Eight technology firms have been awarded a total of $1.5 million to use digital means to help manage buildings and amenities in six industrial parks in Singapore.
This is part of Singapore's drive to support the use of technology in building, maintaining and managing the country's urban centres, Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said at the opening of annual technology conference Innovfest Unbound.
"As cities become denser as a result of rapid urbanisation, there are opportunities - and even a moral obligation - to transform them for the better through technology," Mr Iswaran said yesterday.
This could be in building design and maintenance, urban mobility or estate security, he added.
And globally, such business opportunities are growing.
Mr Iswaran noted that a market research firm estimated that worldwide spending on smart cities will reach $95.8 billion this year, with the Asia-Pacific region contributing 40 per cent of this spending.
In Singapore, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is providing funding to match technology firms with property developers to roll out smart estate projects in order to build technology and innovation capabilities in solution providers and nurture talent, he said.
Mr Iswaran announced that in the first round of IMDA's industry technology call, eight companies have been selected to work with Ascendas-Singbridge and JTC in a range of areas, including smart parking, unmanned retail stores and landscape management.
One of the projects is a 3D Visual Intelligence Centre where users can view, manage and analyse different types of estate information such as closed-circuit television, heating and ventilation on a single platform from any device, he added.
In the second round of the three-year, $14 million smart estate programme, IMDA will extend the trial to mixed developments of commercial and residential buildings managed by private developer Frasers Property and the Housing Board.
"I would like to encourage all interested parties to apply for this tech call," Mr Iswaran told an audience of global technology industry players, investors and business leaders.
"It is only when we come together in partnership and collaboration, leveraging resources and insights, can we transform cities and the lives of the people who live and work in them," he added.
