Changi Airport's 'X-ray vision' app helps workers navigate underground

Augmented-reality tool provides a 3D map of the network of cables, ducts and pipes under the airfield

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

In good weather, travellers often have a clear view of Changi Airport, including its control tower, terminal buildings and runways.

What they cannot see is the warren of cables, ducts and pipes that criss-cross the airfield and are critical to the functioning of the airport.

These are located underground and provide essential services such as high-voltage electricity and airfield lighting.

The other services buried underground are pipes for Newater reclaimed water, potable water and fire hydrants, as well as power cables for iFerret, a system that detects foreign objects on the runways.

When asked, airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) declined to disclose the depths of underground equipment at the airport.

Any maintenance or repair work on these systems must be carried out between 1am and 5am - during a lull in the airport's operations and often in pitch-darkness.

This means airport workers have to spend more time getting their bearings in the dark, said CAG.

To deal with these challenges, CAG has developed a navigation tool with augmented-reality elements to help its engineers "see underground" and navigate the airfield in the dark.

The tool, known as the augmented underground services visualiser (AUSV), was developed over about three years and put into use in December.