The Brenner Motorway company has acquired a fleet of drones, which will be expanded in the future, to inspect the condition of the A22 and, at a later stage, manage traffic flow. The first six drones, of various types, will allow inspections of bridges, viaducts, and other structures, including hard-to-reach areas, without disrupting traffic. Thanks to these technologies, the company will be able to assess the structural health of its assets, conduct topographical surveys, and monitor the stability of slopes.
In the summer of 2024, the motorway company carried out two trial phases, training personnel in drone usage—one on the Po bridge and the other on the Colle Isarco viaduct—gathering data on the condition of the inspected structures. Looking ahead, drones could be deployed for rapid response in the event of accidents, aiding in data collection and helping monitor traffic flows, providing essential insights to improve mobility management.
"These tools offer extraordinary support in gathering real-time information, crucial for increasingly connected and cooperative mobility management," explained Carlo Costa, General Technical Director of the Brenner Motorway. "The data collected will be processed using artificial intelligence algorithms to quickly identify anomalies and gradually build a digital database of information."
The drone implementation is part of Brenner Motorway's involvement in the European Scale project. Through this initiative, the company joins 88 other European partners to develop and scale the deployment of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-Its), which enable communication between infrastructure and vehicles. These systems aim to enhance road safety and promote increasingly cooperative and connected driving.
Since 2001, Autobrennero has participated in several EU co-funded projects, becoming a key player in the development of C-Its technologies. During the C-Roads project, which concluded in December 2023, the company built a robust infrastructure for connected driving, installing a C-Its server and 68 roadside units (RSUs) along the motorway. These devices act as "special antennas" for communication between vehicles and the infrastructure.
