Given that we are now living in the IT age, the noticeboards currently used at all HDB flat void decks are obsolete in both design and function.

The noticeboards require town council staff to manually put up circulars from time to time. This method is both time consuming and inefficient.

Very often, one notices that the events indicated on the leaflets concluded quite some time ago, yet these circulars still remain on the noticeboards.

Hence, it is time to replace these manual boards with touchscreen electronic ones.

This offers information which is timely and accurate. Obsolete information can be deleted automatically from the display, and only the latest info is displayed.

Users can search for more info by using the touchscreen.

As for the power supply, town councils can tap the low-tension (LT) consumer switch room in the void deck.

Alternatively, a secondary and inexhaustible source of electricity can be procured by installing solar panels.

As a touchscreen basically comprises light emitting diode (LED) panels, it consumes very little electricity and so cost won't be much of a concern.

For a start, the HDB could collaborate with town councils and other agencies and stakeholders to try this out in a few precincts, particularly new housing estates.

If the project proves successful, this idea should be introduced to the whole island.

Zhang Guo Cheng