The Singapore Engineer August 2018

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SINGAPORE

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER

August 2018 | MCI (P) 009/03/2018

COVER STORY: BOSCH AND SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC COLLABORATE TO ADVANCE SINGAPORE’S MANUFACTURING ECO-SYSTEM

PLUS

DIGITALISATION: Ar ficial intelligence and the machine learning revolu on METALWORKING: Digi sa on in the the sheet metal working industry AEROSPACE ENGINEERING: Spaceborne Computer con nues to perform well

www.ies.org.sg

CONTENTS FEATURES COVER STORY 16 Bosch and Singapore Polytechnic collaborate to advance Singapore’s manufacturing eco-system Efforts will be directed towards the development of cu ng-edge facili es rela ng to advanced manufacturing and smart ci es.

DIGITALISATION

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18 Ar ficial intelligence and the machine learning revolu on The goal is far away but progress is being made.

20 Op mising performance with ar ficial intelligence The technology is helping to overcome some of engineering’s greatest challenges, including cost and energy inefficiencies, and safety concerns.

22 Azbil Corpora on opens a showroom in Singapore The facility will showcase the company’s technological innova ons that leverage on IoT, AI and Big Data.

24 Keysight presents solu ons to accelerate innova on The subjects addressed include 5G new radio workflow, end-to-end mission-cri cal IoT, autonomous vehicles and connected cars.

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28 PTC and Rockwell Automa on announce strategic partnership The aim is to drive industrial innova on and accelerate growth.

30 Pre-engineered data centre from Ver v installed at Innovix Solu on Center Benefits include fast deployment, ease of management and incorpora on of risk protec on.

President Prof Yeoh Lean Weng Chief Editor T Bhaskaran t_b_n8@yahoo.com Publica ons Manager Desmond Teo desmond@iesnet.org.sg

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Assistant Publica ons Manager Fenda Ngo fenda.ngo@iesnet.org.sg Publica ons Execu ve Queek Jiayu jiayu@iesnet.org.sg

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Editorial Panel Er. Chong Kee Sen Dr Chandra Segaran Dr Ang Keng Been Mr Gary Ong Dr Victor Sim Mr Syafiq Shahul Media Representa ve Mul Nine Corpora on Pte Ltd sales@mul 9.com.sg

Design & layout by 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd Cover designed by Irin Kuah Cover images by Singapore Polytechnic Published by The Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore 70 Bukit Tinggi Road, Singapore 289758 Tel: 6469 5000 I Fax: 6467 1108 Printed in Singapore

www.ies.org.sg

DIGITALISATION 31 FARO 8-Axis FaroArm oers mul ple advantages Real- me part rota on accelerates inspec on and design workflows.

METALWORKING 32 Digi sa on in the sheet metal working industry It will lead to a produc vity boost.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

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36 Philips and Singapore Ins tute of Advanced Medicine Holdings open regional oncology centre The facility is equipped with advanced imaging solu ons.

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING 38 Spaceborne Computer con nues to perform well A self-contained HPE supercomputer housed in a lockerlike casing was installed on the Interna onal Space Sta on (ISS).

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40 Boeing to establish new Aerospace & Autonomy Center New research and development facility brings together engineering teams to accelerate development of future mobility solu ons.

REGULAR SECTIONS 04 INDUSTRY NEWS 14 EVENTS 41 IES UPDATE

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The Singapore Engineer is published monthly by The Ins tu on of Engineers, Singapore (IES). The publica on is distributed free-of-charge to IES members and aďŹƒliates. Views expressed in this publica on do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or IES. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine shall be reproduced, mechanically or electronically, without the prior consent of IES. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy of the content at press me, IES will not be liable for any discrepancies. Unsolicited contribu ons are welcome but their inclusion in the magazine is at the discre on of the Editor.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

YOUNG SINGAPORE ENGINEER NAMED WINNER OF

GLOBAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT COMPETITION Dr Victor Sim, IES Council Member 2018/2020 and an IES Chartered Engineer, has won the World Federa on of Engineering Organiza ons (WFEO) 2018 Young Engineers Compe on, for his project on ‘Clean Water Access for Don Bosco School Hlaing Thar Yar, Myanmar’. The win marks a milestone for IES, a member of WFEO, in its efforts to support engineers in their endeavours to create a sustainable world.

Held in conjunc on with WFEO’s 50th anniversary, the compe on recognises young engineers below 35 years of age, for leading projects that advance the United Naons Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A er rigorous judging of more than 140 interna onal submissions, Dr Sim emerged as the winner, with his outstanding contribu ons to the SDGs of Clean Water and Sanita on, Good Health and Well-Being, Quality Educa on, and Partnerships for the Goals.

Currently the Principal Engineer of Sustainable Urban Solu ons at Surbana Jurong, Dr Sim was previously with NEWRIComm, the philanthropic arm of Nanyang Environment & Water Research Ins tute (NEWRI). At NEWRIComm, he steered a team that was designing an innova ve reverse osmosis water treatment system that will provide clean and safe water to an underprivileged community in HIaing Thar Yar, a large industrial town in Yangon, Myanmar.

