Singapore Management University (SMU) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have extended their partnership for another three years until 2020 to focus on new initiatives in research and development. TCS will invest SGD2.02 million (USD1.5 million) over the next three years in developing intelligent infrastructure, software and applications in Singapore.
The ongoing partnership between the two organisations, launched in 2011 and renewed for the second time, will enhance and broaden multi-disciplinary academic research efforts in digital technology to create innovative, technology-enabled solutions to emerging urban challenges.
The partnership between both the entities embodied through ‘SMU-TCS iCity Lab’ will focus on deepening and broadening capabilities of an IoT-enabled preventive care and self-care ecosystem, including new citizen segments. It will also explore how citizens can participate as consumer and producer of services to create a sustainable city, aligned with its vision of citizen-centric intelligent cities.
Moreover, the partnership will also look at novel and viable business models, partnership models, care models and large scale deployments, using technologies such as AI and Machine Learning as necessary.
“At SMU-TCS iCity Lab, our endeavour is to dig deep into our research and development resources to help produce broad-based, creative and collaborative solutions to problems that Singapore faces in its ascent to be a Smart Nation,” said Professor Steven Miller, Vice-Provost of Research and Professor of Information Systems at Singapore Management University.
“Digital technology will be a key differentiator in how we deal with the problems of day-to-day living in intelligent cities of tomorrow. The extension of the SMU-TCS iCity Lab partnership gives us an opportunity to delve deeper into the emerging challenges of citizen services and health surveillance and develop collaborative, flexible and innovative solutions that align with Singapore’s agenda to be a Smart Nation”, said Girish Ramachandran, President, TCS Asia Pacific.
SMU-TCS iCity Lab has jointly done a pilot project named SHINESeniors, under a Singapore Government grant in 2014, to test run technologies for ageing-in-place in 100 elderly homes. It proved to be a highly successful experiment in innovative use of IoT technology to enable the elderly to age-in-place in Singapore.
“The SHINESeniors project by SMU-TCS iCity Lab has created significant intellectual property in the space of personalization, sensors and embedded systems. The solution for non-intrusive monitoring of elderly at home, uses algorithms and digital technologies and aligns well with the concept of citizen-centric intelligent cities,” said K Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer of TCS.
“The iCity Lab is a good example of collaboration under the TCS Co-Innovation Network programme. We look forward to the iCity Lab pursuing more Smart Nation themes and creating an impact globally,” he concluded.