Bengaluru: Traffic police will soon use unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones, fitted with high definition cameras, to detect traffic violations across the city.
While launching for agriculturural purposes here on Thursday as a pilot project, IT & BT Minister K.J. George, said new technology will be used for better governance in the state. He said the government will soon launch drones to monitor traffic violations. This surveillance will be carried out in select place in Bengaluru city for a period of three months. This project will also help traffic police to map out traffic density and adjust the traffic signals accordingly. "We are providing a total of 10 drones for the traffic department to monitor traffic violation and the number may increase depending upon the requirement. This system will help traffic police to keep an eye in the sky to catch those breaking traffic laws. The trial started some days back and since then drones have led to detecting 'hundreds' of traffic violations," said Aakash Sinha, program head, Omnipresent Robot to Deccan Chronicle.
The implementation of the project will be coordinated by the police department based on their calendar of events. According to the traffic police sources, the CCTV cameras which are installed have only up to 12 megapixels capacity and their resolution gets affected during bad weather. But these drone cameras are equipped with 24.3 megapixels and they can even monitor whether drivers are using mobile phones or other devices while driving, and take clear video footage. “These flying machines will provide live-streams to police on the ground, allowing them to survey wide areas and hunt for rash drivers in the city”" Aakash added.
A traffic department official said that each drone costs around Rs 2 lakh and can fly for 30 minutes in a 10-km radius. The police department is planning to select a part of the city and place 10 drones for every 10-kilometre radius.