Dr Sim has taken his breakthrough work in membrane technology that has earned him pres gious interna onal water and sustainability awards, to real-life applica on in this project. By taking a holis c approach, he has made a seemingly high-cost technology affordable and accessible to a needy community in Myanmar.

The inter-disciplinary team of process, civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumenta on engineers innova vely integrated a smart Internet of Things (IoT) concept using sensors and solar power into the system, to op mise maintenance, enable con nuous monitoring and reduce opera ng expenses. The team also developed a business model to make the system affordable, through the subsidised sale of water to the community around the school.

“UN SDGs are never meant to have a single size-fit-all solu on. Represen ng solu ons to mul -disciplinary problems covering basic, yet intricately intertwined aspects of society, environment and economics, they are meant to be tackled on a united front, to end all forms of poverty.

My best take-away from this award is that the success of the project hinges heavily on my team members and their varied skillsets, the support from our Lien Environmental Fellowship partner and Lien Founda on, the buy-in from the community, vendors, suppliers, and the wisdom of our advisory panel in accep ng this project. It is an award I a ribute to everyone involved”, said Dr Sim. 04

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“IES extends our warmest congratula ons to Dr Victor Sim and his team from NEWRIComm for winning this pres gious award.

We hope that his achievement will inspire our younger genera on to create be er lives for impoverished communi es around the world through innova on and engineering”, said Er. Edwin Khew, Immediate Past President and Ac ng President, IES.

Dr Victor Sim. Image by IES.

Dr Sim represents the Young Engineers Division at IES. He also became an IES Chartered Engineer in the Environmental and Water Engineering sector in January 2018 - an accredita on providing pivotal professional recognion to advance Dr Sim’s work.

When fully deployed in the Don Bosco School, the system is expected to improve the health of more than 200 young students and about 1,500 residents in the neighbourhood. NEWRIComm hopes to extend the system to other townships with similar problems. Dr Sim and his team conducted preliminary studies in December 2017, obtained approval for the use of project funds in February 2018 and completed the reverse osmosis design in March 2018. They are currently tes ng and commissioning the project.

As a NEWRI community project, the project emphasises educa on and knowledge-sharing with community partners, for las ng and scalable solu ons, and precludes passing of problems on to communi es downstream and long-term environmental damage.

As the winner, Dr Sim will see his project featured in WFEO’s 50th Anniversary booklet, alongside projects by other remarkable young engineers. He will also represent IES at the Global Engineering Congress 2018 (GEC2018) in London, from 22 to 26 October, as his is the only project chosen by WFEO for oral presenta on at the event. GEC2018 marks WFEO’s 50th anniversary and the Ins tu on of Civil Engineers’ (ICE) 200th anniversary.

“The inaugural WFEO Young Engineers Compe on showcases the leadership of young engineers in advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I am delighted that Dr Victor Sim Siang Tze of NEWRIComm, Singapore, is the winner of this compe on and will be presen ng his project of providing clean water to the children at the Don Bosco School in Hlaing Thar Yar

INDUSTRY NEWS

village, Myanmar. This project embodies the values of engineering to improve the lives of people everywhere for a be er sustainable world”, said Dr Marlene Kanga, WFEO President.

Dr Sim’s project is a philanthropic project supported through the Lien Environmental Fellowship (LEF) programme that is funded by Lien Founda on, and administered by NEWRI. “Beyond genera ng intellectual property or training talents for the economy, a university has a larger role in advancing society’s greater good and contribu ng to global development. Engineers like Dr Victor Sim can be powerful agents of social change, by combining their professional skills with mul -disciplinary knowledge and a well-grounded approach that serves the best interests of the community. Engineering change in society is much tougher than the hard science of engineering”, said Mr Lee Poh Wah, Lien Founda on’s CEO who expressed his support for the LEF at NEWRI. A trained sustainability report specialist, Dr Sim has also

been recognised for his contributions to the field of water and environmental sustainability, through the Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award, the Singapore-Netherlands Sustainability Award, the Green Talent Award, the International Desalination Association Young Leader Award, and other awards.

With this project, Dr Sim has taken his breakthrough work in membrane technology to reallife applica on, aided by an inter-disciplinary team of process, civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumenta on engineers. Image by NEWRI Community Development.

Students in a classroom at the Don Bosco School Hlaing Thar Yar, Myanmar. When fully deployed, the clean water system will serve the needs of more than 200 young students and staff. Clean water will also be supplied to about 1,500 residents in the neighbourhood. Image by NEWRI Community Development.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

M1 AND HUAWEI EMBARK ON FIRST END TO END 5G LIVE TESTS IN SINGAPORE M1 and Huawei announced in June a partnership to showcase innova ve 5G use cases in Singapore, star ng with the live demonstra on of 360-view virtual reality (VR) content broadcast.

