Professor Rod Walker with an Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle, which could be commonplace within the
next decade.

New research predicts robotic planes will be commonplace in Australia within five to ten years and piloted planes will be considered old-fashioned.

QUT researchers said UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have been successfully used by the Australian Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and would now be adapted to work in civilian settings.

Professor Rod Walker said recent trials in Weipa in Far North Queensland have looked at using automated planes for fisheries and border protection in the Cape York area.

"These successful trials broke new ground and will help push ahead with the civilian applications," he said.

Professor Walker presented his research at a public forum Flying farm robots in Cairns on 5 June 2008.

He said the thrust of QUT research is looking at making robotic planes reliable and safe for their use in more domestic settings.

He predicts UAVs will soon be used for border protection and flying up and down the coast of North Queensland within five years.