360-degree screen, AI assistant and robot: Digital village launched at Punggol Coast MRT station
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At the digital village, visitors can see MR-2, a cleaning robot, and the 360-degree LED Spectacular Screen with 3D visuals. A Stormtrooper from Singapore’s Star Wars costumed fan groups joined the action on Nov 23.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Follow topic:
- SBS Transit has launched a digital village at Punggol Coast MRT station. It features technologies such as a 360-degree LED screen and an AI virtual assistant.
- The digital village will serve as a "living lab" for start-ups and students from the Singapore Institute of Technology to solve transport challenges.
- This initiative follows the launch of a wellness village at Tampines MRT station and is part of SBST's plan to transform transport nodes into community hubs.
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SINGAPORE – Passengers can view showcases on a 360-degree screen and plan their journeys with an artificial intelligence (AI) virtual assistant at Punggol Coast MRT station.
Public transport operator SBS Transit (SBST) launched a digital village there on Nov 23 to give passengers and residents opportunities to be inspired by technology.
This is the second in SBST’s series of thematic villages, which aims to transform transport nodes into community hubs.
At the station’s amphitheatre is a 360-degree LED display, known as the Spectacular Screen, which can showcase 3D visuals.
The 6m-wide, 2.5m-high elliptical screen – the first of its kind in a public transport hub – can support community events such as movie screenings, digital showcases and performances.
Passengers will also encounter the robot MR-2, which resembles Star Wars’ robot character R2-D2 and roams the station independently to patrol and clean it.
The robot made its entrance at the launch event with members of Singapore’s Star Wars costumed fan groups, who were dressed as iconic characters such as Stormtroopers and Darth Vader.
Instead of queueing at the passenger service counter, passengers can chat with an electronic kiosk known as AIVA, or an AI Virtual Assistant, for their transport-related queries. Presented as a female avatar on-screen wearing an SBST uniform, AIVA can tell commuters the quickest travel route, point them to the station’s nearest exits and toilets, and answer questions about ticketing.
AIVA, created by SBST and Hong Kong-based AI firm Pantheon Lab, has been serving commuters at Punggol Coast MRT station and Ang Mo Kio bus interchange since late 2024.
Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also an MP for Punggol GRC, officially opened the digital village, along with fellow Punggol GRC MP Yeo Wan Ling.
Mr Jeffrey Sim, group chief executive of SBST, said the digital theme was chosen because the station sits at the doorstep of JTC Corporation’s Punggol Digital District
Mr Sim said SBST is collaborating with JTC through the LaunchPad Investor Network to connect with start-ups working on transport solutions that can enhance the commuter experience.
He added that students and educators from the Singapore Institute of Technology, which is also located at Punggol Coast, will have opportunities to work on real transport challenges and bring their ideas to the village.
(From left) DPM Gan Kim Yong and Mr Jeffrey Sim, group chief executive of SBST, leaving after the official opening of the Punggol digital village on Nov 23.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
“In many ways, this digital village is becoming a living lab where real transport challenges can be solved,” said Mr Sim.
In September, SBST launched a 15,000 sq ft wellness village
The operator will launch two more such villages across its MRT network over the coming year.
