SINGAPORE, 5 NOVEMBER 2008 – Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) has inked a memorandum of collaboration (MOC) with six partners, to promote the island as a “centre for research for world class urban transport solutions”, the LTA said.
Two statutory boards, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and four technology vendors, Cisco, IBM Singapore (IBM), Singapore Technologies Electronics (ST Electronics) and 3M Technologies (3M) make up the six organisations that signed the MOC.
According to Yam Ah Mee, chief executive officer, LTA, the MOC’s signing marks a step forward for the LTA, in its bid to become a “people-centred land transport system”.
“Under this partnership, research and development will be undertaken to further optimise current technology and explore future ones that will help in realising our vision of a people-centred land transport system,” said Yam. “On a broader scale, this partnership plays a critical role in building Singapore’s research capability in land transport as these applications can provide global solutions for many city authorities around the world.”
The new research collaboration is being funded by a sum of S$50 million (US$33 million) set aside by the LTA, for joint research with industry partners and academic institutions. The LTA estimates about S$12 million has already been disbursed, towards the development of some 50 applications."
Four areas of interest
According to Yam, four main topics of research have been identified to kick off the collaboration. They are: traffic optimisation, transport telematics, user experience and environment.
Cisco’s role in the partnership involves the provision of networking platforms and its experience in working with governments elsewhere on similar projects. IBM will share its knowledge gained from advanced analysis and prediction of traffic patterns, based on similar projects it has conducted in countries such as the United Kingdom.
ST Electronics will research and develop road user applications and ad-hoc wireless communications technologies, with the aim of introducing a more interactive road transport user experience, while 3M will focus on noise control, light management and display materials.
Forward looking
In a video presentation, the LTA showcased future possible solutions that could come out of this research collaboration. These solutions include a graphical, user-friendly widget for mobile phones which allows public transport commuters to get information on the number of seats available on a bus, via ‘live’ video feed.
According to Rosina Howe-Teo, group director & chief innovation officer, innovation & infocomm techonology, LTA, such scenarios have every possibility of coming to pass in the near future.
“It’s a question of how to apply the technology in a real-life environment, and what pitfalls and problems could surface. That is what we need to iron out,” said Howe-Teo.
She hinted that more partners such as academic institutions are expected to join the research collaboration. “There is potential for construction innovation, engineering methods, and even policy formulation,” she said.
