Consortium says it is the world’s first such service.
Chen Chuanren
Credit: Chen Chuanren/ShowNews
A Singapore trio of ST Engineering, Sumitomo Corp. and Skyports has come together to provide what it says will be the world’s commercialized first shore-to-ship parcel drone delivery.
The team will trial and validate beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight operations, parcel pricing, frequency of service and demand in Singapore over a nine-month period before pushing the service globally. ST Engineering will provide technical expertise as the OEM of the DroNet drone system, while Skyports will be the operator and Sumitomo Corp. the go-to-market support, including its own fleet of vessels.
The unmanned aircraft system (UAS) used will be the DrN-35, which has a payload of 7 kg (15 lb.) and total range of 8-10 km (5-6 mi.) Deployed from docking station, it can automatically deploy, land and charge its batteries. ST Engineering tells ShowNews that the system also worked with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore to enable it to have updated location of shipping traffic real-time for the drone’s navigation.
Teong Soo Soon, ST Engineering vice president and head of unmanned aircraft systems, says such service will likely meet 10-20% of ship delivery demand in Singapore, and expects around 100 flights during the nine-month period.
He added that while many countries have tested similar shore-ship delivery concepts, this will be the first with paying customers.
The project is a followup from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore’ (CAAS) call for proposals in 2020. and it also received funding support from the regulator. Airbus has done similar trials over Singapore waters since March 2019 under the Skyways parcel delivery drone project.
“As home to one of the busiest ports in the world, Singapore is the ideal setting in which to demonstrate to customers the potential for UAS to transform maritime logistics by moving essential supplies in a more cost-effective and sustainable way,” says Sanjay Suresh, Skyports head of business development and operations for the Asian-Pacific region.
Unmanned and autonomous systems is one of the three aviation industry thrusts the Singapore Economic Development Board has identified in the foreseeable future, the others being electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing vehicles and sustainability aviation projects.
