JOHOR BARU - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology, normally used in combat operations for surveillance and observation from the air, especially in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine, is set to reach new heights through the efforts of a local company.

Geo Sense Sdn Bhd claimed the UAV technology was not limited to combat operations alone but can be used for other purposes like monitoring development in some areas as well as search and rescue operations.

Multi-purpose

"The UAV technology not only can serve in a war zone but it can be used for many other purposes," its chief executive officer, Ismail Ibrahim, told Bernama in an interview.

He added that high resolution images taken through the UAV can be useful to plan or survey land earmarked for development or conduct surveys to determine the type of development that can take place in an identified location.

UAVs can also be used to capture images on assets belonging to local councils and to monitor the upkeep of some buildings and also reduce risks and costs involved in taking pictures from the air, using helicopters or light aircraft, said Ismail.

Greater uses ahead

According to him, Geo Sense, in association with the Iskandar Research Centre-Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, would introduce various uses of the UAV technology to the public, especially those in Johor.

"We have briefed Johor, local councils and government agencies on the various uses of UAV and the feedback has been very encouraging," he said.

UAVs are normally used to spy on enemy locations during a war because it elevates the use of human for such tasks and can also give high resolution images.

Far cheaper alternative

Ismail said the current trend was to use satellite technology like Google Earth or helicopter and light aircraft to capture images for a specific task but Google Earth does not provide up to date information while using the helicopter or light aircraft would be expensive.

"Images captured are also not guaranteed to be of high quality while the use of satellites will have limitations due to certain guidelines imposed by countries that own the satellites.

"Using UAV is a whole lot cheaper and one does not need much time to prepare for such tasks unlike the normal procedures," he said.