Upcoming Punggol Digital District offers businesses and students real-time data, a platform to trial ideas

SINGAPORE — The Punggol Digital District will be the first business park in Singapore to offer businesses and students access to real-time data from a digital cloud system, and a platform to test their ideas in both live and simulated environments.

This is what firms and students can look forward to when the Punggol Digital District progressively opens from 2023, JTC, GovTech and ST Engineering announced at a joint media briefing held on Monday (Jan 13).

The authorities had previously said that the district, a 50ha area that will house technology firms, will create about 28,000 new jobs and offer residents additional dining, leisure and retail spots.

The district’s digital infrastructure will be supported by the Open Digital Platform (ODP) — an operating system described as akin to Apple’s iOS software.

Connected to the sensors and systems around the district, the ODP receives and collects live data, such as rainfall, carbon emissions, resource use and transport conditions.

Businesses can then use the data to come up with new ideas and solutions for living, working and service delivery.

For example, a company which specialises in energy use and management can make use of live data provided by the ODP — such as solar generation, building occupancy and indoor temperatures — and optimise energy use.

Apart from being a tool for businesses, the ODP can also be used by estate managers as a smart estate management platform to troubleshoot and resolve issues more efficiently.

During the briefing on Monday, members of the media observed a live demonstration of how an estate manager can use the ODP to quickly identify and resolve a leaking pipe in the neighbourhood.

The platform can be programmed to implement solutions as soon as the system has identified a problem.

Alternatively, the live data can be used to simulate potential solutions so that estate managers can decide which solution best addresses the problem.

These simulations can be done through what is known as digital twin technology, which can create a virtual copy of the Punggol Digital District using the live data from the ODP.

Businesses and students can also use the digital twin copy to run prototypes and perform experiments in a risk-free environment at low costs.

A pilot version of the ODP will first be tested at the JTC Summit building. Responding to queries from TODAY, a JTC spokesperson said that businesses do not need to reside in the Punggol Digital District to make use of the technology.

SMART CITIES ELSEWHERE

The Punggol Digital District is an example of the Government’s ambition to transform Singapore into a smart nation.

The Republic is not alone in this venture. Other cities worldwide have also leveraged technology to transform urban planning and development methods in their communities.

One example is Helsinki, which has the Kalasatama seaside district — a smart district that is being developed using digital twin technology, allowing urban planners to experiment ideas and test new technologies.

Other cities, such as Rotterdam, New York and Amaravati, have also made use of the digital twin technology for their urban planning needs.

Meanwhile, post-graduate students from Newcastle University in England have used the digital twin technology to help the city respond to incidents and disasters, by simulating scenarios such as burst pipes, heavy rainfall or serious flooding.