Eight tech companies in Singapore will be funded with a total of $1.5 million to work on projects that use digital means to manage buildings and amenities.
They have been selected through the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s first industry call to pitch innovative solutions for smart estates, which was completed on 31 March 2019.
Along with the funds awarded, these firms will work together with Ascendas-Singbridge and JTC in 6 industrial parks around Singapore.
They will be undertaking projects and trials that tackle areas such as landscape management, urban mobility, estate security, smart parking and unmanned retail stores.
Announcing this at the fifth instalment of the annual Innovfest Unbound conference, Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran urged more tech firms to respond to the next round of IMDA’s call.
“It is only when we come together in partnership and collaboration, leveraging resources and insights, can we transform cities and the lives of the people who live and work in them,” he said.
He also pointed that worldwide spending on smart cities is projected to reach $95.8 billion in 2019, and Asia-Pacific markets will make up around 40% of that.
Singapore tech firms can expect that IMDA will soon call for pitches to the second part of its three-year smart estates programme, which the Government has invested a total of $14 million in.
This time, trials will be extended to mixed development buildings with both commercial and residential use, managed by the Housing Development Board (HDB) and private developer Frasers Property.
A Futuristic Way To Live
As the Government pushes forward to turn Singapore into a smart city, we see various plans underway that will change the way people live and move around.
In the upcoming areas of Punggol, Tengah and the Jurong Innovation District, people could soon be ferried around in driverless buses by 2022.
Punggol will also play host to new technologies and systems, giving residents centralised waste collection, cooling and logistics.
Dealing with the Singapore heat could become a little easier with smart thermostats that detect changes in outdoor temperature, and adjust the temperature indoors accordingly.
Those living in Punggol will also get to experience centralised logistics, where all goods delivered to the district will be brought to residents by “automated guided vehicles or drones”.
Beyond these estates, other initiatives like smart parking are already being tested for the viability of rolling it out across the island.
First being trialled for street parking lots along Telok Ayer and Temple Street, smart sensors are set up to detect and provide real-time availability of parking spaces to drivers.
This trial is being carried out for 6 months from end-June 2019.
If these tests and plans fly well, would you look forward to living and working in such futuristic smart estates?
Featured Image Credit: HDB
