Connect Plus CEO Andy Dean shares his thoughts on the future of digital innovation on Europe’s busiest road in the latest edition of Civil Engineering Surveyor.
The benefits of creating a highways digital twin through use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are clear – access to more consistent information, improved journeys for customers, and encouraging a reduction in carbon emissions.
In this month’s edition of Civil Engineering Surveyor Connect Plus’ Chief Executive Officer, Andy Dean, spoke about the digital revolution that’s been happening across the M25 network and how it has transformed operations.
Connect Plus is a consortium comprising Edge Orbital Holdings Ltd, Balfour Beatty and Egis Investment Partners, who together operate and manage the M25 and its key arterial routes on behalf of Highways England.
Andy explains the decision to deploy Sensat’s fixed-wing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to produce highly accurate, geo-referenced 2D and 3D in one single source of truth (SSOT):
“Working together we covered 120 miles of highway, consisting of over 23 billion data points and captured 85,000 high-resolution images. Utilising the accuracy of UAS photogrammetry, which allows for levels of spatial accuracy to within 25mm, we are now able to collaboratively share reliable, consistent and up-to-date asset information that can used to take remote measurements.”
Read more on the new technologies being used by Connect Plus on the M25 here.
Andy Dean, Connect Plus CEO