Five technology trials to kick off at one-north, Singapore's first drone estate

HOT on the heels of one-north being designated as Singapore's first drone estate, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), announced on Wednesday that it will be working with a number of companies and tertiary institutions to conduct trials and other development activities with drones.

The move might see Airbus extend its urban air delivery service, which is currently in the trial phase at the National University of Singapore campus to the research and development hub in Buona Vista. The experimental project - Skyways - is aimed at developing a safe and economically viable aerial unmanned parcel delivery system for use in dense urban areas.

Meanwhile, Nanyang Technological University's Air Traffic Management Research Institute plans to conduct test flights at one-north to "validate design concepts, algorithms, technology and systems on the traffic management of multiple-drone operations in low-altitude airspace for various applications, in different conditions and requirements."

Singtel, together with partners NCS and HopeTechnik, intends to explore and trial technologies for use in delivery drones and drone stations for Drone-as-a-Service last mile deliveries.

ST Aerospace plans to conduct trials on its DroNet system, which is designed for remote and autonomous deployment of drones within an urban environment.

Through its collaboration with H3 Dynamics, JTC may conduct trials with drones by automating the building inspection process through a drone data collection and analytics solution for building facades and vertical surfaces.

The plan to designate the business park as a drone estate was first announced by Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow 2018 on Monday.