Leading automated industrial drones startup, Airobotics, receives the world’s first approval to fly over a major metropolis, reports suasnews.com. Singapore is the city and the catalyst is a need 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.”
Cheng Wee Kiang, Director of Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems Centre of Expertise at HTX, added:
“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.”
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.
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