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volume 11
NOVEMBER/
DECEMBER
2015
Are we getting
Smarter?
03 Turning Singapore 10 Intelligent Transport
into a Smart City Systems
Building a smart city is a highly As countries like Singapore lay
complex proposition, and it out blueprints for the next
begins with integrating and generation of transportation
harnessing data. systems, a data-driven control
centre can bring about a whole
05 Meet a Data Scientist new transport management and
This personality profile features commuter travel experience.
Li Mo, a data scientist who
wields analytical tools to derive 12 Roundtable: Early
nuggets of insight from a mass Days for The Internet
of data. of Things
Creating sensing organisations is
06 Smart Assessment the way ahead, but there are still
The education environment is challenges to overcome, such as
moving towards e-Assessment, immature solutions and
as the digital shift and the standards, privacy issues and
changing nature of jobs compels unclear roadmaps.
a better way to test and assess
students, in order to identify the
appropriate learning strategies
to best teach the student.
08 Caring for Patients at
Home
New cost-effective healthcare
delivery models and technology
can boost patient engagement
to reduce the need for
hospitalisation. This can help to
alert care providers when
medical attention is needed, or
for patients to interface with a
medical personnel without
having to set foot in a clinic or
hospital.
Follow us on
surfnation.net
NCS Group
surfnation@ncs.com.sg
NCS is a member of the Singtel Group
Shaping Singapore into a City of the Future
Shaping Singapore into a
City of the Future
It comes down to integrating technology
and harnessing data.
S
ingapore is in a race – to system integrator to also develop
be the world’s first truly innovative products that help
smart nation, where it is companies and countries jumpstart
wired and connected, their smart city journey.
collecting data to solve
everything from traffic jams to crimes. The intelligent technologies that drive
a smart city can also be applied to a
Already, Singapore is one of the top campus, a cluster of buildings or even
five globally-ranked smart cities for a single building. Smart city initiatives
2015, based on a report by Juniper are typically driven by governments
Research. It is also the only Asian using a top-down approach. However,
city in the list. The Smart City several smart buildings and campuses
Rankings is compiled based on an could, over time, make a city “smart” interactive dashboard, and multiple
analysis of each city’s ‘smart’ as well. We need the collaborative modules that are designed with a wide
capabilities, with particular focus on efforts of the “bottom up” creativity from range of functionalities for various
the use of smart grids, smart traffic individuals and communities, as well as users, contexts, and industries.
management and smart street the “top down” government policies
lighting, as well as aspects such as and infrastructure planning to help Imagine IntelliSURF™ as a LEGO
technological capability and social create the smart cities that we desire. building baseplate and the various
cohesion.1 modules as building blocks that stack
Multi-faceted, scalable on top of the IntelliSURF™ platform.
Undoubtedly, building a smart city is platform Depending on the requirements of
a highly complex proposition. While With this in mind, we have built the customer, they can subscribe to
there is no agreed definition of what IntelliSURF™, a smart technology various modules and add these onto
a smart city is, it almost certainly platform on which is built an the IntelliSURF™ platform to gain
leverages smart technology to bring
about efficiency and effectiveness in
resource use and in the improvement
IntelliSURF™
of services, and ultimately bringing Select modules
benefits to the citizens. that complements
Sensors & Network IntelliSURF™
In line with Singapore’s vision of a (Module-dependent)
smart city, NCS envisions a smart city
ecosystem under the theme of SURF,
or Solutions for an URbanised Future,
that integrates innovative technologies
for government agencies and
enterprises. In the process, NCS is Modules of various functionalities stack upon IntelliSURF™ to form
bespoke solutions across various roles and requirements.
transforming from being an ICT
1
“Smart Cities: Strategies, Energy, Emissions & Cost Savings 2014-2019” report, Juniper Research.
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 03
Shaping Singapore into a City of the Future
capability like situational awareness, weaving domain knowledge, expertise and decades of
data analytics and insights, as well analytical insights, and best-of- experience to steer and shape
as a prescribed Standard Operating breed technology. As an example of Singapore into a smart nation. We
Procedure (SOP) for the administrator. the degree of functionality offered recognise the technological and
by the modules, a building and domain leadership of different
Different users, whether a City estate manager may be interested vendors and seek to partner with
Planner, a Campus Administrator or in the following: them for their best-of-breed
a Building Owner would be able to • Meter data management: Offers expertise.
choose the IntelliSURF™ modules that granular perspectives from the
fit their requirements. Examples of meter data to better manage the In short, every nook and cranny of a
these modules include: Smart energy consumption levels of the city has the potential to be smart.
