Govt to co-fund new technology trials to enhance smart living and working

SINGAPORE : The government will co-fund new technology trials to help people work smart.

Authorities are calling for ideas to pilot initiatives that will improve business efficiency and promote convenience.

Funding amounts will depend on the projects selected.

Singapore's Changi Airport sees millions of visitors yearly.

The air hub is among a few organisations the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore has picked to experiment with mobile positioning.
By tapping on a smartphone and existing WiFi networks, for example, businesses can understand crowd flow and movement. They can then use that information to plan their activities accordingly.

Airport retailers, for instance, can pinpoint "hotspots" where crowds gather and target promotional efforts at these places.

This is what one would call "technovation", or innovating with technology.

Ronnie Tay, chief executive of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, said: "Technovation today is not just about individual breakthroughs in the infocomm industry, but also breakthroughs in collaboration between the different industries and sectors."

Authorities are seeking breakthroughs in the Jurong Lake District.

They are looking to fund ideas to enable smart living, through technology.

One possibility is to deliver traffic information straight to residents' mobile devices, by integrating data culled from commuters, drivers and transport operators.

Professor Jan Recker, Woolworths Chair of Retail Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology, said: "A lot of innovations happening at the moment are around smart cities, localised service, mobile shopping... But frankly, they are everywhere, the whole world is doing this, other countries are doing this, other businesses are pursuing this.

"Then the question for Singapore is, what can we do that is truly innovative, rather than copying and trying to overtake what others are already doing?"

Authorities are also looking to fund proposals to enable mobile workers, or staff who can perform tasks on-the-go, without being in the office.
source : http://www.channelnewsasia.com