Robotic inspection arm among winning ideas at defence innovation symposium
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Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen looking at the robotic inspection arm called SwiftEye, which can be used to inspect fuel tanks on Chinook helicopters.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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SINGAPORE – To inspect the interior fuel tank of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, air force engineers previously had to suit up in full personal protective gear and enter the fuel tank through a small opening.
It then took eight hours to remove five baffle plates inside the fuel tank before the interior could be inspected.
A robotic inspection arm designed by soldiers from the 6 Air Engineering and Logistics Group (6 AELG) has reduced the time needed for inspection to one hour, and allowed engineers to carry out the checks without entering the fuel tank.
Military Expert 4 (ME4) Cherlyn Koh said her team from 6 AELG were inspired by a challenge issued by the Air Engineering Logistics Organisation in June 2021.
ME4 Koh and her team of five then conceptualised and designed SwiftEye, the robotic inspection arm, to allow engineers to carry out fuel tank inspections in a more efficient, hygienic and safe manner.
This won the team the Minister for Defence Award, the top award at the Ignite Innovation Symposium 2023 on Tuesday.
It is awarded to individuals, teams and units across the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the areas of innovation, organisational performance excellence, staff well-being and future workplace experience.
(From left) ME4 Cherlyn Koh, ME2 Houston Lee and ME1 Nicky Lim with the RSAF’s SwiftEye, which can be used to inspect fuel tanks on Chinook helicopters.
The Straits Times
A total of 45 awards were presented on Tuesday.
Military Expert 2 Cheong Shi Wei received the Mindef Exemplary Innovator Award for developing an automated marking software that saved over 80 per cent on the time and effort spent marking examination scripts.
He and his team from the Joint Intelligence Command, from the Digital and Intelligence Service, had to be innovative when commercial off-the-shelf solutions could not accurately mark open-ended questions in their electronic exams.
By adapting an open-source language model to their needs, ME2 Cheong and his team were able to reduce marking time from 30 minutes to two minutes, while still achieving an error margin of less than 10 per cent as compared with manual marking.
In a speech at the awards ceremony at the Mindef headquarters, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen said the SAF counts on the innovative spirit of the men and women within the organisation to ensure that their platforms and systems function and are optimised for different scenarios.
“We have to keep this innovative spirit alive, and this is the core purpose of Ignite. It is not just good to have, but completely necessary for mission success,” said Dr Ng.
He recounted how in 2009, there was a need to innovate on the spot in order to save the lives of SAF men and women who were deployed in Afghanistan.
Their Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) had overheated due to the dusty and warm environment, and the SAF staff there had no early warning against incoming missiles.
Together with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) engineers, the SAF team there quickly designed an ad hoc add-on ventilation system from makeshift tubing to counter the overheating. The WLRs started working again and lives were saved.
He cited another example of how mobile swab stations were conceptualised and deployed in just three weeks during the height of Covid-19.
In May 2020, the Joint Task Force (Assurance) – an SAF-led interagency team from various ministries and public agencies tasked with keeping migrant workers safe during the pandemic – had to swab over 300,00 dormitory residents
The operators and swabbers needed strong protection along with fast and accurate swabbing techniques to prevent attrition of staff from exposure to the virus.
A team from DSTA and ST Engineering modified the SAF’s cross-country ambulances so that medical staff could conduct the swab tests safely at the dormitories.
Dr Ng said these examples underscore that “this attitude of never accepting things as they are and overcoming obstacles that arise are crucial, not only to improve our day-to-day workings, but indeed to win battles and wars”.
He said that Mindef and the SAF have been working to create an environment that encourages innovation. Innovation offices have been set up across the army, navy and air force since 2018, as well as in the Digital and Intelligence Service launched in 2022, and are networked with the rest of Government and commercial partners.
