As COVID-19 and financial constraints hinder South Africa's plans for infrastructure development, there is likely to be greater reliance on applying innovative technologies. TO BUILD invited Consulting Partner and Principal Engineering Technologist for SRK, Steve Bartels, to share his views.
Bartels argues that the country's infrastructure recovery could make valuable use of a growing range of data-gathering, analysis, communication and data-sharing technologies. "While most of these technologies were available before - such as virtual private networks to facilitate the sharing of documents and information - not everyone was using them effectively. Now they will become vital for continued efficiency," he says.
Bartels noted that high-definition photography and photogrammetry, as well as the technologies such as drones and remote sensing to deploy these tools, will become particularly useful. Technology related to geographic information systems (GPS) will continue to grow in their applications, helping to accurately geolocate data points for various scientific and engineering applications.
"For instance, drones today come in all shapes and sizes - some so tiny they can almost fit in your pocket while others are the size of a small aeroplane," he says. "Multicopters or fixed-wing craft for aerial applications require either a launching system and landing strip, while the vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) require only a very small area to take off and land."
