KOLKATA | Feb 11, 2016: Coal India plans to start using drones to conduct aerial surveys of blocks that come up for exploration and to assess the extent of greenery restored after mines are closed, helping it to cut costs and save time.

The company has approached the Ministry of Home Affairs and the civil aviation department to go ahead with the drone project, which involves using remote- controlled aerial vehicles fitted with high-resolution cameras and gadgets that can capture pictures and collect data of vast areas from 300 metres to 500 metres above the ground.

"We have already asked for permissions from the government departments for going ahead with the project. It will cut down survey time, which earlier had to be done manually, requiring manpower and weeks to complete. Drones can complete such surveys in at least half the time. They would be used to capture contours of coal blocks and would capture 3D data that can now be fed into analytical software easily," said a senior official involved with the project.

Deploying drones isn't as expensive as manually collecting such data, the official said. Each drone costs a few lakh rupees and the entire project cost would be a few crore rupees.

"Drones can also be used to replace data captured by satellites in terrain where data is not very clear. Being at such heights, satellites do not always capture da ta that can be useful - drones can replace them," he said. Such data would be used to generate geological reports, which need to be submitted to the government before exploration is initiated in any block. Capturing data electronically would help streamline the data and it would be more organised than manual operations.

Coal India also plans to use drones to assess the level of coal stocks at its yards to help determine how much has been liquidated or added.

(Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/)