Developing smart city solutions for Singapore and beyond

ST Engineering- Surbana Jurong team up with A*STAR to develop smart cities- built environment solutions

Singapore was named Smart City of 2018 at the Smart City Expo World Congress held in Barcelona last November. According to a recent study by Grand View Research- the global smart cities market is expected to reach US$237.6 billion by 2025- expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 18.9 per cent from 2019 to 2025. As Singapore gears up to become a smart nation powered by digital innovation- A*STAR is embarking on two partnerships with large local enterprises to co-develop digital solutions for smart cities and the built environment.

Through a memorandum of understanding (MOU)- A*STAR and Surbana Jurong will jointly develop advanced digital capabilities in the planning of cities- residential towns and industrial parks; design and simulation of buildings; and services for efficient and sustainable operations and maintenance. Examples of possible applications include the development of advanced modelling systems to improve the process of urban planning of smart cities- as well as the creation of technologies for testing and inspection in facilities management.

Mr Frederick Chew- Chief Executive Officer- A*STAR

As part of this commercialisation partnership- urban and infrastructure consultancy firm Surbana Jurong will incorporate technologies commercialised by A*STAR’s SME and start-up licensees into its service offerings. Surbana Jurong will also expose local companies in its supply chain to overseas markets for new business opportunities- including the 40 countries in which the company has an existing market presence. The upcoming Surbana Jurong Campus will also serve as a test-bed for new technologies in partnership with A*STAR- SMEs and start-ups.

"Moving forward- A*STAR will enhance our support for local enterprises. For Surbana Jurong- we will do our part to support its global competitiveness in the built environment through leveraging technology. The fact that local SMEs can benefit from this new partnership is a very important outcome." said Mr Frederick Chew- Chief Executive Officer- A*STAR.

Mr Wong Heang Fine- Group Chief Executive Officer- Surbana Jurong added- “With the emphasis placed on developing smart urban cities- it is crucial for Surbana Jurong to be equipped with the latest and most advanced digital technologies to better serve our clients in this area. We have focused strongly in recent years to adopt digital technologies and see good potential in further digitalising our solutions for the planning and design of smart cities. Our competitive advantage lies in our ability to deliver consultancy solution across the full value chain including facilities and asset management. We are confident that our collaboration with A*STAR will help us develop even more competitive- value-adding and cost effective solutions in urban and industrial planning- as well as facilities management for our clients.

A*STAR also signed another MOU with ST Engineering which will focus on technology co-development- adoption and commercialisation in robotics- smart mobility- smart communications- and healthtech. Examples of technologies that will be focused on include advanced material-handling robots for robotics; all-weather autonomous vehicles for smart mobility; satellite communications and the Internet of Things for smart communications; as well as intelligent workflows and analytics for healthtech. A*STAR will pull technological capabilities from across its research institutes to co-develop innovative solutions with ST Engineering. The partnership will drive new business outcomes in Singapore and in overseas markets for ST Engineering and its small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) partners.

“A*STAR is committed to strengthening local enterprises such as ST Engineering- in particular to expand its overseas markets through digital innovation and deep tech. A*STAR has had a close partnership with ST Engineering since the early 2000s – today’s MOU serves to bring our partnership to the next level. I am confident that this collaboration will create new opportunities within the local ecosystem in Singapore- and exciting opportunities for ST Engineering’s SME partners in overseas markets-” said Mr Chew.

“This MOU with A*STAR serves as another collaboration platform for us to work with some of the best minds in research and engineering to create differentiated- commercially viable smart city solutions that will further enhance our global competitiveness-” said Mr Vincent Chong- President & CEO of ST Engineering. “It also builds on our commitment to build a strong ecosystem involving our local enterprises so that collectively and individually- we can make our mark globally for innovative solutions.”

Developing smart city solutions for Singapore and beyond

ST Engineering- Surbana Jurong team up with A*STAR to develop smart cities- built environment solutions

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