New drone-flying arena launched for testing, showcases of aerial robots

SINGAPORE’S first aerial robotics arena will provide a space for researchers, companies, and government organisations to test and showcase their drones.

A joint project by the National Robotics Programme (NRP) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), AerialArena@SUTD was officially launched at the NRP6 Festival on Friday (Feb 10).

Held in line with NRP’s sixth anniversary, the two-day festival at SUTD’s campus will be open to “families of the robotics community” on Saturday.

AerialArena@SUTD is a four-storey courtyard space that can be used for drone pilot training, showcases, test-bedding, as well as student workshops and competitions. Later this year, universities and companies will be able to book the arena via the SUTD website, though the exact pricing for usage has yet to be announced.

One project that will be tested at the arena is a collaboration between SUTD, Gardens by the Bay and Spinoff Robotics, under a memorandum of understanding also signed on Friday. The trio intend to develop and commercialise aerial robotics technologies to aid humans in the landscape and cleaning sectors.

Separately, one of the first uses of the arena was by the NRP-funded Giraffe (Ground Integrated Robot with Aerial Flying Flexible End-effector) project, which is developing tethered drones for uses such as inspection and high-pressure cleaning.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

Speaking at the launch of the NRP6 Festival, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said that “many industry sectors (were) increasingly adopting robotics solutions to enhance productivity, safety and quality”.

He noted that there are over 200 robotics companies in Singapore today, including 80 startups, nine of which spun off from NRP projects.

Also launched at the event was a new technical reference (TR) standard, providing national guidelines for robot deployment in the healthcare sector, including a safety evaluation framework and risk assessment requirement.

This TR108 was developed by a private-public working group led by Changi General Hospital’s Centre for Healthcare Assistive and Robotics Technologies and involving institutes of higher learning, professional institutions, hospitals, and government agencies.

NRP, a national platform hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, supports the development of such technical standards as part of its efforts to build Singapore’s robotics ecosystem.

In its six years, NRP has facilitated and funded various robotics projects, such as efforts by local company Lionsbot to develop “reconfigurable” robots that can transform in shape. These include stair-climbing cleaning robot Tetro and hospital-based logistics robot Wasp. NRP also collaborates with government agencies to develop robotics to solve national challenges. For instance, it funded a project between the National Environment Agency and local company Orinno Technology related to the production and release of Wolbachia bacteria-carrying Aedes mosquitos, to reduce the mosquito population and prevent the spread of dengue.

The project combined artificial intelligence and machines to count, dispense and distinguish male and female mosquito pupae, thus raising productivity compared to manual methods.