Carparking, Learning Analytics, and building’s tenants. While no single company can truly
Video Analytics. • Smart carparking: Provides transform a smart city on its own,
insights from parking data to different players in their respective
For example, a City Planner’s improve parking policy. domains can work together to build
concerns would be the public safety • Video analytics for security: a smart city. We believe that a smart
and security of the citizens, and Sharpens preventive security city platform, like a smart city itself,
increasing engagement with citizens. strategies with surveillance data, will continue to grow and evolve,
On the other hand, a Campus or streamline workflows and and through much iteration become
Administrator would be keen to resource planning with smarter on its own.
improve teacher-student interaction, operational insights.
security and safety within the campus Thought Leader:
as well as the level of cleanliness on Hence, NCS’ strategy for IntelliSURF™ Willie Chan,
the campus premise. The Building is to develop a platform that is vendor Director, Smart & Safe City, NCS
Owner would probably like to have agnostic. We intend to leverage our williechan@ncs.com.sg
better situation awareness of his or
her building, in terms of security and
access, electricity and water usage, What forms a Smart City
as well as car park availability for the
benefit of the building occupants.
Smart
Grid
The requirements of the customer
Smart Smart
(whether from a city, campus or a Enterprise Public
Safety
building perspective) would evolve
over time. For example, while a city
planner may be currently concerned
with public safety at a later time he or Smart
she might want to improve the Smart Mobility and
Governance Transportation
efficiency of the transport system.
SMART
It is here where IntelliSURF™ provides
a strong competitive advantage.
CITY
Based on insights gleaned from our
Smart Smart
practice directors and customers in Environment Healthcare
various domains, we have developed
a robust and comprehensive product
module roadmap. Customers can look
forward to an assortment of modules Smart
Buildings and Smart
released on a quarterly basis. Homes Education
Smart
Unlike standard command and Water
control platforms, IntelliSURF™
integrates with a suite of modules
04 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg
personality profile
Making A Difference with Data
A priority when mining for data is a focus on business objectives
and domain knowledge.
T
he age of smart data seems to be upon us, where tasks, especially standard
highly-skilled data scientists can manipulate and procedures. These products
analyse data to solve real-world problems or make data analysis less
nudge a business in a different direction. SURF coding intensive and more
talks to Li Mo, a data scientist at NCS, to learn accessible to users with
which tools she wields to derive nuggets of insight from a limited coding background.
mass of data. Li has a background in statistics and was Nonetheless, a piece of
part of the University Scholars Program at the National of delicately crafted coding
University of Singapore (NUS). script itself is certainly not the
end. We also need quality
When did you realise that this is what raw data and wisely-chosen
you love doing? analytics techniques.
When I was a statistics major at NUS, I experienced
massive real world data for the first time and spent a year What are your
slowly peeling off the onion skin to discover hidden favorite tools or
patterns within it. I gradually saw the beauty of statistics applications to work with?
and data mining. From a mass of apparently chaotic The choice of technique is dependent on the nature of the
numbers, we can gain insights into our past to understand data and the problem we are trying to solve. In fact, a
where we are today and pick up tips to guide our persistent task in data analysis is to find the most
direction in the future. I felt excited and empowered, appropriate algorithm that better suits the behaviour of the
Q&A
knowing that what I was doing could potentially have an observed data at hand.
impact on someone around me.
In choosing the tools to use, an additional concern is the
What are you working on this year? end users. Some tools are highly flexible and can
It’s a one-year project, where analytics is not a standalone accomplish customised tasks, but they can be coding
piece but needs to be integrated into the main system for intensive and less easy to manipulate for business users.
real-time scoring. Challenges emerge as we go beyond Other tools are more user-friendly and interactive, but
conventional analytics methodologies to suit integration might have limited customisation options. My personal
requirements. In offline analysis, there are plenty of ways favourite tool is the R language, which belongs to the
to massage poor quality data and improve model coding intensive category.
accuracy, but these procedures inevitably take up
processing time, especially when data volume is large. For What does the future of big data
real-time scoring, time is a luxury. We have to explore analytics look like?
innovative ways to balance analytics outcome and An ambitious vision of big data analytics is to assist
real-time performance, and put on additional measures to people in making more informed decisions and achieve
handle unexpected variation in the quality of data maximum satisfaction with reduced cost. From scientific
streaming in. research to industrial manufacturing, from daily dining
and shopping to national policy making, it can establish
Is it important for a data scientist to its presence in different aspects of life.
be able to write in machine learning
language? Which skills and qualities make a good
Machine learning language to data mining is like fire to data scientist?
cooking. It is a crucial and indispensable tool to achieve I believe that a data scientist requires sound statistics
what we want. Fortunately, in recent years there have knowledge and data skills, but for our work to be really
been more commercial products that can reduce and meaningful for users, knowing the ultimate business
simplify the coding required to complete some analytics objectives and domain knowledge are equally important.
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 05
Smart Education: The Future of Assessment
Smart Education:
The Future of Assessment
Global trends demand a change in the education environment,
especially in assessment.
