Consortium to push industrialisation of manufacturing

SINGAPORE — The Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) on Friday (Sept 15) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with 13 companies to develop integrated solutions for the industrial sector.

The Digital Industrial Customer Care programme is aimed at developing technologies for digital services in the aftermarket customer care sector.

Speaking at the Industrial Internet of Things World Tour 2017, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ms Low Yen Ling, praised the initiative as a key pillar in building a globally competitive manufacturing sector.

The event was hosted by A*Star and co-organised with the Industrial Internet Consortium and Germany’s Plattform Industrie 4.0.

Ms Low highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in the local manufacturing eco-system.

“Close cooperation among stakeholders to facilitate data-driven manufacturing ... will boost operational efficiency across the production floor and the broader supply value chain,” she said, adding that companies can also pool resources, share risk and increase adoption rates.

The 13 companies range from multinational corporations (Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft, Rohde and Schwarz Asia and Rolls-Royce Singapore), large local enterprises (Singtel and Starhub), small- and medium-sized enterprises (Concorde Security, Frontier Integrated Technology and MEDs Technologies) and start-ups (Sidefx Studios, Third Wave Power and Wismut Labs).

The initiative will have an impact across sectors, with an initial focus on aerospace, offshore and marine, and land transport, said A*Star.

Drawing on the agency’s research capabilities in sensors, wireless communications and networks, data analytics and cyber security, one of the areas to be developed include smart sensors.

For example, the automotive sector is increasingly using sensors attached to vehicle components to monitor performance indicators such as temperature, pressure and fuel consumption. By gaining visibility of the conditions of vehicles through such connected intelligence, businesses can help their customers avoid the breakdown of their vehicles, and reduce repair and warranty costs.

“By collaborating with organisations in the public and private spheres, Rolls-Royce leverages a ‘best of all worlds’ approach that allows us to tap into the diverse and unique expertise of different players,” said Mr Paul Stein, chief technology officer, Rolls-Royce.

Agreeing, Starhub’s chief, Enterprise Business Group, Dr Chong Yoke Sin said: “We look forward to collaborating with players from the research, innovation and enterprise eco-system, including small-to-medium enterprises, start-up companies and large and multinational organisations, to create IoT (Internet of Things) solutions that could help companies drive better business outcomes.”

On September 1, A*Star launched its Industrial Internet of Things Research Programme, a collaboration between A*Star research institutes, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, in partnership with industry. The goal is to develop and validate advanced technologies with industry, and deploy them within and beyond Singapore.

Both programmes, together with A*Star’s Model Factories Initiative, are public-private partnership platforms under the agency’s Future of Manufacturing strategy that aim to help industry players across the value chain adopt digital and advanced manufacturing technologies, and position Singapore’s economy for the future.