AI drones set to help with floods, bushfires

Optus has teamed with tech giant Amazon and Endevaour Energy to deploy futuristic drones into disaster zones.

The 5G drone from Endevaour, AWS and Optus in action. Source: Supplied.

5G-powered drones could soon become an essential tool for restoring power to disaster zones, following a successful trial of new technology this month by power company Endeavour Energy, alongside partners Amazon Web Services (AWS), Optus and Unleashed Live.

Using cloud services, artificial intelligence and UHD cameras, the trial saw drones flown over power stations near the suburb of St Mary’s, with data fed back to the Endeavour Energy facility in Hoxton Park via the Optus 5G network, 25km away.

AI designed by Unleashed Live then scanned the visual data collected from the flight by AWS equipment to identify any faults in the power network.

“The goal is to ultimately have a fleet of drones that would fly along, identify faults in the network and relay that information back to us,” said Scott Ryan, chief asset and operating officer of Endeavour Energy.

Mr Ryan said the trial opened to door for drones to be used in bushfire and flood disasters for maintenance and repair duties at stations either rendered inaccessible or unsafe for human operators.

“I’d prefer to send drones as opposed to people into areas that are unsafe,” he said.

“A couple of days ago we had our drones fly to a station in an area that was inaccessible, confirm the network was in good condition, and we were then able to restore power to affected customers faster than what we would have been able to do via traditional methods.”

Endeavour Energy operates 32,000 substations across Sydney’s Greater West, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and Illawarra regions, providing power to more than 2.6 million people.

Titled Project Endeavour, work began on the drone operation in 2021, with $648,000 in funding coming via the federal government’s 5G Innovation Initiative.

A staple of the 2021 budget, the initiative saw $22.1m set aside to support private sector investments in 5G trails.

Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher, who was on hand for the trial, said the funding was to empower businesses to take advantage of tech innovation as well as to help create new jobs.

“Project Endeavour is a good illustration of these aims, but also of the broader potential of 5G applications to support the community,” Mr Fletcher said.

“By employing drones to undertake remote inspections of critical infrastructure, the technology developed through Project Endeavour will assist in restoring power supplies as quickly as possible after an interruption – including during natural disasters.”

Currently, Civil Aviation Safety Authority rules stipulate that the drones must be controlled by an operator within the line of sight of the machine.

However, Mr Ryan said the company would be seeking permission to bypass the law when it came to disaster assistance.

“We want to apply for an exemption … in a major event like a flood or a fire, we’ll need to be able to do it,” he said.

“We’d (also) share information collected with the RFS, the SES – we can provide a greater service than just electricity in those situations.”

Mr Ryan said the company was hoping to roll out a fleet of drones in the next year, following the trial’s success.

“We have to (continue to) train the AI to be able to recognise the defects that humans can recognise – that training’s underway right now,” he said.

“The technology will identify defects before they become an issue, which will then provide work for humans to rectify.”