A
cing school exams in and personalised learning pathways Oxford Martin Programme found that
Singapore usually based on the strengths and interests 47% of US jobs could be computerised
means memorising as of the student. In the new economy, within one or two decades.
much content as schools, too, need to adjust and
possible, then spotting enable learning anytime, anywhere. For global organisations and
questions using the infamous 10-year educational institutions, the need to
series, or getting exam tips from more Interestingly enough, the use of train new skills rapidly and achieve
generous lecturers. A common critique technology in managing assessments high standards of skills across an
of this system is that it generates seems to be lagging in many often diverse worldwide workforce is
efficient workers but not many thinkers educational systems and organisations. critical. A key challenge is how to
and creators, and as long as our While technology and methods of assess these skills so that the right
exams reward learning by rote, there learning have changed the education learning strategies can be employed
will be little impetus for change. landscape, exams and tests are still to best impart these skills to the
primarily paper-based or very simple workforce.
When we couple this with two main survey applications.
global trends – the digital shift and Online Assessment
the future of jobs – there is a The Future of Jobs Leading institutes of higher learning
compelling need to find better ways to For many organisations a key (IHLs) in the US and Europe have
bring about real change in the challenge is to establish a global already embraced online assessment
education environment. workforce that will support their needs and we note a rising interest in Asia,
in a world where technology could too. Put simply, online assessment, or
The Digital Shift take over certain jobs. The study “The e-Assessment, is the creation, delivery,
Increasingly, there has been an Future of Employment: How Susceptible and marking of assessment on-screen.
accelerated adoption of emerging are Jobs to Computerisation?” by the
technologies to enable 21st century It is used to benefit the whole
learning. Technology has become an Bring on the personal trainers examination process, in particular the
Probability that computerisation will lead to job
important tool to transform teaching, losses within the next two decades, 2013 (1=certain) creation and marking of paper-based
learning, and assessment. These Job Probability exams, revolutionising back-office
Recreational therapists 0.003
technologies include tablet computing, management, reporting and analysis.
Dentists 0.004
3D printing, massive open online Athletic trainer 0.007
courses (MOOCs), learning analytics, Clergy 0.008 Since it’s on-screen, insertion of rich
Chemical engineers 0.02
and wearables. Textbooks are also media such as audio, video clips and
Editors 0.06
slowly being replaced by digital Firefighters 0.17 animation can greatly enhance the
content, media, and apps. Actors 0.37 depth and interpretation of questions.
Health technologists 0.40
Examiners will be able to create virtual
Economists 0.43
The approach to learning has also Commercial pilots 0.55 situations that require the candidate to
changed. There are now more small Machinists 0.65 process different types of information
Word processors and typists 0.81
classrooms and tutorial class sizes for the right solution.
Real estate sales agents 0.86
instead of traditional large lectures. Technical writers 0.89
There is a focus on student-centric Retail salespersons 0.92 An e-Assessment platform has many
Accountants and auditors 0.94
personalised learning rather than advantages over traditional, paper-
Telemarketers 0.99
teacher-centric classroom delivery. Source: “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are Jobs based assessments. These advantages
This translates into differentiated to Computerisation?” by C. Frey and M. Osborne (2013)
include:
06 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg• Lower costs in the long run; experience so that the exams reflect
• Greater speed of marking; real-life scenarios as far as possible.
• Instant feedback to students;
• Allows rehearsal and revision; The Royal College of
• Greater flexibility in terms of timing Paediatrics and Child Health
and location; (RCPCH) in the UK uses online exams
• Improved reliability compared to to allow learners access to high
human marking; resolution visual data such as X-rays
• More efficient storage efficiency, or MRIs which would have previously
as answer scripts require less been less clear in the paper version.
physical storage space than paper The ability to create sophisticated
scripts; and on-screen exam questions strongly
• Ability to include multimedia and enhances the ability of RCPCH to test and assembly with remote
interactive question types. what is required from the learners and authoring and sophisticated
reduces subjective interpretation of question extensions.
With the right e-Assessment provider, exam questions. • On-screen production of
organisations will be able to create paper exams and delivery
custom examinations and manage the An organisation that uses BTL’s with collaboration tools.
administration of the exam from a Surpass for large-scale summative • Exam management system
powerful single platform. This also testing is Saxion University (The that caters for roles-based
ensures a high quality assessment Netherlands). Previously, all 12 of the management with robust security.
experience across examination University’s schools ran their own • Multiple exam delivery
centres and even geographical tests, but now they have all support that provides flexible
boundaries. successfully transferred onto one delivery options and ensures
solution, and are currently delivering secure exam delivery.
Our partner BTL Learning & Assessment 40–50,000 summative assessments • Marking solutions suitable for
(BTL), a UK based technology per year. Their e-Assessment system high volume on-screen items with
company, has been helping now has over 300 subjects, 600 tests, continuous quality control.
organisations with e-Learning and and 95,000 digital questions. • Statistical analysis services
e-assessments for 30 years. They that provide in-depth analysis to
have a developed an Assessment Additionally, each item is given a help identify trends and patterns.
Platform called Surpass which serves descriptive name and tagged with
as an engine to drive effective online important metadata, such as Going forward, e-Assessment will
assessment services that is media associated learning outcomes, and become more widely used, as the
rich and easy to manage. their item banks structured within digital shift and the changing nature
folders and subjects, so that their of jobs compels a better way to test
For example, the British Council lecturers can focus on developing and assess students in the education
uses Surpass to create and deliver the exam questions instead of developing environment.
