Changi has extra eyes to spot runway debris - AI scanner

iFerret, which flags objects as small as 4cm, among AI projects presented at tech event

- Osmond Chia

At Changi Airport, an artificial intelligence (AI) system scans the runway for metal parts, wildlife and animal carcasses that can damage aircraft or disrupt flights.

Named iFerret, the AI sees through a series of high-definition cameras deployed along the runway, flagging debris and other foreign objects as small as 4cm round the clock.

Developed in collaboration with technology services provider NCS, the system is expected to be fully deployed across all of Changi Airport's runways by the end of 2024.

An early version of the imagerecognition system had been used since 2009, but the airport has upgraded to a more accurate version of it.

The new system, which was first rolled out on some of the airport's runways in 2021, is more accurate as it is trained to avoid flagging images that are unlikely to be debris, such as reflections on a damp runway, reducing distracting false alerts by 90 per cent, NCS' spokesman told The Straits Times.