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| Dr Yaacob delivering his speech at the opening ceremony. |
Speaking at the Infocomm Media Business Exchange (IMBX) opening ceremony, Dr Yaacob said the seeds of the Smart Nation were sown with the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (NGNBN) nine years ago. Today, there are 740,000 active fibre broadband subscriptions, 37% more than last year, and Singapore ranks first in the Networked Readiness Index according to the 2015 Global Information Technology Report from the World Economic Forum. "The government will work with the private sector to innovate and build Smart Nation applications in areas such as public safety, mobility and telehealth," he noted.
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| Dr Yaacob spoke to a full house. |
The connectivity experience continues to be a focus for Singapore. The pilot MyConnection SG app, a voluntary crowdsourcing tool to collect anonymised data on users' mobile network experience, has yielded more than 50 million data points for the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). "The app revealed data speed and latency of the three telco networks and highlighted physical spots where data coverage needs to improve. We shared the analysis with our telcos, who used it to improve data coverage in these spots. The data collected through this pilot will increase transparency of information," Minister Yaacob said.
On the network infrastructure front, IDA announced the Smart National Platform to connect public spaces like roadsides and void decks in HDB blocks last year. "Sensors will soon be installed in areas such as Jurong, Orchard Road, the Singapore River precinct and Little India, supported by the Aggregation Gateway (AG) Boxes," Minister Yaacob shared. The sensors will capture data such as traffic conditions and air quality, aiding the government in improving city management services.
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| Sand art and other live performances featured during the opening ceremony. |
To safeguard data integrity and security for national cyber security, the government established the Cyber Security Agency on 1 April 2015, the minister added.
An Infocomm Media Masterplan (IMM), a public-private sector initiative, will be launched later this year to put in place enabling infrastructure. Three thrusts in the IMM were highlighted by Dr Yaacob:
Harnessing data to advance Singapore's economic competitiveness, for example through making logistics more efficient for small players. As many as 25 parties are needed to process a single export shipment today, the minister noted.
"While some international logistics companies already use data analysis to improve processes, track-and-trace technologies are often proprietary and only used by large organisations for premium cargo," said the minister, pointing out that 99% of logistics service providers in Singapore are actually SMEs. "Smart logistics will provide a boost for smaller players by enabling interoperability across the supply chain."
Technologies such as the Internet of Things are anticipated to improve decision-making capabilities for businesses, for example in responding to unforeseen events during shipment, or improving cargo and facility security, Dr Yaacob said.
A second thrust would be around Smart Nation Tech Challenges that are public-private partnerships. "The goal is to create opportunities for individuals and businesses to co-innovate cutting-edge solutions with the government to tackle urban challenges. We hope to encourage a culture of daring to dream, and daring to succeed. The Smart Nation Tech Challenges will have three characteristics: they will address a real world problem; they will encourage active collaborations among companies, research entities and challenge participants; and they will create commercially viable prototypes with deployment and global export potential," he said.
The first edition of the challenges will be launched in the next few months with video analytics, a key component of the Smart Nation, as the selected area of focus, Dr Yaacob revealed. Service delivery sectors that could benefit include transportation, healthcare, retail and security.
IDA also aims to launch the Smart Health-Assist pilot in the Jurong Lake District (JLD) later this year, he added. "By deploying unobtrusive and easy-to-use sensors in the homes of the elderly or chronic disease patients, healthcare data may be recorded and sent securely to caregivers and healthcare providers to alert them whenever the elderly or patients require attention," he said.
"Smart Health-Assist will enable patients to manage their conditions from the comfort of their homes, allowing them to remain independent and active in their community. Reducing the number of medical visits also frees up hospital resources and makes chronic disease management more sustainable in the long run. Additionally, the same sensors will allow healthy individuals to track and manage their own health proactively."
Dr Yaacob welcomed industry partners to help conceptualise and develop the solutions, and illustrated the potential synergies with Beeline, conceived by the IDA and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), in collaboration with citizens and private bus companies. Beeline invites commuters to suggest new bus routes. The feedback helps transport authorities to decide if new bus services can be introduced, and if the buses should be relatively large.
"The response has been very encouraging so far: since the Beeline website was launched in end-April, 1,500 routes have been suggested by the public and private bus operators have indicated their interest in participating," said Dr Yaacob.
The minister also announced that a beta version of the Beeline mobile app will be made available this July. Commuters can use the app to pre-book seats on more direct express shuttles, while their feedback will also enhance the app. So far, two private bus operators, Bus-Plus Services and Aedge Holdings have indicated their interest to participate in the experiment. As more responses from commuters and bus operators are received, the Beeline concept will be refined further.
"Beeline shows that partnerships across different sectors can go far to improving the quality of life for all. I strongly encourage everyone with the spark to innovate to develop your ideas with us, and contribute to achieving Singapore’s Smart Nation vision. We aim to run trials later this year and will share more details at the launch of the Masterplan Final Report in August 2015," he said.
Lina Lim, Group Director, Policy and Planning, LTA said, “Beeline seeks to experiment with a new travel option for the daily commute. If the experiment proves to be viable in the longer run, it could supplement the already extensive public transport network. The combination of the flexibility of data analytics with the predictability of transport planning allows commuters to go beyond customising their routes and be assured of a comfortable ride at the same time.”