Aptis Assessment Programme. Aptis an exam.
supports the standardised assessment Educational and training institutes in
of English as a second language, Evaluating Asia which may be unfamiliar with
which allows organisations to make e-Assessment Platforms e-Assessment can now benefit from
better decisions on recruitment and For truly effective assessments, NCS’ partnership with BTL and gain
language development. The British e-Assessments need to go beyond access to consultancy and expertise in
Council reports as of August 2015 testing students’ knowledge, and end-to-end implementation of
that Aptis has been used online by compiling bar charts and graphs e-Assessment solutions.
their clients 24/7 in 95 countries – the based on the results.
testing and assessment facilitation being For more information, or review of
conducted at the client’s premises. When evaluating e-Assessment your organisation’s existing
platforms, organisations should look examination structure, contact Chris
With the digitisation of exams, many out for a comprehensive feature set Tng, Business Development Director,
organisations have been adding that includes: Smart & Safe City at christngcy@
richer content to the testing • On-screen exam production ncs.com.sg
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 07Technology Extends Care Beyond Hospital Walls
Technology Extends
Care
Beyond
Hospital
Walls
Caring for patients
at home can reduce
costs and improve
the quality of care.
A
typical cardiac acute care provider into the home of patients. innovations in the healthcare industry.
care scenario would see
an elderly person like The world faces a growing ageing What is needed? New cost-effective
75-year-old Mr Chan population. The global share of older healthcare delivery models that use
who has diabetes, suffer people (aged 60 years or over) technology to manage healthcare
a sudden onset of myocardial increased from 9.2% in 1990 to quality and costs.
infarction and then undergo coronary 11.7% in 2013 and will continue to
intervention. grow as a proportion of the world This would include the use of home
population, reaching 21.1% by monitoring and tracking
Before being sent home to recuperate, 2050, according to the United applications that reduce the need
the hospital can set up a care plan for Nations. for hospitalisation, the use of
him and specify his daily tasks that sensing technologies to alert care
include continuous monitoring of In Singapore, the number of seniors provider when medical attention is
clinical condition, medication, aged over 65 years will more than needed, or Internet video
exercise and diet compliance, and double from 430,000 today to over conferencing capabilities to allow
daily physical assessment. This allows 900,000 in 2030. By then, 1 in 5 patients to interface with a medical
Mr Chan to recuperate at his home Singaporeans will be 65 and above personnel without having to set foot
where his disease progression is as compared to 1 in 9 today. in a clinic or hospital.
tracked to enable early intervention in
the event of deterioration. The combination of a shortage of A Patient-Centred Model
healthcare resources and an ageing for Home Care
This is an example of how smart population coupled with the rising NCS believes that technology can
technology can boost patient trend of chronic illnesses, growing help provide continuous care, or
engagement to manage chronic healthcare costs and a strained patient-centred home care. This would
disease, extending the reach of the healthcare system are drivers for include the early detection and
08 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sgtreatment of diseases to halt or slow • Physical: Track the patient’s vital home, slips and falls in the toilet. If he
its progress while encouraging signs through telehealth and is conscious, he can press a panic
personal strategies to prevent monitoring devices. button that is a wearable pendant to
recurrence, and implement home- • Behavioural: Use analytics to send an alert. However, if he is
based care plans to return people unveil patterns so as to allow for a unconscious, the sensors in the toilet
to their original health and prevent more individualised patient-centred detect a person lying motionless on
long-term problems. response. the floor, and a smart algorithm will
• Psychological: Provide the patient confirm a fall has taken place in the
The NCS Continuous Care with support as well as goals to toilet by interpreting the information
Management (CCM) solution can keep him/her engaged and from the sensors. Both the CM and Mr
benefit three main groups of patients: motivated. Chan’s son will receive alerts on their
• Newly discharged patients from mobiles.
acute care who require continuous Quality Care At Home
monitoring to ensure smooth Back to Mr Chan, whose care plan When the CM and Mr Chan’s son
recuperation. specifies the devices used to monitor attempt to communicate with Mr Chan
• Patients who require chronic his vital signs and care plan through the speaker system in the
disease management such as those compliance, which includes wearable toilet and receive no response, they
with diabetes who require daily ECG, sensor mat for heart and confer and decide to send for an
monitoring. breathing rate, daily blood pressure ambulance. The son arrives in time
• Elderly patients who live alone and monitoring, a panic button, to open the door and check on his
require care monitoring due to medication pill box, motion sensor father, when the ambulance arrives
factors such as senility, frailty, and a glucometer. and brings Mr Chan to the hospital.
proneness to fall, etc.
