NUS will be the next Hogwarts.
Our hopes were up previously when SingPost explored the use of drones in delivering packages and letters back in 2015, but we never heard back. Now, getting your mail or online loots delivered via drones may become a reality sooner than you think.
Just yesterday, the Airbus Helicopters and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore signed a partnership to conduct research and trials and explore this possibility.
They intend to provide highly efficient, reliable and seamless parcel deliveries, not that Singaporeans have any complains about the current system – it is simply the future of the logistics industry.
Called “Skyways”, the trial will pave the way for delivery drones to become a reality. Safety is one of the main concerns with the trial and both parties maintained that it’s also a non-negotiable requirement from both sides.
Under existing regulations, such deployment is not permitted, which is why a trial is required to test the waters. It will be a key step to ensure that commercial drones can operate safely over urban areas, especially since we have an abundance of high-rise buildings in our midst.
In preparation for the trial in early 2018, Airbus will develop a drone hardware weighing less than 25 kg while SingPost will provide logistical support.
It will be a live testing, conducted at the National University Of Singapore (NUS). Students at the Kent Ridge campus might have to get used to the buzz of drones overhead. Fret not, for they’re unlikely to come crashing down on your way to class. Students who use the service will receive a text once the drone lands with their parcels. The drones all have fixed, pre-determined air routes and 8 back-up motors – a safety measure in case of motor failure.
The NUS trial is only the first of many, soon the project will be taken a step further to deliver goods like medicine, oil samples and spare electronic parts from a parcel station, to ship vessels on the Singapore coast.
