iCarnival 2012

With most of Singapore wired up for the Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN), the Infocomm Experience Centre (iExperience) has been busy showing Singaporeans how the ultra high-speed broadband infrastructure can be harnessed to enhance their lives.

At the iCarnival held on 29 and 30 September,
iExperienc​e highlighted new exhibits at its premises in Esplanade Xchange, alongside some existing favourites.

One of the new additions was the Workplace of the Future – Smart Work Centres exhibit. These Centres provide a professional work environment close to residential areas. By leveraging broadband connectivity and services such as video conferencing and cloud computing, employees from different companies could work as effectively from such Centres as in the office.

Another new display revealed the possibilities of Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. iExperience showed how, with the right applications, smart phones can be turned into virtual grocery shopping carts at places such as train platforms. As they wait for their trains to arrive, commuters can do their grocery shopping by tapping their mobile phones at posters of groceries, equipped with sensors. This action will register an order at the supermarket, and the goods can be delivered.

NFC can thus let commuters use their waiting time productively, as well as save shoppers the hassle of going to the stores to pick up necessities when they would rather go straight home. Using analytics tools, stores can also track spending habits as well as prompt shoppers with complementary products as they are making their purchases.

Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State for the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Manpower and Member of Parliament for Hong Kah North, visited iExperience on 30 September with some residents from her constituency to check out its interactive exhibits.

While some of the more elderly visitors were entranced with the games on display, Dr Khor was more taken with some of the more practical services such as remote health monitoring, a new exhibit at iExperience. The Telehealth booth showed how, with a few small pieces of equipment and some Next Gen NBN solutions, people who need constant monitoring of their weight, pulse or blood sugar level, for example, can save themselves the trouble of going to clinics for these simple medical errands. Instead, the equipment can both measure and send the information to their doctors from their homes. “It’s going to help improve our quality of life,” Dr Khor noted.

In the same vein, Next Gen NBN solutions for home-based work can help Singaporeans to achieve better work-life balance, she said. “A lot of work can be done from home, and we would have more time to do many more things. We can optimise our time, save on travel, perhaps only go into the office two or three times a week when we need to have face to face meetings.”

She acknowledged that employers would have to buy into the idea of staff working from home. “What we need to do is promote awareness of the capabilities that technology can offer, in terms of enabling individuals to work productively from home, that it won’t impact the company’s bottom line negatively.”

On a lighter note, she stopped at a booth which scanned users’ faces and then simulated how they would look wearing different types of make-up. Her verdict?  “Practical and useful”, to help shoppers eliminate unsuitable purchases.