His Care Manager (CM) at the The use of sensors placed strategically
NCS CCM enables patients and hospital had also set various in Mr Chan’s home can allow the
elderly to follow through clinician- parameters for alerts and specified CM to track his well-being. For
defined daily care plan to monitor the course of action when vital signs instance, activation of sensors on
their health, wellness and compliance are detected to be out of range. the fridge, kitchen door, and kitchen
to medication, diet and exercise, and tap can suggest that he has entered
use telehealth technologies to measure The CM can use the Care Manager the kitchen to have his breakfast,
patients/elderly clinical conditions and Dashboard to review the vital signs of and washed up after breakfast.
send health data to care providers. several patients that he/she is tracking. Such tracking of activities is
important to ensure that Mr Chan
Care managers are enabled with an On a typical day at home, Mr Chan has not skipped breakfast to prevent
easy-to-read, intuitive dashboard on uses the CCM Patient Dashboard to his blood sugars from falling after
patients’ conditions which can prompt access his care plan. Lying in bed, the diabetes medication.
auto alerts about clinical anomalies Smart Mat monitors his sleep patterns
by analysing patients’ clinical and and can alert the CM if Mr Chan has In summary, healthcare technology
daily living data. This allows for early been in bed for too long. Then the like sensors, analytics, and care
intervention to prevent further CM can give Mr Chan a call to management solutions can be
deterioration. understand his condition. leveraged to collect valuable patient
data so as to provide actionable
Patients and elderly are further When Mr Chan is up, he turns on insights. With the challenges of a
supported by an online care community the Android tablet where he is rapidly ageing population, there is
through advice, education and mutual/ greeted by the Care Plan significant potential to reduce cost
moral support, while being able to Dashboard, on which he selects My and enhance the healthcare delivery
access essential information and Care Plan which takes him through for the ageing population.
services to care for their health. his daily tasks. These include the
medication to take, a reminder to Thought Leader:
CCM goes beyond tracking the measure his blood pressure and Chan Kah Choon
physical well-being of a patient, and glucose, and to exercise. Sales Director, Healthcare,
is designed around three holistic Commercial Large Enterprise
aspects of well-being: A week later, Mr Chan is alone at kcchan@ncs.com.sg
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 09At the Heart of Smart Transport
At the Heart of
interactive transport community. It is
anchored on four pillars as follows:
Smart Transport
a) Informative, high quality transport
information to meet diverse needs
b) Interactive enhanced traveller
experience with smarter interactivity
c) Assistive towards a safe and
A data-driven control centre with integrated secure roadway environment
operations can bring about a whole new d) Green mobility towards a
sustainable and environmentally
transport management and commuter travel friendly ITS
experience.
Holding It All Together
I
n land-scarce Singapore, leveraging technology to move people and The evolving nature of urban
goods safely and efficiently has become a growing need in the face of a challenges calls for a shift in the
growing urban population and lack of available physical space to build urban transport paradigm. NCS is
more transportation infrastructure. geared up to address these
challenges with the Urban Mobility
Over the years, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has implemented several Management Centre (UMMC).
major Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to enhance its operation efficiency
and disseminate real time information to the public. They are the Expressway The UMMC is a control centre that
Monitoring and Advisory system (EMAS) to manage traffic incidents, the harnesses the power of data. Apart
Electronic Road Pricing System (ERP) to automate the collection of road from bringing together the ITS Centre
charges and Green Link Determining System (GLIDE) to optimise traffic flow at and Operations Control Centre
road junctions. Other ITS collect and disseminate real time data to inform (OCC) which comprises bus
travellers of traffic incidents, travel times and bus and train arrival times via operation centres, rail and rapid transit
electronic signboards and mytransport.sg portal. operation centres and taxi operation
centres, it also adopts a collaborative
Looking forward, Singapore has laid out its blueprint – Smart Mobility 2030 – approach by sharing information to
for its vision of the next generation of ITS to create a more connected and help all respond to major incidents.
Traffic Recommend the best
Information combination of transport
modes to reach
ERP destination based on
User Charges traveller’s preference
Preferences or criteria
Bus, MRT,
Time, Real-time Taxi CONSIDERATIONS
User Information
Location Multimodal ◆ Distance
◆ Travel time
◆ No. of transfers
◆ Walking distance
Transport ◆ Cost
◆ Wheelchair accessibility
◆ Sheltered
◆ Personal preference
Information
Wheelchair
Accessible Weather
Vehicles
Points Park &
of Ride
Interest Plan Route START Adjust Route END
TRIP TRIP
10 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sgData from other centres, such as the
weather station, private bus
operators, relevant government
agencies, etc. can also be drawn into
the UMMC.
