Accenture has a new solution for addressing the nation’s ballooning state of good repair backlog — drones.
Michael Wilson, managing director and transportation lead for North America for Accenture, said drone technology can monitor railroad right of way and report back conditions in real time to tablets and computers to address repairs in an efficient manner. It eliminates the need for workers walking a track then coming back to file a report and putting employees in dangerous areas.
“This technology is an up and coming field,” said “Pramila Mullan, senior director at Accenture’s Tech Labs said.” We see it as the future.”
Mullan said it’s expected the Federal Aviation Administration will clear the skies for drone use in 2015 and the technology will start to show up in industries like agriculture and eventually transportation.
Drones could also be a helpful first responder tool for transit agencies as well. Mullan said the units could respond to a train derailment in an efficient manner in order to assess the situation quickly.
