Bruce McPherson

Leading automated industrial drones startup, Airobotics, receives the world’s first approval to fly over a major metropolis and flies above Singapore.

As part of Singapore’s response to protect the public’s health during the coronavirus crisis, The Home Team Science & Technology Agency (HTX) of Singapore, has partnered with Airobotics, through its local partner, SJ Defence, the defence arm of Surbana Jurong (SJ) Group.

HTX, a statutory board of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Singapore, is using Airobotics’ cutting edge drone technology to augment Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) efforts in policing during this period to fly above a major industrial estate area to track anomalies such as congregations of people during the Circuit Breaker Period in Singapore. The technology complements police operations by using real-time aerial data broadcasted by Airobotics’ automated drone technology to accelerate the feedback process and help the SPF make better informed decisions. To support the drone operations, SJ Defence provides logistics management, operations coordination and ground safety observers.

“We are proud to work with HTX to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Ran Krauss, CEO and Co-Founder of Airobotics. “What started off as a vision has now become a reality. We are one step closer to making drones an everyday reality in cities.”

“HTX is currently trialing the system in real operations, collecting critical operating data, for evaluating the feasibility of using this advanced technology to perform remote viewing of wide and difficult-to-access areas, in a safer and more cost efficient way. The Airobotics system could provide the additional dimension of capability to augment our frontline,” said Cheng Wee Kiang, Director of Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise at HTX.

As a completely automatic unmanned aerial system, the first of its kind in the global market, Airobotics enables governments and industrial companies to leverage the power of drones without the need for a human operator. Airobotics’ platform provides professionals with the ability to run missions automatically, to monitor, inspect, survey, and secure urban areas, as well as large industrial facilities.

The Airobotics’ automatic platform is comprised of three parts: “Optimus”, a large, high capacity drone capable of flying 45-minute missions while carrying a one-kilogram mission specific payload; an “Airbase”, a completely automated base station from which the Optimus drone launches and lands on its own, without any human intervention; and “Software”, an integrated, dynamic software that enables users to control and manage missions with one click.

About Airobotics

Airobotics has developed a pilotless drone solution, the first of its kind in the global market.

Airobotics provides an end-to-end, fully automatic solution for collecting aerial data and gaining invaluable insights. The industrial grade platform is available on-site and on-demand, enabling industrial facilities to access premium aerial data in a faster, safer, more efficient way.

The team at Airobotics fuses expertise in aerospace hardware design, robust electronic systems, leading software engineering, and years of experience in commercial drone operations. This varied experience has allowed them to design a solution suited to address the needs of the world’s most complex industrial environments.

To learn more, visit: www.airoboticsdrones.com and follow up on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX)

HTX is the world’s first Science and Technology agency that integrates a diverse range of scientific and engineering capabilities to innovate and deliver transformative and operationally-ready solutions for homeland security. As a statutory board of the Ministry of Home Affairs and integral to the Home Team, HTX works at the forefront of science and technology to empower Singapore’s frontline of security. Our shared mission is to amplify, augment and accelerate the Home Team’s advantage and secure Singapore as the safest place on planet earth.

For more information, visit our website at htx.gov.sg

About Surbana Jurong

Surbana Jurong Group is one of the largest Asia-based urban, infrastructure and managed services consulting firms, with 70 years of track record in successful project delivery. Headquartered in Singapore, the Surbana Jurong Group comprises SMEC and Robert Bird Group in Australia, Sino-Sun in China, AETOS, KTP and SAA in Singapore, and B+H in Canada.

Our global talent pool of over 16,000 employees from more than 120 offices in over 40 countries worldwide includes architects, designers, planners, engineers and other specialists, who are driven by progressive thinking and creative ideas to help shape a better future.

Our technical experts deliver best-in-class solutions that cover the entire project life cycle from planning and design, through to delivery and management, and even decommissioning and closure. We provide a full suite of consultancy services across a diverse range of sectors such as aviation, healthcare, hospitality, transport, water and environment, energy and resources.

With a wealth of experience, we have built more than a million homes in Singapore, crafted master plans for more than 30 countries and developed over 100 industrial parks globally, building homes and designing cities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, empowering communities to thrive.