Drones To Tackle Train Graffiti In Germany

 

Drones To Tackle Train Graffiti In Germany.

By Sky News

Mini drones are set to be rolled out at train depots in Germany to catch vandals who come out at night to deface carriages with graffiti.

Deutsche Bahn plans to start testing the aerial vehicles, which have four helicopter-style rotors and can shoot high-resolution pictures using thermal imaging cameras.

A pilot will remotely steer the drones, which can fly at a height of up to 150 metres and speeds of up to 33mph.

"We are going to use this technology in problem areas where taggers are most active," said a Deutsche Bahn spokesman.

Last year, the company suffered 7.6m euros (£6.5m) of damage from people spray-painting its carriages.
It hopes to use the images collected by the drones as evidence in any prosecutions.

However, the rail operator said it would only use the drones over its depots, not in public areas, in line with German anti-surveillance laws.

Google ran into problems in Germany when it photographed roads for its worldwide Street View project.
Thousands of residents complained, and the website was forced to blur many of its images.