QUEENSLAND SET TO SOAR WITH PILOTLESS PLANES
Published Thursday, 07 December, 2006 at 09:44 AM
Minister for State Development, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
Queensland is entering a new frontier in the early detection of bushfires, traffic management, power line maintenance, wildlife surveillance and crop spraying with remote-controlled aircraft technology being developed locally.
Opening the 2006 Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation UAV Workshop at QUT in Brisbane today, Minister for State Development John Mickel said unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology could provide assistance with border control and assist with search and rescue missions and the early detection of illegal fishing vessels.
”UAVs are the fastest growing segment of the international aerospace industry with enormous potential for civil applications,” Mr Mickel said.
“By concentrating on civilian use, Queensland is taking the lead in developing this technology and carving a niche in an emerging part of the aerospace industry.
“UAVs have new possibilities for a host of applications including traffic and road monitoring, power line maintenance, fisheries and wildlife surveillance, reef health monitoring, broad acre agriculture, emergency service and police surveillance, agricultural spraying, stock monitoring and aerial photography.”
A study by international researchers Frost and Sullivan estimate between2003-2012, revenue from Asia-Pacific commercial and civil UAV markets to be US2.76 billion.
“About 30 percent of Australia’s UAV industry resides in the Smart State,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has a significant number of companies and research institutions involved in the design, research and development, manufacture and operation of engines, structures, avionics suites, sensor packages and software for UAVs.”
Mr Mickel the Government last year contributed $3.53 million from the Smart State Research Facilities Fund to the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA).
The funding will be used to establish a $12 million centre of excellence at the Da Vinci precinct at Brisbane airport for research into the use of the aircraft in civil commercial applications.
“A joint venture between QUT and the CSIRO, ARCAA is working on a variety of projects aimed at the development of generic UAV platform technologies to allow safe and reliable operations for civilian applications,” Mr Mickel said.
“It’s also looking at how to get unmanned aircraft to fly safely among manned aircraft and reduce the cost and weight of the systems to make them more accessible.”
ARCAA has projected its research will deliver $543 million in economic benefits to Queensland in its first 10 years of operation.
Mr Mickel said the Government has also worked with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Kingaroy Shire Council to establish a UAV test area and facility at Kingaroy.
“Having an area to safely test these aircraft is extremely important to the development of the industry in Queensland,” he said.
“This is an industry set to soar thanks to the partnerships that have been developed between the Queensland and Federal governments, research institutions and business.
“Within the next few years, we could well be seeing pilotless planes routinely flying over our cities.”
The 2006 ARCAA Workshop will run from 7-8 December. The workshop will focus on standards and regulations, operational experiences and new technologies.
* Video for TV Stations is available of test flights of unmanned aerial vehicles
Media contact: Elouise Campion 3224 678 or Chris Brown 3224 7349
7 December 2006
Opening the 2006 Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation UAV Workshop at QUT in Brisbane today, Minister for State Development John Mickel said unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology could provide assistance with border control and assist with search and rescue missions and the early detection of illegal fishing vessels.
”UAVs are the fastest growing segment of the international aerospace industry with enormous potential for civil applications,” Mr Mickel said.
“By concentrating on civilian use, Queensland is taking the lead in developing this technology and carving a niche in an emerging part of the aerospace industry.
“UAVs have new possibilities for a host of applications including traffic and road monitoring, power line maintenance, fisheries and wildlife surveillance, reef health monitoring, broad acre agriculture, emergency service and police surveillance, agricultural spraying, stock monitoring and aerial photography.”
A study by international researchers Frost and Sullivan estimate between2003-2012, revenue from Asia-Pacific commercial and civil UAV markets to be US2.76 billion.
“About 30 percent of Australia’s UAV industry resides in the Smart State,” Mr Mickel said.
“Queensland has a significant number of companies and research institutions involved in the design, research and development, manufacture and operation of engines, structures, avionics suites, sensor packages and software for UAVs.”
Mr Mickel the Government last year contributed $3.53 million from the Smart State Research Facilities Fund to the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA).
The funding will be used to establish a $12 million centre of excellence at the Da Vinci precinct at Brisbane airport for research into the use of the aircraft in civil commercial applications.
“A joint venture between QUT and the CSIRO, ARCAA is working on a variety of projects aimed at the development of generic UAV platform technologies to allow safe and reliable operations for civilian applications,” Mr Mickel said.
“It’s also looking at how to get unmanned aircraft to fly safely among manned aircraft and reduce the cost and weight of the systems to make them more accessible.”
ARCAA has projected its research will deliver $543 million in economic benefits to Queensland in its first 10 years of operation.
Mr Mickel said the Government has also worked with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Kingaroy Shire Council to establish a UAV test area and facility at Kingaroy.
“Having an area to safely test these aircraft is extremely important to the development of the industry in Queensland,” he said.
“This is an industry set to soar thanks to the partnerships that have been developed between the Queensland and Federal governments, research institutions and business.
“Within the next few years, we could well be seeing pilotless planes routinely flying over our cities.”
The 2006 ARCAA Workshop will run from 7-8 December. The workshop will focus on standards and regulations, operational experiences and new technologies.
* Video for TV Stations is available of test flights of unmanned aerial vehicles
Media contact: Elouise Campion 3224 678 or Chris Brown 3224 7349
7 December 2006