
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasing adopted as it encompasses the ability to perform a multitude of functions for government and commercial organisations, protecting the nation’s sovereignty and improving the lives of many. The technology of UAVs has surpassed beyond just tools for photography and videography, and have enabled organisations to achieve greater productivity and efficiency, maximising resources. Hear from Wen Rong, Product Manager of DroNet, to find out how our fully autonomous Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), an example of UAV, carry out efficient inspections and safer package delivery in an urban environment and its applications.
Q: How does the UAS help to improve our current work and way of life?
UAS, when coupled with Beyond Visual Line of Sight (or BVLOS) and one-to-many capability, provides superior advantages over current methods of doing our work, especially in urban cities.
The ability of UAS to reach any chosen position in 3D space and bypassing ground-based infrastructures, has proven to reduce manpower costs significantly. In recent Covid-19 period, when the need for social distancing is the new norm, UAS is the perfect fit. Replacing the traditional methods of work, UAS can inspect a tall building, provides wide aerial surveillance for public security agencies and delivers parcels or food for quarantine vessels, in lesser time, which translates to lower costs.
Q: Is UAS safe to be deployed in an urban setting?
Definitely. Depending on the specific application, one could choose to use a very low cost UAS or a highly reliable but more expensive UAS to carry out the tasks. Based on the commercial trade-offs, and due diligence in assessing the risks and implementing necessary mitigations, UAS can be deployed safely with minimal risks to uninvolved people and ground assets.
Q: What are the key challenges in deploying UAS in an urban setting?
Besides risks to people and ground assets, other challenges exists in an urban setting, such as tall building structures affecting GPS signals and communications, as well as airspace restrictions due to manned aircraft flight paths. Our DroNet UAS is designed to operate with multiple 4G/5G networks for robust communication link between the ground control station and the UAV. In Singapore, whereby significant portion of the airspace lie within 5km of commercial and military aerodromes, the DroNet is designed with key safety features to mitigate “fly-away” risk that is a threat to other manned aircraft.
Q: Can you share any success stories of UAS deployed?
Our DroNet UAS is the first in Singapore to meet stringent requirements of the local aviation authority for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. Recently we have completed over 600 sorties of BVLOS operational flights for aerial surveillance purpose and have conducted successful trials to deliver food supplies to a ship anchored for long period of time in waters off mainland Singapore, due to Covid-19 restrictions for the crew member to disembark. We are also in the midst of rolling out DroNet for monitoring of reservoirs and remote islands through BVLOS flight operations.