| The Singapore skyline is multi-layered and relatively dense and how we maintain its towering facades is undergoing a radical digital transformation. On Jan 19, 2026, Singapore-listed ISDN Holdings announced a milestone in this evolution: its subsidiary, NovaPeak, has secured S$1 million in contracts for automated AI-powered building inspections for the Housing & Development Board (HDB).  Mr. Teo Cher Koon (left), ISDN Holdings, Managing Director & President, with Mr. Eugene Choy, NovaPeak (a subsidiary of ISDN) Managing Director & Founder. |
The newly awarded contracts cover a massive scope of residential and commercial infrastructure:
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Façade inspections for over 1,400 HDB residential blocks.
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Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) services for 50 HDB multi-storey carparks.
NovaPeak utilizes its proprietary digital platform, LiveInspect.AI, to analyze defects and determine safety and compliance factors.
By deploying drones for onsite data capture, the company eliminates the need for traditional, labor-intensive methods like gondolas and scaffolding, significantly reducing safety risks and operational costs.
| The Pioneer Effect: ISOTeam and the Drone Revolution |
While NovaPeak’s latest win highlights the current momentum, the path for drone-enabled maintenance in Singapore was paved by early adopters like ISOTeam, another Singapore-listed entity.
As early as 2021, ISOTeam established itself as a pioneer by partnering with H3 Dynamics to deploy AI and drones for HDB façade inspections.
ISOTeam’s leadership recognized early on that workforce constraints and rising labor costs necessitated a shift toward technology.
Since then, they have expanded their vision even further, developing autonomous painting drones in collaboration with Nippon Paint and Acclivis to automate high-altitude building decoration.
| A Growing Ecosystem of Players |
NovaPeak and ISOTeam are not alone in this competitive landscape.
Other players offering specialized drone inspection services:
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Aerolion Technologies: Specializes in AI-driven building inspections as well as unique tunnel and warehouse solutions.
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MIRS Innovate: One of Singapore's top UAV companies, developing its own AI systems for defect recognition and 3D modeling.
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Operva AI: Its AIRPLAND platform focuses on making drone-captured data scalable and collaborative for architects and engineers.
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ARIAS Systems: Provides specialized drone services including building inspections and high-pressure water-jet washing for facades.
The demand for these services is driven by Singapore’s Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) regime, which mandates that buildings over 13 meters tall (roughly 4 stories) and more than 20 years old must be inspected every seven years.
The goal is to detect façade deterioration early, reduce risks of falling elements, and enhance public safety in Singapore's ageing building stock. NovaPeak estimates a total addressable market of over 20,000 buildings in Singapore and tens of thousands more across Southeast Asia. With the market for maintenance and upgrading growing every year as urban landscapes age, the sector needs for these high-tech inspections can only rise and rise. |
See also: ISDN: This Company's Core Profit Just +58% -- Don't Get Distracted by Accounting Quirk's Impact