The demonstra on, using 5G equipment setup at M1’s MiWorld building in Jurong, will u lise Huawei’s 5G equipment opera ng at the 28GHz millimetre wave frequency band.

Earlier trials in prepara on for the 5G rollout here have also been conducted by Singtel and Starhub.

In a joint statement, both companies noted that there has been a trend of developing crea ve content and new applica ons using immersive technologies such as VR, augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).

These are extremely bandwidth-intensive and delay-sensi ve, making them costly and technically challenging to stream or broadcast to a large number of users over exis ng cellular networks.

One poten al 5G use case is the live streaming and broadcas ng of VR/AR/MR content in the classroom. In this case, teachers could share with their students inter-

ac ve videos over the 5G network. This will capture their curiosity and imagina on, aid informa on assimila on and reten on, as well as make learning more interes ng.

“This live demo is a small but significant step in our journey towards next genera on 5G mobile networks,” said Mr Denis Seek, Chief Technical Officer of M1.

“With the advancement in 5G and media technologies, the immersive communica on experience will con nue to be enhanced and this will definitely have a profound impact on the way we work, learn, live and play in the future Smart City,” he added.

Both M1 and Huawei have planned a number of key inia ves over the next 18 months to validate the latest 5G specifica ons as soon as the Standards are finalised and commercial equipment is available for live deployment.

Besides this 5G live test, both companies plan to kick off the first 3.5GHz with Non-Standalone (NSA) standards compliance field trial in Southeast Asia by end-2018, as well as the first 28GHz and 3.5GHz with Standalone (SA) standards compliance field trial in South East Asia by mid-2019.

GROUND FREEZING TECHNOLOGY

DEBUTS IN MRT CONSTRUCTION WORKS As part of works to construct railway tunnels at the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) Marina Bay Sta on, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has successfully carried out a ground-freezing process to create ice-walls to stabilise the ground.

This is the first me such a technology is being used by LTA to improve ground condi ons before railway tunnel excava on works begin.

The forma on of ice walls helps to prevent water seepage during mining works, as the soil comprises mainly of permeable old alluvium. The ground-freezing also helps ensure that works have no impact to the safe opera ons of the Circle Line and North-South Line tunnels located above the TEL tunnels.

This was accomplished through the installa on of a series of freeze pipes into the ground. Chilled brine at a temperature of -30 degrees Celsius was circulated within the freeze pipes to allow the surrounding soil to

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freeze and form individual ice columns, which eventually merge with one another to form a con nuous, impermeable ice wall.

The process began in March this year, with two ice walls measuring 1.8 metres in diameter forming about 40 metres below ground level some me in May. These will be in place un l the construc on of the TEL’s Woodlands-bound tunnel is completed. The freeze pipes will then be deac vated, allowing the ground to thaw and enabling the commencement of construc on works for the upper Changi-bound TEL tunnels above it.

According to the LTA, construc on of the TEL is “progressing well” and it will start to operate in stages from 2019. When fully opera onal in 2024, the TEL will be Singapore’s sixth MRT line, and is expected to serve approximately 500,000 commuters daily in the ini al years, with the figure rising to about one million commuters in the longer term.

INDUSTRY NEWS

SIEMENS STRENGTHENS ITS DIGITAL ENTERPRISE CAPABILITIES WITH ACQUISITION OF MENDIX Siemens recently signed an agreement to acquire Mendix, a pioneer and leader in cloud na ve low-code applica on development.

them. Low code applica on development pla orms provide features for rapid development, deployment and execu on of applica ons in the cloud.

Under the agreement, Siemens will pay in cash EUR 0.6 billion to acquire the company. Mendix will retain its dis nct brand, culture and con nue serving customers across the full range of industries with its unique pla orm and broad ecosystem and community. Siemens will con nue to invest in Mendix’s independent product roadmap, con nuing its legacy as an innova ve, open low-code cloud pla orm. Mendix will be part of the so ware business of Siemens’ Digital Factory (DF) Division, with the Mendix pla orm also deployed across other divisions.

“We acquired Mendix to extend our leading posi on in digitalising the industrial world, which is a cornerstone of our Vision 2020+”, said Klaus Helmrich, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens AG.

As enterprises invest to digitalise their opera ons, demand for business applica ons is growing significantly faster than the capacity of IT organisa ons to deliver

“Mendix is a leader in the rapidly expanding low-code segment and their pla orm will help our customers to adopt MindSphere even faster by accelera ng cloudbased applica on development for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)”, he added.

Mendix was founded in 2005 in Ro erdam, Netherlands and is headquartered in Boston, Massachuse s USA.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

HDB’S LATEST SOLARNOVA TENDER

BRINGS SOLAR ENERGY TO OVER 2,400 HDB BLOCKS The Housing & Development Board (HDB) has awarded its third solar leasing tender to Sembcorp Solar Singapore and Kurihara Kogyo under the SolarNova programme.

