VIJAYAWADA: The State government, which has elaborate plans to leverage technology for better governance, is planning to establish a facility akin to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), commonly known as drones, to monitor the movement of the radio-controlled aerial vehicles. The Andhra Pradesh Drones Corporation (APDC) is working with various startup firms to set up the exclusive facility, which is said to be the first for drones in the country.
As the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation recently brought in the ‘Drone Regulations 1.0’ policy, the State government has been planning to utilise the aerial vehicles for various purposes in fields, including emergency medical response, disaster management and assessment, policing, agriculture, mining and others. “When the number of drones increases, it is complicated not only to operate but also monitor them. So far, there is no ATC for drones in India and we are planning to have the first one in Andhra Pradesh. We are working on it and will come up with the plan soon,” AS Dinesh Kumar, Managing Director of Andhra Pradesh State Fibernet Ltd (APSFL), told TNIE. The APDC is a fully-owned subsidiary of APSFL.
He further explained that a platform will be developed, using which multiple drones can be maneuvered. “We are encouraging startup firms to prepare the maneuvering platform that will be integrated with the ATC. We can send multiple drones during calamities and monitor them from the ATC itself. We can also analyse the data obtained from the analytics features of the drones from the ATC,” he said.
The APDC is working with 19 empanelled startup firms for the purpose. The platform will also be used to register drones, thus helping the government to keep an eye on the illegal movement of the aerial vehicles.
However, it may take some time for the government’s plans to materialise as the officials are yet to formulate the policy and regulations. Even though there is a policy announced by the DGCA, the government plans to have its own. The APDC will organise a hackathon in Vizag in the next couple of months, during which it will take inputs from experts on the proposal.