Drones for traffic flow analysis & checks: Plan on GMDA table

GURUGRAM: The GMDA is considering the use of drones to monitor traffic in the city, according to officials, who also said a demonstration is expected to be held in a month.
“The demonstration is just to understand how drones can be used for this purpose, since the technology is not yet widely used in cities across India. As of now, we are getting the required analysis done. We are exploring what is available in the industry and a demo of this will be done,” a senior GMDA official said on Friday.
Deployment of drones for traffic management was discussed at a meeting chaired by the authority’s chief executive officer Sudhir Rajpal last month. The CEO directed officials to update him and the traffic police on the results of the planned demonstration.
Officials said they will look for an operator who can demonstrate how a drone can be used to monitor traffic on highways and in other areas of the city. The authority will move ahead with the plan if the trial is found to be feasible.
“Right now, our expectation is that drones can help in not just monitoring but also managing traffic in the long term. These can also help analyse peak hour traffic, which can further assist in resolving whatever hurdles are causing the congestion,” said the official. Road safety experts told TOI that the proposal – if found to be practical for the city – would help “solve multiple problems”.
“For instance, drones can be used to monitor a congested junction, and eventually figure out why the area is prone to traffic,” said city-based road safety expert Sarika Panda Bhatt, adding that artificial intelligence-powered drones can be used to rationalise traffic signal timings as well.
Those in the industry, however, pointed out that several parameters have to be considered before the plan can be implemented on the ground.
The GMDA’s plan is also not the first time that the authorities in Gurugram are considering the use of drones for traffic management.
In 2019, the traffic police was planning to procure at least one drone that would be used to identify the reasons for congestion in different areas during the rush hours. That plan never materialised.
When asked, residents of the city said the idea appeared to be a “little far-fetched”, adding that it would be better to focus on simple and widely available solutions.
“The authorities say they will use drones to monitor or manage traffic, but I believe that they can just as easily determine the issues causing congestion with a visit to the problem areas,” said Kunal Bhatia, who lives in Sector 54.