Singapore police trial two pilotless drones to help enforce social distancing measures

• The drones were developed for Singapore police by Israeli company Airobotics
•  The drones weigh 22lb, detect gatherings, & can stream footage to the police 
•  Two drones will be used on a three-and-a-half month trial over an industrial estate in the west of the city 

Singapore are trialling two pilotless drones to help enforce social distancing measures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19.

The small machines weigh 22lb and are programmed to track anomalies such as gatherings and stream footage to the police.

The three-and-a-half-month trial, over an industrial estate in the west of the city, is the first time automated commercial drones have been approved to fly over a major metropolis, according to Airobotics. 

An employee of Airobotics, an Israeli company which says it has developed two pilotless drones that are being trialled by Singapore’s police to help enforce social distancing measures, looks on during a demonstration for Reuters at their offices in Petah Tikva, Israel on Tuesday 

An Airobotics employee works on one of the drones at their offices in Israel. The drones are currently being used to enforce social-distancing measures by Singapore police 

People are seen in this still picture taken from video footage using a pilotless drone developed by Israeli company Airobotics who say their drone is being trialled by Singapore’s police to help enforce social distancing

‘Specifically for COVID, what we are doing is helping them maintain normal operations,’ CEO Ran Krauss told Reuters. ‘The pandemic created a situation where it might be difficult for police to maintain operations.’

Singapore government’s Home Team Science & Technology Agency (HTX) said it had trialled the drones with police.

They can pinpoint locations and zoom into areas that might not be visible to police officers on foot or in vehicles, Senior Engineer Low Hsien Meng from HTX’s Robotics, Automation & Unmanned Systems Centre, said.

The small machines weigh 22lb and are programmed to track anomalies such as gatherings and stream footage to the police. Pictured: Inside the workshop of the Airobotics offices on Tuesday 

Airobotics, which has raised $120 million in funding, said it had invested some $100 million to develop the drones. It was leasing them to HTX and also for business and industrial use in Israel and the United States, it said.

Airobotics and HTX have begun the next, year-long stage of the project to explore further capabilities, including using the drones to deliver defibrillators where needed, the company said.

Airobotics said the social distancing aspect of the trial was still ongoing. HTX did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The tiny island nation, known for its strict laws and widespread surveillance, initially won global praise for containing virus spread before mass outbreaks in cramped migrant worker dormitories saw its caseload climb sharply.

Krauss said Airobotics is in talks with other cities to deploy the drones.

Source: Read Full Article