The UMMC functions as a unified
platform to monitor and coordinate all
transport modes to meet the overall
demand for transport and respond to
any major transport incidents or
events. It can provide the following
capabilities:
a. Centralised monitoring, planning
and management.
b. Enable comprehensive situational
awareness across traffic, rapid
transit, rail, bus and taxis
nationwide.
c. Facilitate collection and sharing of
co-ordinated real time transport
information, including traffic
incidents, public transport incidents
and events.
d. Provide scenario planning
capability to manage major events,
transport incidents and national
crisis. data from various sources, and when UMMC will move into action to:
e. Monitor performance of all used with business analytics, generate a. Provide alerts to all affected
transport modes and travellers’ useful actionable insights for transport transport operators,
satisfaction. decision-makers. For instance, key b. Activate diversion of services,
f. Provide coordinated event and insights can be distilled from fare c. Display alerts on electronic
incident management for quick card data and machine sensor data signboards at bus stops and
recovery. that are derived from trains. rapid transit stations,
g. Provide both broadcast and d. Monitor crowds at downstream
customised information to Personalised and bus stops and affected rapid
travellers. Pleasant Travel transit stations, and
Experience e. Provide information on
A critical component of the success The real strength of the UMMC is to alternative transport modes and
of UMMC is in scenario planning, enable a people-centric ITS, tailoring routes.
as it enables UMMC to visualise the the best journey plan based on the
impact of any event or transport commuter’s preferences such as: As governments seek smart solutions
incidents through simulation and to cheapest route, fastest route, shortest to meet the transportation
validate remedial measures that route, lowest carbon footprint, or challenges of urban populations,
incorporate the operational amenities along route. harnessing the power of their
experiences of ITS Centre and the transportation data with Intelligent
OCC. Based on new transport The dissemination of multimodal travel Transportation Systems is certainly
incident information, UMMC can information will be personalised and the way forward.
dynamically reroute or advise travel at the same time, strategic for optimal
on other transport modes. distribution of travel demand over the Thought Leader:
entire transport network. Sing Mong Kee,
Another powerful capability of the Director, Smart & Safe City
UMMC is the ability to pull together When a major incident is detected, singmk@ncs.com.sg
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 11CIO Dialogue –
The Next Big Thing: The Internet of Things
From L to R: Loo Boon Chee, Teng Tat Wee, Neo Yong Chiang, Billy Cheng, Tan Seng Chee, Melody Shieh, TC Seow,
Yeo Teck Guan, Danny Ong, Hiew Wui Sin, Sim Chear Wah, Chandran Segaran Senkodu
The Next Big Thing:
The Internet of Things
Roundtable participants say that the adoption of IoT technology
is at a nascent stage.
C
reating sensing Loo Boon Chee, Head, IoT efficient transportation system, and
organisations is the Development, Smart & Safe City, advanced research and tertiary
way to go. The question NCS. institutes. This allows us to try a lot of
is how to go about it, things that other countries may not
and how to navigate “We have seen significant interest and have the benefit of,” said Loo.
the various challenges involved, said many requests to look at IoT, as
participants at the Executive customers demand more complex However, Singapore’s size means it
Networking Lunch “Gearing Up for end-to-end solutions. They don’t just lacks the scope to be a real mover in
IoT” held on 8 October at Pan Pacific want IT, but want capability,” said Loo. this space, as a lot of technology
Hotel in Singapore. The discussion “In turn, NCS is responding to this. requires scale to make it economically
was moderated by T.C. Seow, Editor We are making a deliberate effort to viable.
of CIO Asia, and sponsored by NCS. build competence in this space and
have a dedicated organisation set up The question is whether businesses
The attendees are considering the use to look at smart cities.” are ready for IoT and to cope with the
of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies deluge of information headed their
to get deeper insights into different Loo pointed out that Singapore presents way. To begin with, there are
aspects of their businesses that range a good location for driving IoT efforts, technical challenges to be resolved,
from the supply chain, manufacturing possessing many elements that make said Neo Yong Chiang, CIO at
floors, retail store operations, to the it an ideal test bed for IoT trials. Republic Polytechnic.
products and services they provide.
“There is strong government backing “To dovetail with the smart nation
The age of IoT is well underway, said and good infrastructure like an initiative, Republic Polytechnic is
12 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sgconsidering the building of a smart driven by a growing number of “Fast forward another 10 years, what
campus, and has formed a task force people being connected to the else will be connected? Who knows
to brainstorm this. A question is internet. This increased connectivity what the possibilities are. There is no
whether a lot of sensors are required, has resulted in more people buying boundary to what the imagination
and if so, what frequency it would IoT devices. The other driver is the can do, and which of today’s
operate on, and whether it requires its growing adoption of devices like problems can be solved down the
own network to avoid interference with smartphones and tablets that makes road,” said Loo.
the Wi-Fi frequencies,” said Neo. each of these consumers a connected
node in the Internet of Things, said New Service Delivery
Danny Ong, Vice President & Chief CIO Asia’s Seow. Models
Information Officer at STATS ChipPAC The way that IoT technologies are
Singapore, that offers back-end “With broadband, people find that being used is industry-specific, said
manufacturing services for the smart mobile devices can control the attendees. Consumer-focused
semiconductor industry, added: certain features like smart homes, and companies are increasingly using
“Currently, the pick up for IoT is going can be remote controlled. Instantly, it monitoring technologies, such as
to be slow for the next few years. The opens up new vistas and opportunities digital cameras, sensors and analytics
solutions are immature, and the for businesses and allows them to software to gather and analyse data
roadmap still unclear, and this affects improve on customer service and in the areas where they do business
our bottomline. However, we are customer satisfaction level,” said Seow. with customers.
