From parcel delivery to security, Singapore bets big on drones

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SINGAPORE, Nov 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Hi-tech Singapore is planning to roll
out a swarm of drones for tasks that include delivering parcels, inspecting
buildings and providing security, but safety and privacy concerns mean the
initiative may hit turbulence.

Companies have already started testing the devices for commercial use,
mainly in an area of over 200 hectares (500 acres) dotted with high-rise
buildings and shopping malls, specially designated by the government for the
trials.

It is part of the affluent city’s drive to embrace technological
innovation, as well as an effort to tackle a manpower shortage in a country
of just 5.6 million, which relies on foreign migrant workers in many low-
paying sectors.

Commercial use of unmanned aerial vehicles is already taking off around the
world, in areas as diverse as crop-spraying and surveying for insurance
claims, but Singapore’s push represents a particularly ambitious bet on the
technology.

Singapore’s civil aviation authority has got behind the project, saying it
recognises the potential for drones “to transform mobility and logistics”,
and is working with industry players as it seeks to shape regulations for the
sector.

During recent tests, a drone buzzed through the air, snapping pictures of a
tower block’s facade, trials for a system that could see laborious human
inspections of the city’s ubiquitous high-rises replaced by automated checks.

“Today’s existing building inspection process is extremely slow, expensive,
tedious, prone to accidents, fatigue and human error,” said Shawn Koo, chief
technical officer of H3 Zoom, a unit of the firm H3 Dynamics, which is behind
the tests.

Such inspections are typically carried out by workers from South or
Southeast Asia, who hang precariously outside buildings on platforms
suspended by ropes.

The new system will see high-resolution images taken by drones and analysed
to check for defects, with inspections taking a few days rather than a few
weeks, as they do at the moment. H3 Zoom hopes to fully launch the
inspections next year.

– Robotic guards –

Drones are also being tested as robotic guards by local firm ST Aerospace.

At its command centre, screens show a simulated security breach in a fence.
A black drone is deployed, which chases an intruder while transmitting live
images that direct security officers towards him to make an arrest.

Tests have also been carried out for drone parcel delivery while a hospital
operator plans to use the devices to transport blood samples and specimens
between its hospitals and central laboratory.

But transforming the futuristic vision into reality faces hurdles. The
prospect of having a drone suddenly whizz by your apartment or office has
sparked privacy concerns in the land-scarce city.

Angry Singaporeans called for police to investigate after a video
circulated on social media in September showing a recreational drone flying
close to a residential building, while some private condos have banned the
devices.

Koo from H3 Zoom conceded that many people still had “misconceptions” about
drones: “Some might view it as a spying vehicle, others might think drones
are out there to do harm.”

– Safety concerns –

Flying recreational drones is popular in Singapore, although permits are
required in certain circumstances.

But commercial drones present more challenges when it comes to safety, as
they often fly over longer distances well beyond the sight of their human
“pilots”.

This requires flight paths to be planned and the use of private
communications channels, while takeoff and landing sites must be built.

“The main challenge is to address the risks to people on the ground and the
risks to airplanes flying in the air, and the risks of colliding with a
building,” Teong Soo Soon, programme director of the UAV business unit at ST
Aerospace, told AFP.

Despite the ambitious plans, it will be some time before all the ideas
currently being tested are rolled out.

Simpler tasks like building inspections and security surveillance look set
to be launched commercially next year.

But for situations where drones need to fly safely across Singapore — such
as with parcel delivery — it could take three to four years as regulations
are put in place, Teong said.

Industry players nevertheless see a bright future and are already getting
inquiries from as far afield as South America about their technology.

“A successful Singapore story will help us promote our (drone system)
internationally,” said Teong.