Under this tender, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, totalling 50 megawa -peak (MWp) in capacity, will be installed at 848 HDB blocks and 27 government sites by the second quarter of 2020. This brings the total number of HDB blocks iden fied for solar PV installa on to over 2,400 blocks.

According to Dr Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of HDB, the agency has reached a 10-year milestone in spearheading solar ini a ves and accelera ng the adop on of solar power. Close to a quarter of its 10,000 residen al blocks have been installed or are being fi ed with solar panels.

Including those iden fied for solar installa on, this number will rise to more than half in two years’ me.

The SolarNova programme, led by HDB and the Economic Development Board (EDB), aggregates demand for solar energy across public sector agencies to enable those with smaller solar PV demand to enjoy solar energy at a lower cost due to economies of scale.

This has accelerated solar adop on across Singapore, and con nues to contribute significantly to the na onal solar energy target of 350 MWp by 2020, with more than 60 per cent slated to come from HDB’s ini a ves and programmes.

By 2020, more than half of the exis ng 10,000 HDB blocks will be fi ed with or iden fied for solar installa on (Photo: HDB).

The first SolarNova tender, comprising about 800 HDB blocks, was awarded in December 2015 to Sunseap for a solar capacity of 76 MWp. Under the second tender awarded to Million Ligh ng Co Pte Ltd in June 2017, solar panels with a total capacity of 40 MWp were slated for installa on at 636 HDB blocks and 31 government sites.

The solar energy harnessed could be used to power common services, such as li s, pumps, and ligh ng in common areas during the day, poten ally reducing carbon emissions by 132,500 tonnes each year, HDB said.

The fourth SolarNova tender is expected to be called in the last quarter of 2019.

SINGAPORE’S THIRD DESALINATION PLANT AT TUAS OPENS The Tuas Desalina on Plant (TDP), Singapore’s third, officially opened on 28 June 2018. Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, joined by some 100 guests, officiated its opening.

The first to be owned and operated by PUB (the other two are run by the private sector), the SGD 217 million plant can produce up to 30 million gallons a day (mgd) (or 136,000 m3) of drinking water, equivalent to the water demand of about 200,000 households.

This will boost Singapore’s desalina on capacity to 130 mgd, mee ng up to 30 per cent of the country’s current water demand. By 2060, desalina on is expected to meet up to 30 per cent of Singapore’s water needs then.

TDP is also the first desalina on plant in Singapore to adopt a robust pre-treatment process that combines Dissolved Air Floata on (introducing chemicals and fine air bubbles into seawater to aid in the removal of impuri es) and ultrafiltra on. This reduces membrane fouling when trea ng seawater of varying water quality, thereby enhancing opera onal efficiency.

In addi on, a 1.2MWp solar PV system will be installed on

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more than half of TDP’s roof surface by the end of this year.

Covering over 7,000 m2, the solar PV system will be able to generate some 1.4 million kWh of clean energy for the plant each year, equivalent to powering the annual energy needs of more than 300 four-room flats. This will help to reduce the plant’s carbon footprint.

For its use of solar photovoltaics and energy-efficient LED ligh ngs, TDP was conferred the BCA Green Mark Award (Gold) in 2018.

Besides TDP, Singapore has two other desalina on plants in opera on – SingSpring (30 mgd) and Tuaspring (70 mgd). A further two plants at Marina East (30 mgd) and on Jurong Island (30 mgd) are under The interior of the Tuas Desalina on Plant development.

(Photo: PUB).

INDUSTRY NEWS

DIGITALISING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Professional services firm KPMG and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have signed a three-year Master Research Collabora on Agreement (MRCA). With this MRCA, KPMG plans to work with A*STAR’s research ins tutes under the Science and Engineering Research Council to drive the digitalisa on of the firm’s capabili es, products and services.

Accordingly, KPMG and A*STAR’s Ins tute for Infocomm Research (I²R) will be launching a joint laboratory, focusing on the areas of cybersecurity, text-mining, machine transla on and human resources (HR) analy cs. With an ini al joint investment of SGD 5 million, the research facility would be KPMG’s first joint laboratory in Singapore, as well as A*STAR’s first foray into the professional services industry. This joint laboratory will leverage I²R’s strong capabili es in cybersecurity and data analy cs, as well as KPMG’s exper se in professional services.

I²R’s algorithms will allow KPMG to offer its clients ad-

vanced cybersecurity services through faster and more sophis cated incident detec on and response tools facilitated by real- me a ack detec on and analysis. This includes a unique automated, con nuous process that can significantly reduce threats and minimise impact from cyber-a acks. Text-mining technologies will provide solu ons that crunch large quan es of text, documents and data to provide valuable insights and solu ons more efficiently. Research in text-mining parameters and machine-learning algorithms will increase produc vity in the monitoring and cura on of solu ons for KPMG’s clients.

