LTA calls for ideas to test use of drones for tunnel checks

SINGAPORE — The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is calling for proposals from industry players to design and develop trials for drones to be used during checks on MRT and road tunnels, instead of relying on manual inspection for leaks and other defects.

The use of such automated technologies would not just make the inspections more accurate, but also free up engineers’ time, enabling them to focus on analysing the captured data in order to recommend any necessary remedial measures, the LTA said in a statement on Wednesday (March 1).

For rail tunnels, the trials should be based on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) technology. For road tunnels, participants are invited to develop trials involving UAS, unmanned vehicles or other technology for the inspection.

The trials should incorporate 360-degree video-mapping of the tunnels, as well as software to automatically detect defects from the video taken and provide their location, it added. 

Through this exercise, the authority will evaluate if tapping such technologies in the routine inspection of tunnels is feasible and effective.

Right now, manual checks are carried out regularly within Singapore’s rail and road tunnels to detect anomalies, such as cracks or water leakage. 

Road-tunnel inspections by the LTA also cover rainwater storage tanks and voided slab spaces where utility lines are located. 

These checks allow it to ascertain the health of the tunnel structures so that it may carry out necessary maintenance. 

However, such checks are labour-intensive and time-consuming, it said, while checks on rail tunnels are even more challenging because workers could only do so within a very limited number of hours at night after train services stop.

This latest exercise that LTA is calling adds to its ongoing research to study the use of drones for operational needs. 

It is conducting proof-of-concept trials at 10 work sites for the Thomson-East Coast Line, where drones are being deployed to monitor work progress by taking aerial photographs and videos.