Scenarios showcased at IDA's booth illustrate how infocomm is transforming the way people live, work and learn.

Imagine students becoming confident, self-directed learners through the use of infocomm; entrepreneurs and start-ups developing world-class businesses and technical capabilities in Singapore; and public officers working from “an office away from the office”. Imagine powerful lifestyle-enhancing apps that can be retrieved at the swipe of a tablet or smart phone.

These were some of the scenarios showcased at the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore’s (IDA) booth at imbX 2012, to illustrate how infocomm is transforming these experiences under Singapore’s Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) masterplan.

The "Smart Office" concept will involve features such as video conferencing, unified collaboration and hyper-connectivity, says Mr Siow Shong Seng.

The Smart Office/Home Office concept

The workplace of the future, for example, will be transformed by infocomm and could provide public officers with the flexibility to work from home or from a smart office. As Mr Siow Shong Seng, Director of Government Infrastructure and Technology Division at IDA, explained, the “Smart Office” concept will explore the use of features such as video conferencing, mobile access to work documents, unified collaboration and hyper-connectivity, allowing public officers to seamlessly collaborate with people within their organisation as well as officers from other public agencies.

“The Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network, for example, will enable high definition virtual video meetings to take place and officers will not need to travel so much for face-to-face meetings,” he said.

Public officer Ms Memiz M. Salleh is looking forward to such developments. “The smart office concept will definitely help reduce commuting time to and from the office and enhance overall productivity,” she said. >> View Video

Role-playing on IMAX

Teachers from Beacon Primary School collaborated with ST Electronics to create IMAX, an interactive game that enables students to learn about the history of Singapore.

In the education arena, schools have already started using infocomm to enhance students’ learning. Under the FutureSchools@Singapore, a core initiative under IDA’s EdVantage programme, teachers from Beacon Primary School have collaborated with ST Electronics to create IMAX, a 3D interactive role-playing tool that helps students learn about the history of Singapore as part of their social studies curriculum. One of the engineers involved in developing the IMAX application, Mr Benjamin Cho, said, “Through virtualisation and role-playing the different characters, for example, in a 1940s World War 2 scenario, the students get to understand the different personas' perspectives and their actions. The application has been designed such that while the students work on the activities set up for each lesson, the teacher is able to supervise them in real time and assess each student's learning.”

Gongshang Primary’s social network portal

Gongshang Primary School uses a social network portal called iCoLab to develop collaborative and self-directed learning in its pupils.

Another primary school showcasing its use of infocomm in education at imbX 2012 was Gongshang Primary School. It uses a social network portal called iCoLab to develop collaborative and self-directed learning in its pupils. Developed specially for Gongshang’s staff and students, the portal is designed to be fun, engaging and safe.

Describing the use of iCoLab in the school, Mr Poon Yain Ping, Head of Department for Science, gave the following example: “A Primary 6 child can be a friend of a Primary 1 child, and we believe that these two groups of students can learn from each other. When we throw a question into the forum for the Primary 1 and Primary 6 students, different ideas and responses are collected and shared among the students using the Livescribe Pen, which allows them to capture their ideas in group interactions. Discussions are generated through these responses, and this helps students to construct their own knowledge of a particular subject matter.”
>> View Video

Eye-opener from Sierra Solutions

Sierra's solution provides accurate identity authentication even when the subject is in motion or at a distance, said Mr Thomas Koh.

Technopreneurs and start-ups add to the diversity and vibrancy of the Singapore infocomm ecosystem. An example is Sierra Solutions, which integrates leading-edge iris recognition technology with business applications to enhance security in the enterprise environment without sacrificing convenience and efficiency. The solution provides accurate identity authentication even when the subject is in motion or at a distance. Mr Thomas Koh, Enterprise Sales Manager of Sierra Solutions, said this was the first time the company was exhibiting the device in Singapore. It has done a pilot project with a hospital, where the technology is applied to manage access to operating theatres so that surgeons do not need to touch the door to enter after they have cleansed their hands. >> View Video

Learning sign language on the go

Ms Judy Lim, Executive Director of the Association, says anyone can download the SgSL Resource app to learn sign language in order to communicate with the deaf.

IDA also helps people sector organisations such as voluntary welfare organisations as well as grassroots and community organisations to adopt infocomm for productivity improvements and also to enhance their community outreach efforts. One of the community apps showcased at the IDA booth was developed by the Singapore Association of the Deaf in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic and IDA.

Presenting the SgSL Resource (Singapore Sign Language Resource) app, Ms Judy Lim, Executive Director of the Association said, “This project is for the integration of the deaf and the hearing. Anyone can download this app to learn sign language in order to communicate with the deaf. For example, if you want to talk to a deaf person about ‘durians’, the app will teach you the sign for ‘durian’.”

Deriving competitive intelligence from 3P data

With ShowNearby, businesses are equipped to make more informed and accurate decisions based on critical business intelligence, says Ms Phoebe Xie.

Showcased under the i-Singapore initiative was ShowNearby’s Business Marketing Analysis Panel, which brings together data from the public, private and people (3P) sectors to deliver a business competitive intelligence service app. The app provides users with information about a specific location, such as the nearby amenities, demographics, accessibility and property data. “With ShowNearby, businesses are equipped to make more informed and accurate decisions based on critical business intelligence such as existing competition, demographic breakdown, infrastructure and business-related facilities within any specified locality. Homebuyers can also use this tool to find an ideal home or access information related to their own interests,” said Ms Phoebe Xie, Community Manager of ShowNearby.

imbX is Asia’s largest infocomm and media platform. Organised by Singapore Exhibition Services and co-hosted by IDA and the Media Development Authority, the event took place from 18-22 June 2012 at Marina Bay Sands and Suntec Singapore. It featured close to 2,000 exhibitors from 56 countries/regions and attracted more than 50,000 attendees. There were also 31 national pavilions including those of Korea, Thailand, Brunei, France, United Kingdom, Canada and China.