The company will also leverage I²R’s exper se in machine transla on technology that is focused on Asian languages. The joint laboratory will produce a more accurate engine for the transla on of business documents for faster and more seamless mul lingual collabora ons. In the area of HR analy cs, KPMG will tap on I²R’s strength in data analy cs and predic ve algorithms.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

ST ENGINEERING INVESTS IN ISRAELI FIRM TO

ENHANCE CYBERSECURITY CAPABILITIES ST Engineering has invested in Radiflow, a leading provider of industrial cybersecurity solu ons for cri cal infrastructure, based in Israel, and are collabora ng to address cybersecurity risks and counter focused a acks faced by cri cal informa on infrastructure (CII).

This partnership gives ST Engineering’s Electronics arm access to Radiflow’s detec on and preven on tools, which it will integrate with its rail supervisory control and data acquisi on (SCADA) system, a part of its Command, Control and Communica ons (C3) capability suite.

This has resulted in the development of the region’s first end-to-end cybersecurity solu on for the rail transport industry. With it, rail operators will be able to gain a consolidated overview and analysis of cyber events, as well as a strengthened ability to differen ate between genuine Industrial Control Systems (ICS) failure and cyber-a acks.

This will result in enhanced collabora ve effort between the SCADA and cybersecurity teams to address any incidents, leading to a quicker response.

Mr Ravinder Singh, President, Electronics, ST Engineering,

said: “With cybersecurity as one of our strategic growth areas, we have intensified our acquisi on of niche and breakthrough cyber technologies that complement and strengthen our exis ng capabili es for key customers.

“The partnership signifies our commitment in addressing a pressing challenge faced by cri cal informa on infrastructure owners and operators globally to respond promptly and confidently to the growing influx of cyber-a acks.”

Radiflow, a pioneer and provider of cybersecurity soluons for ICS and SCADA networks, has reported strong demand for its industrial cybersecurity solu ons across all cri cal infrastructure sectors and has more than doubled the sales of its threat detec on tools and services over the past year. Together with ST Engineering, it will collec vely leverage their deep exper se to strengthen the resilience of CII that supports essen al services globally.

The comprehensive cybersecurity solu on was showcased at the LTA-UITP Singapore Interna onal Transport Congress and Exhibi on (SITCE), held in early July 2018 at Marina Bay Sands.

AI ENABLED SYSTEM FOR BUILDING INSPECTION LAUNCHED H3 Dynamics Holdings, a Singapore-based firm with interests in the drone, AI and data services fields, has launched H3 Zoom.AI, a new cloud-based, ar ficial intelligence-enabled services pla orm that connects with camera drones that can perform building inspec on ac vi es.

In a press statement, the firm said that the system offers a “safer, faster, and more accurate alterna ve to dangerous … or mass-scale maintenance inspec on ac vi es”, so as to improve worker safety and produc vity.

With a focus on Smart Ci es, the first component of the platform unveiled was Facade Inspector, a visual inspec on tool that leverages machine learning and drones to transform the way high-rise building facades are inspected and maintained.

The buildings are first scanned with drones, which capture images and video footage. This can be done within minutes, avoiding the use of gondolas and improving worker safety.

The pla orm’s AI engine can sort through thousands of HD images and billions of pixels to precisely iden fy, qualify, and localise different types of defects, which are then represented through interac ve inspec on reports.

Industry professionals can then find the building eleva on maps they are familiar with, see a summary of defects found by severity and type (such as surface cracks, paint peels, or corrosion marks), all of which can be visualised as an overlay onto the eleva on maps.

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The interac ve nature of the solu on offers users the ability to “zoom” into any of the HD images that captured the iden fied problem. Each defect descrip on also comes with a severity grading which the AI engine has learned over me from expert inputs.

The technology was developed by H3 Zoom (a part of H3 Dynamics) in conjunc on with JTC Corpora on, in response to JTC’s open innova on call for sustainable building management solu ons.

Offered as a cloud-based subscrip on service, Façade Inspector is also available as an applica on program interface so that further integra on between smart city stakeholders can be supported, opening up the possibility for completely new service opportuni es for thousands of inspec on services companies, contractors, real estate developers, owners and operators.

A visual representa on of the building inspec on reports that can be generated by H3 Zoom’s proprietary AI engine a er learning from expert input (Screengrab from H3 Dynamics Holdings’ YouTube channel).

INDUSTRY NEWS

RUCKUS NETWORKS PROVIDES WI FI NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE FOR US NORTH KOREA SUMMIT IN SINGAPORE Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, deployed a high-performance Wi-Fi network at the Interna onal Media Centre in Singapore, for the historic summit mee ng in Singapore, on 12 June 2018, between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

In partnership with Singtel Group Enterprise, Ruckus Networks was selected to design and deploy the carrier-grade wired and wireless networks that provided connec vity for 2,500 interna onal and local media professionals who covered the historic event from the Interna onal Media Centre. The media centre was located at the Singapore F1 Pit Building.

