SINGAPORE - Home-grown logistics company YCH Group has joined hands with unmanned aerial vehicle firm AeroLion Technologies to expand the use of drones in warehouses in the region.
The firms unveiled their partnership at the three-day Industrial Transformation Asia-Pacific trade show on Thursday (Oct 24), adding that they will collaborate further to research and develop commercially-ready technology.
While YCH already uses AeroLion's "cycle-counting" drones in its distribution centre at the Jurong Innovation District, the firms are working together to extend this solution to other regional warehouses and other warehouse service providers.
Typically, a two-man team takes a full day to check the inventory of a single warehouse aisle, but such drones can complete the same task in 12 minutes, said YCH and AeroLion.
Speaking at a networking event on the final day of the trade show at the Singapore Expo, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon said there is no "one-size-fits-all" strategy to help companies develop advanced manufacturing capabilities.
He flagged ongoing efforts to bring the industry together, such as industrial estate developer JTC's Industry 4.0 network that links researchers, technology and training providers, trade associations as well as government agencies to support companies.
On Tuesday (Oct 22), The Straits Times reported that JTC is moving beyond its role as a landlord to play "matchmaker" by actively linking its customers to potential partners which can help them to adopt more advanced technology and ease their talent crunch.
To date, it has approached around 300 companies out of 14,000 or so across its estates, introducing them to its partners' network.
Other efforts include an initiative that aims to digitally connect the smart factories of participating organisations so companies across industries can pick up best practices, said Dr Koh.
This was launched on Thursday by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, and the Singapore Precision Engineering & Technology Association. Thirteen organisations - including multinationals and local firms - will be signing memorandums of understanding to join the initiative.
Dr Koh added that firms are encouraged to band together to provide a complete suite of solutions to capture a larger share of the value chain.
Enterprise Singapore, he said, has brought 21 companies together to form three more consortia - after one formed last year - led by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Of the three, one caters to precision machining smart solutions, the second, to the precision engineering sector in South-east Asia, while the third will focus more on opportunities in the United States and Europe.
Also on Thursday, the Singapore arm of German safety and quality expert, TUV SUD, signed a memorandum of understanding with additive manufacturing solutions-provider thyssenkrupp Innovations.
They will work together over three years, first by setting up industrial-grade manufacturing solutions as well as testing, inspection and certification services for land transport and mobility, among other areas.
