ST Engineering and Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) will be collaborating to develop and test solutions to enable Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations for shore-to-ship parcel deliveries in Singapore.
As part of this collaboration, ST Engineering will provide a suite of flight tests and technology development services for system integration and solution prototyping. Key enabling technologies to be developed include precision landing on-board ship vessel’s metallic platform, non line-of-sight datalink and parcel delivery authentication and release system.
At the same time, WSS will help to strengthen the commercialisation and operational aspects of the solution development. This collaboration will receive funding as part of the Call-For-Proposal by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Singapore Ministry of Transport, which aims to support the development of systems and technologies to enable innovations within the wide-ranging use of UAS.
One of the leading participants in the UAS industry, ST Engineering has been developing in close collaboration with regulators and industry partners, solutions that make use of the latest smart and unmanned technologies for military and commercial applications. The Group signed an MOU with CAAS in early 2018 to facilitate the development of BVLOS UAS operations in Singapore’s urban environment, including within and near an aerodrome.
In January 2019, ST Engineering’s DroNet, an end-to-end solution that applies advanced unmanned technologies such as drones through a network system to carry out specific tasks or services, was granted the very first BVLOS permit for trial operations in Singapore.
Mr Lim Serh Ghee, President of ST Engineering’s Aerospace sector said,
“Drone technology holds huge potential in spurring innovative changes to the ways we operate and perform manual tasks. Our latest collaboration with WSS is an exciting development for us as we explore the various use cases for our DroNet solution to solve real-world problems and help organisations enhance their operational efficiency. Judging from the successful trial BVLOS operations that we have conducted, we believe it is only a matter of time before UAS shore-to-ship delivery solution becomes a reality.”
Marius Johansen, VP Commercial, Ships Agency, Wilhelmsen said,
“In partnership with our forward-thinking customers, we have led the way in exploring the practical applications of UAS for the maritime industry. This shore-to-ship delivery solution will show the potential of UAS services in cutting costs and improving safety. We are thrilled to be able to use that experience, and our in-depth port logistics expertise to support ST Engineering in the development of UAS for Singapore’s maritime cluster.”
Source: Press Release