starting to see more creative [IoT]
solutions.” “Have we reached a tipping point? Is For instance, Singapore Pools, the
it the technology or business side of state-owned lottery subsidiary
Defining IoT things that is driving IoT adoption?” company is exploring to transform its
A challenge is defining IoT, as the asked Seow. betting outlets, and encourage more
definition and concept varies depending responsible betting.
on the industry or business. Loo from NCS responded: “Technology
and business drivers are hand in glove, “We want to deploy disruptive
“It is a challenge to define what IoT but there is the element of technology technology, like super Wi-Fi to improve
is, as it will continue to mean different dependency. Technology has evolved to network latency,” said Yeo Teck Guan,
things to different people, because the allow a lot more objects to be Group CIO, Singapore Pools.
businesses that it can apply to are connected. Ten years ago, it was
very diverse, said Loo from NCS. unimaginable that just about everyone In the healthcare space, the shortage
owns a smartphone, and now my of healthcare resources, an ageing
What is certain is that IoT is being 80-year-old mum uses an iPad.” population, and the labour-intensive
nature of healthcare, necessitates
Delegates at the roundtable better ways to deliver healthcare, said
Teo Kah Ling, Director of Information
Mr Loo Boon Chee, Head, IoT Development, Smart & Safe City, NCS Technology at Raffles Medical Group,
Mr Teng Tat Wee, Vice President, IS, Singapore Post Singapore’s largest private healthcare
Mr Neo Yong Chiang, Chief Information Officer, Republic Polytechnic provider.
Mr Billy Cheng, Head & General Manager – IT & Business Process, Jardine
Cycle & Carriage “IoT has the potential to provide home
Mr Tan Seng Chee, Chief Information Officer, City Developments Limited monitoring and tracking capabilities
Ms Melody Shieh, Senior IT Infrastructure Head, United Engineers and to monitor the patient’s vital signs
Mr Yeo Teck Guan, Group Chief Information Officer, Singapore Pools like blood pressure and glucose levels
Mr Danny Ong, Vice President & Chief Information Officer, STATS ChipPAC to allow healthcare providers to offer
Singapore
better quality patient care,” said Teo.
Mr Hiew Wui Sin, Global Head of IT, AET Tankers
Mr Sim Chear Wah, Vice President, Information Technology, Jurong Port
“There is a demand for telemedicine,
Dr Chandran Segaran Senkodu, Senior Vice President – Information
Technology & Strategic Development, TransitLink but there are currently no clear
guidelines from the Ministry of Health.
Moderator
T.C. Seow, Editor, CIO Asia While waiting for these policies to be
formulated, patients may send us
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 13CIO Dialogue –
The Next Big Thing: The Internet of Things
photos of their medical conditions via vehicle being the driverless car. serviced, avoiding the need to
Skype and obtain a general advisory interrupt operations to repair parts
but not medical advice,” said Teo. “Internally within the company, we and reduce downtime,” said Hiew.
want to understand the behaviours of
Down the road, Teo expects a our customers based on data “Time is always an essence in any
growing demand for healthcare gathered through sensors to improve business. With all this technology in
delivered remotely, such as caring for our products, services, processes and place in the future, hopefully it will give
elderly patients at their home. For customer engagement,” said Cheng. us a competitive edge,” Hiew added.
instance, when an elderly person
falls, the sensing technologies in the Supply Chains Jurong Port, a port operator
smart home can sense this drop and While some organisations are using headquartered in Singapore that
inform the ambulance, clinic or nurse IoT to improve customer service and handles bulk, breakbulk and
to check on the patient. engagement, organisations in the containerised cargo, is looking at
manufacturing, high tech, and Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative
Singapore Post, the national postage services space are looking to IoT and is interested in how it can
and logistics company, is looking at technologies to provide deeper become a smart port. Singapore’s
incorporating sensors into its mail insights about the efficiency and limited land area makes it
system. It has just successfully effectiveness of their operations and compelling to be more efficient in
completed a trial drone delivery equipment. the use of berth and storage space.
over 2km to an island off
Singapore, as drones or unmanned STATS ChipPAC is looking at IoT to “The biggest challenge for us is to
aircraft systems find their way into help drive down costs in its find the IoT business case and to
IoT implementations. This short manufacturing process by replacing justify investments. We need to show
that it really works and ROI [return on
investment], before really investing in
“Fast forward another 10 years, it,” said Sim Chear Wah, Vice
President, Information Technology at
what else will be connected? Who Jurong Port.
knows what the possibilities are.”
