Taking to the skies soon: Public service drones

SINGAPORE — From maritime search and rescue operations to combating dengue, drones will be increasingly deployed by public agencies to improve their operations.

Currently, more than two dozen uses of such devices are undergoing conceptualisation and proof-of-concept (POC) trials, said the Ministry of Transport (MOT), which is leading the inter-agency Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) committee facilitating the trials.

The ministry held a media briefing today (Feb 4) to showcase the use of drones to enhance some public services. It also announced that a tender will be called at the end of the month to invite commercial vendors to bid for a master contract for UAS services.

This arrangement would enable better economies of scale to be achieved from the public agencies’ collective demand for such services, said the MOT.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), for example, has been studying the use of drones deployed from its patrol boats when responding to marine incidents, including for oil spill surveillance and support for search and rescue operations. Its sole drone — named Water Spider — is expected to be operational from the second quarter of this year to complement helicopter flights and satellite images which MPA currently uses for its operations.

For the past year, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has also been using drones to look for possible mosquito breeding sites in roof gutters. The NEA plans to expand trials to involve the use of a drone to drop larvicide in roof gutters to kill mosquito larvae.

These trials are expected to end in the second quarter of this year. The NEA said it will evaluate the outcome of the trials “before deciding on the wider deployment of such technology”.

Engineering and robotics experts noted the wide range of potential uses of drones to aid public agencies in their work.

National University of Singapore professor Ben Chen cited for example forestation and agriculture, as well as aerial mapping and filming.

Professor Chen I-Ming, the director of Nanyang Technological University’s Robotics Research Centre, pointed to inspection of caves and tunnels or other public infrastructures. Amphibious drones could also be used for holistic environmental monitoring, he noted.

He said the cost of the drones depends on the type of work they are deployed for. For example, lighter drones equipped with cameras that could be deployed for inspections could cost between US$500 (S$700) and US$2,000.

“The hardware is not costly because (these drones) are mass produced,” he said. In comparison, drones used for professional filming could cost between US$5,000 and US$15,000. He added: “Maintenance of the drones are generally easy so in the long run, it should not be very expensive.”

Economists noted that the use of drones by public agencies was in line with the transformation into a manpower-lean economy. Nevertheless, SIM University senior lecturer Walter Theseira said the drones have to complement existing manpower resources, instead of completely substituting them.

“We need to pay attention to redeploying manpower into jobs that work with drones and other technologies, so that this is not a losing proposition for our workers,” he said.

UOB economist Francis Tan pointed out that the drones could in fact make work easier — as in the case of NEA inspections of roof gutters, for example.

“You still need one person (to inspect), but you spend less time (doing the same kind of work),” said Mr Tan.

CIMB Private Banking economist Song Seng Wun said the use of drones by the public sector could generate additional economic activity, by creating demand for vendors and maintenance work.