The Infocomm Media Business Exchange comprises CommunicAsia2015, EnterpriseIT2015 and BroadcastAsia2015, which take up five levels of the convention centre at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Over 1,800 exhibitors from 56 countries and regions and 35 international pavilions are participating in the event till June 5.
A second thrust would be around Smart Nation Tech Challenges that are public-private partnerships. "The goal is to create opportunities for individuals and businesses to co-innovate cutting-edge solutions with the government to tackle urban challenges. We hope to encourage a culture of daring to dream, and daring to succeed. The Smart Nation Tech Challenges will have three characteristics: they will address a real world problem; they will encourage active collaborations among companies, research entities and challenge participants; and they will create commercially viable prototypes with deployment and global export potential," he said.
The first edition of the challenges will be launched in the next few months with video analytics, a key component of the Smart Nation, as the selected area of focus, Dr Yaacob revealed. Service delivery sectors that could benefit include transportation, healthcare, retail and security.
IDA also aims to launch the Smart Health-Assist pilot in the Jurong Lake District (JLD) later this year, he added. "By deploying unobtrusive and easy-to-use sensors in the homes of the elderly or chronic disease patients, healthcare data may be recorded and sent securely to caregivers and healthcare providers to alert them whenever the elderly or patients require attention," he said.
"Smart Health-Assist will enable patients to manage their conditions from the comfort of their homes, allowing them to remain independent and active in their community. Reducing the number of medical visits also frees up hospital resources and makes chronic disease management more sustainable in the long run. Additionally, the same sensors will allow healthy individuals to track and manage their own health proactively."
Dr Yaacob welcomed industry partners to help conceptualise and develop the solutions, and illustrated the potential synergies with Beeline, conceived by the IDA and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), in collaboration with citizens and private bus companies. Beeline invites commuters to suggest new bus routes. The feedback helps transport authorities to decide if new bus services can be introduced, and if the buses should be relatively large.
"The response has been very encouraging so far: since the Beeline website was launched in end-April, 1,500 routes have been suggested by the public and private bus operators have indicated their interest in participating," said Dr Yaacob.
The minister also announced that a beta version of the Beeline mobile app will be made available this July. Commuters can use the app to pre-book seats on more direct express shuttles, while their feedback will also enhance the app. So far, two private bus operators, Bus-Plus Services and Aedge Holdings have indicated their interest to participate in the experiment. As more responses from commuters and bus operators are received, the Beeline concept will be refined further.
"Beeline shows that partnerships across different sectors can go far to improving the quality of life for all. I strongly encourage everyone with the spark to innovate to develop your ideas with us, and contribute to achieving Singapore’s Smart Nation vision. We aim to run trials later this year and will share more details at the launch of the Masterplan Final Report in August 2015," he said.
Lina Lim, Group Director, Policy and Planning, LTA said, “Beeline seeks to experiment with a new travel option for the daily commute. If the experiment proves to be viable in the longer run, it could supplement the already extensive public transport network. The combination of the flexibility of data analytics with the predictability of transport planning allows commuters to go beyond customising their routes and be assured of a comfortable ride at the same time.”
The Infocomm Media Business Exchange comprises CommunicAsia2015, EnterpriseIT2015 and BroadcastAsia2015, which take up five levels of the convention centre at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Over 1,800 exhibitors from 56 countries and regions and 35 international pavilions are participating in the event till June 5.
“CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia continue to be the melting pot for the ICT and broadcasting industry in the Asia-Pacific region. By bringing together government frameworks, cutting-edge technology and discussions with thought leaders under the same roof, we are able to offer our attendees a truly immersive experience. These events continue to play a pivotal role in driving conversations for development within the industry, and the fulfillment of smart cities building across the region,” said Victor Wong, Project Director, from event organiser Singapore Exhibition Services.
Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman, IDA, said: “Singapore, like most countries around the world, faces challenges arising from megatrends such as an ageing population and resource scarcity. Being open to ‘experimentation as part of innovation’ is critical for Singapore to achieve its vision of building a Smart Nation. As publicly outlined by the Prime Minister, we plan to initially concentrate on new capabilities to better serve citizens in areas such as health and transport. By working on these issues using emerging technology, we also hope to build companies that will bring important new products and services to other countries. CommunicAsia is a great event, by being able to bring together the latest technologies, innovations as well as the best people and companies. We’ve seen some great ideas come out of past events, and we fully expect it to happen again this year.”
Leonard also said that experimentation as part of innovation is critical in Singapore’s Smart Nation journey. "With many different industries and various communities making this journey with us, we have all the right ingredients to achieve the vision. However, we need people to be bold in seeing the future and taking some risk to pursue it. We all need to be open to new ways of tackling current and future problems. We can, and should, be the builders of solutions to global challenges in areas such as health, transport and resources," he said.
Interested?
Download the beta version of the Beeline mobile app, which will be available from July 2015.
Hashtags: #BroadcastAsia, #CMMA2015, #CommunicAsia, #EnterpriseIT, #yaacobibrahim
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