Equipped with about 2,000 worksta ons with TV screens, the approximately 23,000 m2 Interna onal Media Centre

was in opera on from 10 to 13 June.

The terminals and numerous connected devices, that had to be used by the thousands of media professionals and suppor ng sta, created a complex, high-density environment, in which a stable, high-performing and interference-free Wi-Fi network was a cri cal requirement.

The network included Ruckus R710 APs, working in conjunc on with Ruckus ICX7150 switches, deployed in a stacked topology.

The network was successfully designed and deployed in just eight days, providing seamless network connec vity for the a ending media to deliver live broadcasts and recorded coverage of this historic event.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

NUS AND SMI SET UP NEW MARITIME AND PORT INDUSTRY RESEARCH CENTRE With the support of the Mari me and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), NUS and the Singapore Mari me Ins tute (SMI) have established a SGD 18 million research centre to enable Singapore’s mari me and port industries to develop innova ve capabili es and enhance their global compe veness.

The new Centre of Excellence in Modelling and Simulaon for Next Genera on Ports (C4NGP) will be part of the NUS Faculty of Engineering.

On 3 July 2018, consumer electronics firm Plantronics announced that it had completed its acquisi on of Polycom, a California-based MNC specialising in telecommunica ons technology.

It will work with companies in Singapore’s mari me and port sectors to improve their technical know-how, efficiency and produc vity, and prepare them for the next phase of global compe on.

This will accelerate and expand Plantronics’ vision and enable it to deliver the broadest por olio of end points in the Unified Communica ons and Collabora on (UCC) ecosystem.

C4NGP will also work closely with companies to ensure that the centre’s research and development efforts are aligned with industry needs.

“Plantronics now offers an unparalleled por olio of integrated, intelligent solu ons that spans headsets, so ware, desk phones, audio and video conferencing, and cloud services. This combined offering empowers people with the tools and flexibility they need to create the best experience when connec ng to what is most important to them,” stated Mr Joe Burton, the company’s President and CEO.

Over the next five years, the centre aims to focus on designing and building mari me systems, conduc ng naviga onal channel capacity studies, studying various port terminal systems, and examining land transport-related systems.

It is expected to have about 20 researchers working on projects in these areas.

Prof Freddy Boey, NUS Senior Vice President (Graduate Educa on & Research Transla on), said that the centre will work closely with the industry to promote innova on in the port and mari me sectors and “co-create cutng-edge solu ons” for advancing them.

MPA Chief Execu ve Andrew Tan noted that the establishment of C4NGP deepened Singapore’s port modelling, simula on and op misa on capabili es and would be able to benefit PSA and Jurong Port with the op misaon of exis ng and future opera ons.

“Beyond our ports, we hope C4NGP can be a good repository of modelling exper se as well as serve as a pla orm for collabora on with ins tu ons across the world to develop and establish standards for port modelling and simula on”, he added.

The C4NGP Governing Board chaired by Prof Boey will comprise members from key stakeholders such as MPA, SMI and industry partners. The centre will be jointly led

by Assoc Profs Chew Ek Peng and Lee Loo Hay from the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management at the NUS Faculty of Engineering.

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Plantronics completes acquisi on of Polycom

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With this acquisi on, Plantronics is focused on voice, video, content, and cloud solu ons for business, leisure, collabora on and sharing. As trends in enterprise communica ons move toward open work spaces and flexible work arrangements, the ecosystem of pla orms and devices con nues to expand.

Under the terms of the acquisi on agreement, Plantronics acquired Polycom at USD 2 billion, consis ng of approximately USD 1.64 billion in cash and 6.35 million Plantronics shares.

“The combina on of Plantronics and Polycom comes at a cri cal me when customers are searching for high-quality audio and video soluons that are easy to buy, easy to use, and easy to manage,” said Mr Ira M Weinstein, the founder of enterprise communica ons research and advisory firm Recon Research.

“The company’s offerings work with on-premises, cloud (service provider) and hybrid pla orms, giving customers the flexibility to choose their deployment method and cloud migra on ming.

In addi on, its global channel and technology partner ecosystem fosters both innova on and global reach,” he added.

INDUSTRY NEWS

CRESTRON WINS 2018 MICROSOFT GLOBAL IOT PARTNER OF THE YEAR AWARD Crestron, a global leader in control and automa on technology for the modern workplace, received the 2018 Microso Global Partner of the Year Award for Internet of Things (IoT) in a ceremony at the Microso Inspire event, in Las Vegas, USA. Microso recognised Crestron for providing solu ons in IoT, in the form of Crestron XiO Cloud, an IoT-based provisioning and management solu on built on the Microso Azure pla orm. Crestron XiO Cloud is improving the provisioning and management of Crestron’s popular open UC, room scheduling, AV, and content sharing solu ons for companies, resul ng in up to 90% reducons in installa on me, improvements in device up me, and op misa on of people, space, and technology.

