Unmanned aerial drones will hover over Johannesburg's skies for the next two weeks as part of a pilot project to use them to provide real-time traffic updates, in what is claimed to be a first for the local media industry.
Kagiso Media subsidiaries Kagiso New Media and Jacaranda FM are running the proof of concept project to investigate the viability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to provide real-time, reliable traffic updates to Gauteng residents. This follows several successful test flights using a remote-controlled, helicopter-like drone, says Kagiso in a statement.
The drones will observe traffic congestion on the N1 highway and provide "up-to-the-minute" online video feeds of traffic conditions during peak hours. Although Jacaranda's presenters will use the feed to aid their on-air traffic reports, they will be available on jacarandafm.com, and through live Twitter updates (@jaca_traffic).
"The initiative is one of the first uses of UAVs in SA's media industry," says Kagiso.
Other possibilities
The proof of concept will last 15 days and the drones will be "in action" every weekday from 7am to 8am and 4pm to 5pm, and follow the safety guideline set by the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of Southern Africa.
After the trial period, Kagiso Media plans to use drones "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," it says in a statement.
Attila Bernariusz, Kagiso New Media's GM of operations, says the pilot, a collaboration between Kagiso New Media and Jacaranda FM, "weaves together radio and digital technology in a really exciting way".
Depending on how the project pans out, Kagiso looks "forward to operating a fleet of UAVs that will bring our Web and radio audience up-to-the-minute news and information," adds Bernariusz.
Kagiso Media owns assets such as Jacaranda FM, East Coast Radio, Knowledge Factory, Mobil Alliance and Gloo. It previously sold its 50% stake in LexisNexis, and acquired Juta and Company. It has been pushing a convergence strategy across its various holdings.
Kagiso Media has sourced the UAVs from Made Media Creative for the pilot project, and is still looking at where it might secure future drones for its extended plans, says Bernariusz. He says it is currently unclear whether they will be bought locally, or from international suppliers.
Cheaper solution
?Craig Corte, chief digital officer at Kagiso Media, says the drone industry is in its infancy in SA. Yet, "many industries worldwide have adopted UAVs to simplify their tasks and improve the quality of work - among them film, agriculture, photographers, and real estate development", he adds.
"We believe that UAV technology is an integral step into a future of transparent communications and information, because it provides real-time data when people need it. We plan to be at the forefront of this technological boom so that we can capitalise on the many opportunities which it will provide."
The broadcasting and Internet company has been heading towards convergence after moving into digital offerings in 2008 - digitisation across all media is part of Kagiso's growth strategy.
Jacaranda FM GM Kevin Fine explains it is prohibitively expensive to use helicopters to monitor the traffic situation in Gauteng, so radio stations depend on reports from listeners via social media and the phone. The UAV provides Jacaranda with a low-cost way to get objective, up-to-date traffic information that it can pass on to listeners via the airwaves.
Live content delivery provider, Antfarm, will be responsible for the video streaming bandwidth for the proof of concept. Antfarm is supporting Kagiso with technical skills, stream encoding, hardware and software, and distribution of the streaming video via the Antfarm content delivery network.
Andrew Aitken, sales and marketing director at Antfarm, explains the feed will be captured from a camera that can be manoeuvred, and is then sent via radio transmitters to a receiver, from which point it is encoded and then distributed around the world through several nodes.
Aitken says Antfarm encodes the feed so it is accessible by all devices, and the use of different nodes means there is no buffering. However, the drone is currently off air while regulatory aspects are sorted out, he adds.
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