New technology will see at least 1000 drones patrolling beaches and wildlife habitats

Big Brother is coming to the beach this summer - and it’s already being called a “game changer”.

Exclusive: Big brother will be watching in the most sophisticated of ways this summer, when it comes to patrolling beaches and wildlife habitats.

As many as 1000 drones will patrol the east coast of Australia simultaneously, while being monitored in a centralised control room, thanks to a new business partnership.

The world-first software, created by drone rescue company the Ripper Group and Advanced Navigation, will give real-time alerts to surf life savers about shark sightings and struggling swimmers, even deploying small rafts to swimmers in danger.

The software, called Cloud Ground Control, also allows for the monitoring of koala habitats in bushfire-ravaged zones.

Ripper Group chief executive Jason Young said the new drone control system was a game changer, which would expand their reach and response.

“We can now manage Little Ripper rapid response rescue drones across multiple locations from one easy to use central command,” he said.

“When seconds count, real-time data is extremely important, this allows teams in the field to be able to co-ordinate with each other and the command centre, achieve the mission and even save a life.”

A little Ripper drone flying at Burleigh Heads in front of pilots Joe Urli, Michael Povey, Will Harvey and Nige Austin. Picture Glenn Hampson

A trial on Tuesday saw five drones flown simultaneously along a 1000km stretch of Australia’s coastline, from the Gold Coast, Port Macquarie, Newcastle to Little Manly Point on Sydney Harbour.

“The one thing that hasn't changed over this time is that drones are still typically controlled in a silo where the pilot is the only one who can see what is going on with the drone,” Advanced Navigation and Cloud Ground Control chief executive Xavier Orr said.

“We set out to change that by connecting drones to the cloud over 5G networks. By doing that you can give multiple operators located anywhere full situational awareness.”

The Ripper Group’s Westpac Little Ripper drones have successfully been used in surf rescues in Australia for years.

A trial on Tuesday saw five drones flown simultaneously along a 1000km stretch of Australia’s coastline, from the Gold Coast, Port Macquarie, Newcastle to Little Manly Point on Sydney Harbour. Picture: RIPPER CORPORATION

In January 2018, the technology made history when it was used to help save the lives of two boys in big surf at Lennox Head on the state‘s Far North Coast.

These drones will be used in other areas in future too, with plans to use thermal imaging technology mounted on the flying machines to search for wildlife, particularly koalas, in bushfire ravaged areas in future.

The Ripper Group and Advanced Navigation have partnered with organisations including Surf Lifesaving Australia, wildlife rescue groups and emergency groups during natural disaster for the summer period.

Originally published as New technology will see at least 1000 drones patrolling beaches and wildlife habitats