As businesses across every industry con nue along their digital transforma on journey, Crestron IoT-enabled

automa on and control solu ons enable facility management and IT sta to control en re environments, with the push of a bu on or the click of a mouse, in order to integrate audio, video, digital signage, scheduling, ligh ng, building management systems (BMS), HVAC and security systems. The strength of Crestron IoT-enabled devices and systems is their integra on in the Crestron XiO Cloud, providing all-in-one monitoring, management and control, from a single pla orm.

The annual Microso Partner of the Year awards celebrate top Microso partners who demonstrate excellence in innova on and implementa on of customer solu ons based on Microso technology. Microso received more than 2,600 nomina ons from 115 countries, for the 2018 programme.

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EVENTS

EUROBLECH 2018 TO PRESENT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN SHEET METAL WORKING EuroBLECH 2018, the 25th International Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibition, takes place from 23 to 26 October 2018 at the Hanover Exhibition Grounds in Germany. By May 2018, six months ahead of the show, around 1,400 exhibitors from 38 countries had already secured their stand space at, what is said to be, the leading trade exhibition for this industry, according to Mack Brooks Exhibitions Ltd, UK, the organisers of the event.

Currently, the major exhibi ng countries are Germany, Italy, Turkey, China, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Austria and USA. At present, the exhibi ng companies have already booked an area that corresponds to almost the en re exhibi on space at the previous event.

EuroBLECH 2016 was held over a net exhibi on space of 87,800 m2.

Every two years, EuroBLECH a racts design engineers, produc on managers, quality managers, buyers, manufacturers, technical directors and experts from associa ons and the R&D sector. They a end the event in order to discover the latest trends and machinery in sheet metal working.

Visitors to this year’s show can expect the complete spectrum of intelligent solu ons and innova ve machinery for modern sheet metal working. These will be presented via numerous live demonstra ons at the exhibi on stands.

At the moment, digital transforma on is playing a major role in the industry, as it can lead to increased eďŹƒciency, higher levels of automa on and predic ve maintenance.

The previous edi on of the event, EuroBLECH 2016, a racted a total of 60,636 visitors from 102 countries. A total of 1,505 exhibitors from 41 countries showcased their products and services over a net exhibi on space of 87,800 m2.

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These developments are reflected in this year’s motto for EuroBLECH, ‘Step into the digital reality’, with Industry 4.0 and the Smart Factory having become major topics in sheet metal working. This has now also become an important area for small and medium-sized companies planning to invest in these technologies in the near future, in order to gain a compe ve advantage in their respec ve markets.

“Digital transforma on is at the moment an important topic in the industry. This requires close collabora on along the en re value chain, from produc on control to maintenance”, said Ms Evelyn Warwick, Exhibi on Director of EuroBLECH, on behalf of Mack Brooks Exhibi ons Ltd. “The biggest challenge for companies in the sheet metal working industry is to create an intelligent manufacturing environment which is based on the secure exchange of data and the networking of machines and processes. EuroBLECH 2018 offers its visitors the possibility to find solu ons for these challenges and to connect with business partners to help them with the integra on of these processes, machines and systems into their produc on”, she added.

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15

COVER STORY

BOSCH AND SINGAPORE POLYTECHNIC COLLABORATE

TO ADVANCE SINGAPORE’S MANUFACTURING ECO SYSTEM Efforts will be directed towards the development of cu ng-edge facili es rela ng to advanced manufacturing and smart ci es.

Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Polytechnic (SP), that will enable the group to be a part of the ter ary educa on ins tu on’s Advanced Manufacturing Partners Network.

The MoU was signed at the Singapore Polytechnic campus, by Mr Mar n Hayes, President, Bosch Southeast Asia and Mr Soh Wai Wah, Principal and CEO, Singapore Polytechnic. Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Educa on witnessed the formalisa on of the collabora on.

The signing ceremony was held in conjunc on with Bosch Ville 2018, the second edi on of Bosch’s flagship IoT conference.

Bosch will partner SP to develop the first SP-Bosch Smart Connected Solu ons Lab and the SP-Bosch Rexroth i4.0 Innova on Lab within the polytechnic’s campus. The SGD 800,000 labs, with a combined area of almost 260 m2, will be equipped with high-tech Bosch equipment and technologies.

One such equipment is the scaled-down version of an actual Smart Factory System, that reflects the future of produc on and distribu on in manufacturing companies.

Students will learn to programme and integrate smart sensors with augmented reality into the Smart Factory System. They will also analyse and tap on big data to further op mise the manufacturing processes, such as produc on and storage, that are being used in the industry today. This marks a new prac cal approach to training students in advanced manufacturing.

Another innova on in the SP-Bosch labs is the Phantom Energy Monitoring System which measures and tracks the energy consump on of electrical devices using Bosch’s proprietary sensors and data analy cs pla orm.

The system can help manufacturers reduce cost and improve produc vity by allowing them to monitor and op mise energy consump on pa erns. Around 800 students from the Diploma in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Diploma in Computer Engineering courses will benefit from the two new labs, annually.

