IT is a high-tech solution to one of Scotland's most notorious traffic problems that could have widespread implications on the way land is surveyed.
Traffic Scotland has enlisted aerial drones to get a top-down view of landslides that have frequently closed the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, bringing misery to motorists in Argyll.
The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have delivered photographs which could help pinpoint mudslides as they develop for the engineers analysing where the problem spots are and why they are happening.
The drones, operated by one man using remote control, fly to as high as 400ft and can deliver images which would normally require a helicopter, but at a fraction of the cost.
And their growing popularity means that they could soon become a common sight in the skies above Scotland as more firms see the benefits of using them to get a bird's eye view of their projects.
Traffic Scotland used UAVs flown by Scottish company Sky View Video for the survey mission, one of several such projects the firm has carried out.
Owner Craig Jump said that there was growing interest in the commercial use of drones.
He said: "A helicopter has to stay above 500ft unless it's landing or taking off, but the highest a UAV goes is around 400ft so we can get in a lot closer, which is a great benefit for survey work.
"Each drone carries a camera and we can fit them with infra-red lenses which see into the non-visible spectrum and show the distribution of water.
"On the Rest and Be Thankful we could see that there's a thin layer of earth on rock and when it becomes waterlogged it just slides forward, bringing the hillside onto the road."
The growing use of UAVs means that legislation has had to scramble to keep up, but they are now governed by clear rules over how and where they can be used, administered by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Mr Jump said that he had to provide an operational manual to the authorities detailing the operation of his drones, and sit a test showing he could manage them safely before being granted a licence.
Sky View Video also works with the film and TV industry, and has been asked to provide pictures for estate agents and building surveyors.
Drones can be used to give detailed images of a house from angles not accessible to anything but an airborne camera, providing far more detailed information to buyers and sellers than has been available until now.
Among their projects have been music videos for Scottish singer Sandi Thom and pop band We Were Promised Jetpacks, along with several film projects which Mr Jump is keeping under wraps for now as they have not been released.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "Using this technology helped improve our understanding of October's landslide at the Rest and Be Thankful.
"The photographs look impressive but on a more practical level, they give geo-technical experts a fresh perspective on what is happening high-up on the slope.
"We are considering whether we could make more use of this type of imagery to improve our monitoring of and response to landslide events as part of our on-going mitigation programme."
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