Breda has become the first Dutch municipality to receive a permit to conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone test flights over the Hazeldonk industrial estate on the Belgian border.
The permit from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management allows Bredadata – part of the municipality of Breda – to test the use of a drone in the event of incidents such as a traffic accident or a fire alarm. Research is also being conducted into whether the drone can also make a significant contribution on a more structural level. For example, in monitoring road surface wear or detecting litter.
One drone is used by multiple organisations in the tests that Bredata is conducting with a group of partners including regional safety, police, road and maintenance organisations, as well as private companies and various departments within the municipality of Breda.
Bredata uses ‘test gardens’ to test digital techniques in practice. An industrial estate was chosen as one of the test gardens because this is a complex area. Industrial estates have an important economic function, but there is also little social control and there is a lot of traffic. Hazeldonk is suitable as a test garden because it is a busy, well-organised area. Tests are also currently being conducted in the test garden with the use of sensors in the road surface that signal whether there is a vehicle and research is underway into the possibilities for bringing all the data together in a control tower.
“Breda is a ‘smart city’, which means that we use technological innovations to improve and maintain the city,” Carla Kranenborg-Van Eerd, councillor for digitalisation says. “Drones can possibly help us keep our growing city liveable and safe. The unique thing about this project is that with the permit we can use the drone much more efficiently for different organisations and purposes. Together we can explore the possibilities and opportunities. At the same time, we also continue to ask ourselves whether we are using the technology responsibly. For example, during these tests we are alert to the protection of privacy. The images that are made are only used for the original purpose.”
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