In news that should be cool for insurance services, municipalities and smart mobility solutions providers everywhere, Spanish smart mobility services company Serveo and Telefónica Tech have announced the successful completion of a pilot project that uses drone technology to assess and inspect road traffic accidents as well as the state of road infrastructure.

Carried out in city of Madrid, this pioneer project is aimed at proving the potential of drone technology in promoting safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility.

Serveo’s partner, Telefonica Tech is a network services company that operates in twelve countries in Europe, central and south America.

The partners, alongside operator Navalair, have carried out a 4,6 kilometre-long beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flight from the North Zone Road Maintenance Centre in La Cabrera in Madrid, to a simulated accident at kilometre point 1+300 of the M-631 road, with the aim of optimising the inspection of accidents and speeding up the response of the Serveo service in critical situations.

“This project demonstrates Serveo’s commitment to road safety and efficient infrastructure management, placing us at the forefront in the implementation of innovative solutions to promote safer and more sustainable transport,” said Cristina Aragón, head of innovation at Serveo.

In a statement, the parties to the pilot added that drone technology will make it possible to quickly assess the scene of any incident that occurs on the roads, speed up the response of the conservation and emergency services and improve the care of the people involved in the accident.

Besides, drones provide a complete aerial view of the accident scene, which can be particularly useful for further investigation in the case of complex accidents.

“We are very proud to carry out this innovative project with drones in the field of mobility that will improve road safety and speed up the response in case of accidents,” Alfredo Serret, Global Head of IoT at Telefónica Tech, said.

“It represents, without a doubt, an exciting step forward in the management of transport infrastructures and the prelude to being able to carry out this type of flights in the future with 5G technology.”

The project also took the opportunity to simultaneously inspect thirteen kilometres of the M-608 road with LiDAR technology using a drone whose pilot was working from a moving vehicle. The objective was to obtain a cloud of points for subsequent processing and analysis by Serveo and the Directorate General of Roads, Department of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure of the Community of Madrid, which will allow the necessary actions to be planned to improve road safety on the infrastructure.

Pedro J. Capote, the CEO Navalair, said; “This project has been a great challenge for our company. We have been able to demonstrate once again that drone technology is a great tool when it comes to obtaining data and images, among other of its multiple uses, with the resounding success of the operation.

“It has been a great pleasure to work hand in hand with the Telefónica Tech and Serveo teams, two giants that undoubtedly work every day to improve services for all users.”