drone operations conducted beyond visual line-of-sight, where air traffic services are not provided,” Kumar said.
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The need for drone traffic management is increasing, on the lines of flight traffic management. With e-commerce businesses looking for options for drone deliveries, the use of drones is set to increase exponentially in the future.
Prof Kumar said India has notified a traffic management policy framework for National Unmanned Aircraft System or drones, which will allow private and public service providers to manage drone traffic in the country.
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Interestingly, drones were used by the Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation to collect data in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam.
