Kagiso media ditches traffic drone for Joburg

Kagiso Media has shelved its project to fly traffic monitoring drones over Johannesburg roads.

Through its radio station Jacaranda FM, the group had investigated the viability of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), more commonly known as drones, as a means of providing real-time, reliable traffic updates to Gauteng’s residents.

“We have grounded all efforts and initiatives around the use of drones,” the group said.

“At present, there are no regulations in place to enable and regulate operations of drones in the South African civil airspace. However, the Aviation Authority has appealed to all stakeholders to err on the side of caution by refraining from partaking in drone related activity rather than risk unintended aviation disasters. For this reason, the KM group drone pilot project has been halted.”

Kagiso had conducted several successful test flights using a remote-controlled, helicopter-like drone, last year.

The aim was to arm Jacaranda FM’s presenters with a feed to enrich their on-air traffic reports.

Kagiso had planned to use UAVs more extensively to provide audiences with traffic information, live footage from events, and aerial, on-the-scene coverage of major news events as they unfold.

http://businesstech.co.za/news/media/83977/kagiso-media-ditches-traffic-drone-for-joburg/