Singapore closer to drone deliveries after completing air traffic control trial

Singapore is one step closer to drone deliveries following the completion of a two-year trial for their drone traffic management system project.

CAPE TOWN, March 15 (ANA) – Singapore is one step closer to drone deliveries following the completion of a two-year trial for their drone traffic management system project.

According to The Straits Times daily newspaper, the drone system known as the UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) traffic management system was co-funded by the ministry of transport (MOT) and the civil aviation authority of Singapore (CAS) in 2017.

The system which was tested by Nova Systems – an Australia-based consultancy – and air operations company, OneSky, successfully tested and announced the completion of the live demonstration on last Friday, March 12.

“It’s not about the number of flights, but really about looking at the processes like the confliction of flights after the drones are airborne,” Ryan Lee, managing director for Nova Systems Asia told CNA.

“The deployment of drones could help reduce the cost of (transporting) people and goods, as well as make these deliveries a lot more efficient.

“In future, we could also reduce the carbon footprint of offshore deliveries (with drones),” he said.

Lee added that the system uses data analytics to allow multiple drones to fly safely simultaneously, and that the drones would not be controlled by humans, instead by an autonomous system.

UAS has the capacity to simulate the flights of 500 drones at one time and like any air traffic controller, prevents crashes by ensuring flight paths do not cross.

The system communicates with the drones using 4G and 5G mobile networks and has been tested to operate at a distance of 2km using the 4G network with the ability to extend the range when using 5G.

– African News Agency (ANA), Edited by Naomi Mackay