Mindset Change
– Loo Boon Chee, Head, IoT Development, Smart &
Exploiting IoT technology exposes
Safe City, NCS privacy issues as sensors can be an
intrusive presence, said Singapore
journey had its complications, human labour with machinery and Pools’ Yeo.
requiring numerous permits from robotics, in the face of increasing
different agencies before the flight labour costs while material cost is “Few people are ready to have
could take place, said Teng Tat going down, said STATS ChipPAC’s sensors like video cameras in private
Wee, Vice President of Information Ong. spaces like the dining rooms in
Systems, Singapore Post. homes. Many [view privacy] as a
At AET Tankers, a global shipping personal right. How many are ready
A driver for IoT is to provide better company specialising in the ocean for this?” asked Yeo.
customer service and engagement, transport of crude oil and refined
said Billy Cheng, Head & GM - IT & products, they are looking at IoT to CIO Asia’s Seow noted that millennials
Business Process at Jardine Cycle & help operations by gathering who grew up with Facebook and Twitter
Carriage, a group involved with the telemetry data from ships, bunkers, are less guarded about posting
manufacture, assembly, distribution for remote fuel level monitoring and to personal information in the public
and retail of automotives. better chart routes,” said Hiew Wui space, and seem to have no qualms
Sin, Global Head of IT, AET Tankers. about trading private information for
Car manufacturers are adding convenience, as compared to
smarter information systems into “IoT can enable preventive previous generations like the Baby
cars that can range from navigation maintenance, where machines and Boomers and Gen-X-ers.
systems to on-board diagnostic IoT-related devices can send alerts
systems, and the ultimate sensing before the equipment needs to be “An eternal burning question is who
14 november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sgactually owns the data. Traditionally, the fragmented nature of the IoT security at various levels,” said Loo.
the human resource department owns world today, where standards are still “Is there a 100% foolproof solution?
the employee data and the registrar being agreed upon. The concern is There isn’t one yet, there is interest in
owns student data, but the data that technology obsolescence, and the the industry to seek such solutions.”
resides on devices is not the same. potential incompatiblity of technology
We can collect it from different areas, down the road. So far, the Singapore government has
but who is the owner? That is been a catalyst for IoT projects in
something we are struggling with,” “Whatever [IoT] we may adopt, we Singapore, but the private sector has
said Republic Polytechnic’s Neo. ask about standards, what is a part to play.
evolving, and the maintenance in the
“Students are requesting for access to future,” said Melody Shieh, Senior IT “The government has done a fantastic
some of the data to view in apps. That Infrastructure Head at United job as the spring board for IoT with
is something we are collaborating with Engineers, a provider of property, the Smart Nation program. With this
the students on,” said Neo. engineering and construction platform, many innovative ideas were
services. uncovered in the Call for
TransitLink is working with IDA to Collaboration and Proof of
connect the last mile, enabling new City Development faced a similar Concept, and we realised that
ways to make payments, said Dr predicament when it built intelligent partners were looking at the same
Chandra Segaran Senkodu, Senior homes in 2001, but faced little thing,” said Loo.
Vice President (Information demand for these homes. Today, the
Technology & Strategic Development) components of a smart home can be “But it takes industry players and
at TransitLink, the provider of ticket easily assembled by the home owner, private companies, and the whole
payment services in the Singapore said Tan Seng Chee, CTO at City ecosystem to make it happen. There
public transport system. Developments, a real estate are too many parts for a single
developer. stakeholder to drive it. It is wishful
One such way is the near-field thinking to expect the government to
communication wristband that is “The consumerisation of IT has made continue to fund some of these
encoded with the digital Cepas home automation and smart homes a initiatives.
(contactless e-purse application) chip, possibility with consumer products.
which allows users to pay for bus and Technology obsolescence is very real In summary, as companies face the
train rides just by putting one’s wrist challenge for us, as building a house deluge of data from the existing
near the fare card reader. can take three years, and any sensors in their organisations, they
technology planned for can easily be need to consider how to weave
“We need to anticipate what people obsolete by the time the keys to the together and act on this data. They
want. It is no longer about providing home are handed to the owners,” need to consider which other types
a service, but anticipating and said Tan. of data they need to gather that is
providing the services,” said critical to the organisation.
Senkodu. Loo from NCS said: “Having IoT
standards is not a problem we can “We have no choice. If we want to
With the deluge of data collected by solve today. The good news is there be in the business, we can expect it
the sensors, one challenge is the is a lot more drive towards open to be disrupted. It is better to do
shortage of certain skillsets to analyse standards that will make it more something about it before we are
this data. seamless for upgrading technology. disrupted. Take the Apple iWatch.
We are optimistic that IoT open They were the first with the it, but
“There is a shortage of data standards will be available in 3-5 there are so many replicas of it
scientists,” said Loo from NCS. “That years’ time.” today,” said TransitLink’s Senkodu.
area has been obvious to us, as we
try to build capability to analyse An aspect of IoT that needs to be Added Loo from NCS: “There is
data for various agencies. Data addressed is security. much to learn and lots to be done.
scientists are involved in almost every We are at the nascent stage of what
single project.” “Security has always been a topmost IoT can do, but it is it heartening to
priority, as we tell ourselves to know that most of us are cautious
Another obstacle to IoT adoption is implement trusted solutions, and but optimistic.”
november/december 2015 | www.ncs.com.sg 15You can also read
