The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched a drone service to facilitate the monitoring of completed phases of its vital projects, thus obviating the need to follow the traditional steps to accomplish such an arduous task.
The move comes in response to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. and Ruler of Dubai, to rank Dubai as the smartest city world-wide, and in line with the objectives of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart Government Programme.
Abdullah Al Madani, CEO of RTA Corporate Technical Support Services Sector, said: "Launching the drone service is a practical response to the directives of Sheikh Mohammed to serve the people. ‘Bringing Happiness to People' is one of our strategic goals and the initiative of Sheikh Mohammed has opened up wider vistas and new horizons to serve the people.
"We recently conducted a practical test run by flying a drone to monitor the implementation phases of Jumeirah Beach Walkway Project, street lighting units, and completed phases of the Dubai Water Canal project. The test has several benefits as it has provided us with a holistic view of the sites and projects to follow up the completion phases. The drone service can also be used in cases of crisis and emergencies on the roads to monitor the adverse impacts on a large scale, which ultimately serves residents of Dubai,” Al Madani elaborated.
Among the benefits and advantages of the drone service is its ability to reach places inaccessible by conventional human means such as work teams.
"Examples of such inaccessible places are the upper parts of the Metro stations, and underneath bridges to inspect or identify the parts that need maintenance. The remote-controlled device is capable of taking images of more than one location as the aircraft is programmable to access a series of places and taking photos.
"The drone service also serves both the first strategic goal of ‘Smart Dubai,' and the seventh strategic goal of ‘RTA Excellence'. This reaffirms the RTA's unwavering commitment to keep up with the latest developments to maintain the prestigious standing enjoyed by Dubai,” said Al Madani.
Source: Khaleej Times