SINGAPORE - Ascendas-Singbridge Group (ASB), which is being acquired by CapitaLand, is developing a co-innovation lab to support at least 30 projects in smart urban solutions. It is slated to be launched later this year within Singapore Science Park.
The Smart Urban Co-Innovation Lab, which is supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Enterprise Singapore, will focus on the key areas of intelligent estates, smart mobility, digital wellness, and agritech.
It will provide a platform for companies to share problem statements and collaborate with technology players to co-develop and trial new solutions for commercialisation in Singapore and overseas.
Various programmes will be rolled out, including call for proposals, pilot tests, workshops and boot camps. The aim is to develop the capabilities of technology providers and produce innovative proof-of-concepts and prototypes for users of smart urban technologies.
The public-private partnership is part of IMDA's efforts to promote the development of urban solutions for smart estates. In November last year, IMDA said it will set aside S$14 million over the next three years to trial urban technologies in partnership with ASB and JTC. The trials will take place at ASB's Science Park 1 and 2 and JTC's LaunchPad @ one-north, Fusionopolis One and LaunchPad @ Jurong Innovation District.
Enterprise Singapore will connect both local and overseas end-users and relevant technology solution providers to ASB's new co-innovation lab. The agency will also help the solution providers to deploy their solutions overseas via its global network in over 35 locations, and through other means including financial assistance.
Manohar Khiatani, deputy group chief executive officer of ASB, said: "Ascendas-Singbridge has always been a strong advocate of using technology to enhance customer experience, drive operational excellence, and uncover new products and services. In the course of our business, we realised that many industry players have similar interests and can benefit from an open source platform that can aggregate and deploy best-in-class solutions."
CapitaLand said on Monday that its acquisition of ASB is on track for completion by end-June this year. It also announced a new executive committee and business structure as it becomes one of Asia's largest diversified real estate groups with over $123 billion of assets under management.
