Autonomous drones could patrol SH 130 as part of intelligent infrastructure

article

AUSTIN, Texas - New innovative technology could be coming to State Highway 130.

The Autonomy Institute says the intelligent infrastructure would focus on traffic control, security and public safety using drones.

"About four years ago. State Highway 130 jumped to the top of the list because of its uniqueness," said Autonomy Institute chairman Jeffrey Decoux.

The institute announced Ondas Holdings as an upcoming commercial partnership to help design and enable the drone zones, but the use of drones along the highway corridor is not yet a done deal.

"The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has been involved in discussions of a concept only," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement. " There is no official project or intention to implement this technology at this time. For any additional questions, we'd refer you to the Autonomy Institute."

The SH 130 corridor is home to several companies, including Tesla, Amazon, Circuit of the Americas, H-E-B and dozens of commercial developers, and is the future home of intelligent infrastructure.

"We are right now naming them the Intelligent Infrastructure Economic Zone LLC. So, think of these as being new corporations that are established within a region that are supported by both public and private institutions, and that would become the organization that would be the one responsible for maintaining and operating and managing the infrastructure," said Decoux.

"TxDOT currently has no agreements in place or is under consideration with any entities to allow for autonomous drones to operate on SH 130 or any other state highways," TxDOT said in a statement.

MORE TECHNOLOGY NEWS

• UnitedHealthcare accused of relying on AI algorithms to deny Medicare Advantage claims
• More than 10% of South Korea's workforce is now robotic, survey finds
• Is TikTok getting banned in the US? What to know

The technology could use autonomous drones to provide around-the-clock security, inspections, traffic monitoring, and assistance for emergency responders, according the Autonomy Institute.

"It is real time access like if a fire breaks out, fire breaks out often especially in the Bastrop area and down [the] SH 130 corridor, being able to get dispatch and get eyes on the scene to know where to bring fire trucks where they can actually contain is a perfect example of what they mean by real time," said Decoux.

Ondas says this would allow faster responses to fires, accidents, and other public safety and disaster incidents.

"There is $60 billion dollars of active projects on SH 130 and has become one of the fastest growing corridors in the region to date," said Decoux.

There will be ten active drone zones to support the high traffic areas of Central Texas, Ondas said.

The earliest the drones will be installed will be around April 2025, the Autonomy Institute said.