Innovation in urban infrastructure: UK mission to Singapore

24 Jan 2018 03:50 PM

Innovate UK to take 14 UK businesses to Singapore in the third of its cities missions to support bilateral collaboration.

Next week (29 January to 2 February 2018) 14 UK-based businesses will travel to Singapore on an Innovate UK mission in urban infrastructure systems.

The mission will help to identify innovation opportunities for the 2 countries to work together on urban challenges and build partnerships between participating organisations.

UK businesses will:

• meet peers, stakeholders, challenge-owners, and potential partners in the Singaporean urban living sector
• better understand the challenges and opportunities in the market
• explore possibilities for commercial and collaborative research and development
• start to build consortiums that will help them and other UK businesses to more easily access these opportunities

The organisations

Some of the UK’s most promising urban living SMEs will attend:

• CSCM, which provides project management and delivery services to partners, associates and third party suppliers engaged in country, city or urban missions. This includes hardware, connectivity, data management and data analytics
• Relational Urbanism, an office of architects, landscape architects and engineers that specialises in the design and delivery of urban projects. Its projects range from large-scale, public open spaces to master-plans and buildings
• Immense Simulations, an applied ‘software as a service’ company that offers advanced mobility solutions for urban areas. This includes a simulation platform for connected and automated vehicle systems that should optimise fleet management
• The Behaviouralist, a research-driven consultancy, which provides data analysis and product development in the areas of behavioural science, economics and data science. One product under development is to help commuters make smarter, healthier and more environmentally-friendly travel decisions
• Design for Social Change, a London-based company that specialises in real-time, collaborative systems that combine human and machine intelligence to solve urban problems and improve life in cities for everyone
• DOVU, which has pioneered a cryptocurrency you can earn by changing the way you travel, for example, by using connected cars, public transport or autonomous vehicles
• Top Screen Media, which produces digital hardware and software to facilitate communication through connected and touch screen solutions in public areas such as shopping centres, transport and retail hubs. It can adapt messaging depending on gender, age or circumstance
• Velocity RDT focuses on technology-driven solutions for people, built environments and cities. Its products can support increased sustainability, security and value, and help companies to track, manage and use existing assets and resources
• isardSAT performs studies for scientific applications with data from Earth observation instruments. It offers services based on that data that support climate change adaptation and mitigation
• Key Telematics, a company whose asset monitoring and tracking platform provides regular information on the performance and location of an asset or infrastructure service. Its customers operate in fleet and logistics, aviation, marine, earth moving, passenger transport, rail, agriculture, emergency services and oil and gas
• Nicander offers a web service and mobile application that integrates the management of incidents, events, assets, technology faults, data analysis and prediction, resources and personnel, information exchange and reporting across urban infrastructure systems
• AKB-Environmental, working in partnership with Stockbridge Technology Centre and Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research, provides research, design, training and consultancy services on growing and storing food to cities and countries
• RHE Global, whose products include an app for citizens to report noise issues, and a cloud platform that provides information and resources on environmental health, trading standards and licensing to local and central government authorities
• Virtual Power Solutions, which provides real-time data, monitoring and control of energy use to consumers, network operators and utilities

Why Singapore

As a leading smart city and a springboard into the ASEAN region, Singapore offers a huge market for UK businesses working in urban living.

Significant investment is being made in this sector. In 2016 the Singapore government announced an 18% increase in research funding, totalling £9 billion over 5 years. Urban solutions and sustainability and the digital economy are among the priority themes to receive investment.

The country is also one of the largest venture capital markets in Asia and has a strong eco-system for supporting start-ups.

Innovate UK’s missions

This is the third ‘urban bridges’ mission that Innovate UK has run to Singapore.

Across the 3 visits we will have hosted more than 40 SMEs and helped them to start doing business with the country.

We will continue to work with Singaporean government and peer organisations to explore and exploit opportunities for UK businesses.