As part of the collabora on, Bosch and SP will also launch ini a ves rela ng to advanced manufacturing and smart ci es, including industry projects. On the adult learning front, both organisa ons will also jointly develop short courses or advanced diploma programmes, for industry professionals to enhance their understanding of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes, 16

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The MoU was signed by, seated from right, Mr Mar n Hayes, President, Bosch Southeast Asia and Mr Soh Wai Wah, Principal and CEO, Singapore Polytechnic. The signing was witnessed by, standing second from right, Mr Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Educa on.

using the new facili es in the two labs. Currently, about 400 industry professionals have been trained in Digital Technologies for Smart City and Digital Transforma on.

By March 2019, an es mated 1,000 industry professionals will be trained in advanced manufacturing.

“Singapore Polytechnic is a leading ter ary ins tu on that champions technology and building a future-forward genera on”, said Mr Mar n Hayes, President, Bosch Southeast Asia.

“Being a part of the Partners Network is thus truly momentous for us. As we lend our exper se to budding talent, we hope that it will enable them to shape the future with new innova ons that are truly ‘Invented for Life’ and in turn, accelerate Singapore’s digital journey towards a Smart Na on”, he added.

“In a new environment of constant technological disrupon, our graduates will need to learn how to learn, while acquiring deep skills, so as to become life-long learners, to stay ahead of the curve”, said Mr Soh Wai Wah, Principal and CEO, Singapore Polytechnic.

“We are happy to work hand-in-hand with a technological leader like Bosch, so that we can con nue to develop students who are able to contribute effec vely and add value to the advanced manufacturing sector, and at the same me shape Singapore’s economy”, he added.

The MoU will see the development of these ini a ves between Bosch and SP, over the next five years, and the explora on of more avenues for collabora on. This includes the Enhanced Internship Programme at Bosch for SP’s students, to help them gain industry-related skillsets and experience.

COVER STORY

Smart Workshops

A display of applica ons developed by students of Singapore Polytechnic’s Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering course, at the SP-Bosch Smart Connected Solu ons Lab. Image by Singapore Polytechnic.

Smart Mobility

A look inside the SP-Bosch Rexroth i4.0 Innova on Lab which features industrial equipment including a collabora ve robot. Image by Singapore Polytechnic.

Connected Living

BOSCH VILLE 2018 Bosch Ville 2018 showcased the group’s latest smart solu ons, through interac ve exhibi ons, workshops, keynotes and panel discussions with industry experts.

This year, the event was held in collabora on with SP, to highlight the close partnership needed between industry and the educa on sector.

Bosch Ville 2018 comprised the following four main exhibi on areas: • Smart Workshops - a showcase of Bosch’s smart automo ve workshops that run with Connected Repair and Augmented Reality, that complement the exper se of the technician, resul ng in faster diagnos cs, shorter repair me and improved quality.

• Smart Mobility - an interac ve walk-through that showed how travelling can be made be er, beginning from inside the vehicle, with an integrated vehicle system and first-to-last connec vity solu ons for op mal mobility experience.

• Connected Living - an explora on of how homes and buildings can be made smarter through connected soluons that enhance comfort, energy efficiency and security.

• Digital Transforma ons - a look into Bosch’s IoT Suite which showcased how the automa on of processes, based on real- me needs, as well as the collec on and analysis of data, can enable businesses to make be er products.

Bosch Ville 2018 was co-hosted with ‘Bosch IoT Hotpot’, an annual roadshow by Bosch So ware Innova ons, featuring Bosch’s IoT pla orm, and which explored

Digital Transforma ons Bosch Ville 2018 showcased the group’s latest smart solu ons.

methods for successful IoT implementa ons. Taking on a gastronomic theme, the roadshow covered everything from preparatory ‘ingredients’ to the ‘recipes’ for Smart Agriculture, Connected Buildings and Big Data.

Bosch also organised the Bosch Ville Hackathon 2018, to create possible solu ons to address challenges facing smart city transforma on. Sixteen teams comprising students from local educa on ins tu ons par cipated in the hackathon. A mul -disciplinary team of five SP students, from the Diploma in Computer Engineering, Diploma in Electrical & Electronic Engineering and Diploma in Visual Communica on & Media Design courses, took home the top prize. Their concept of an urban agricultural toolkit that includes sensors, machine learning and cloud compu ng, to help farmers grow their crops more produc vely, impressed the panel of judges.

All images by Bosch Singapore, unless otherwise stated THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER August 2018

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DIGITALISATION

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND

THE MACHINE LEARNING REVOLUTION

by Dr Dong Zi Bo, Senior Data Scien st, Envision The goal is far away but progress is being made.

Before we talk about ar ficial intelligence (AI) in the scheme of the Internet of Things (IoT), we must understand the ecosystem. First, there is the hardware, the edge layer. Second, the connec vity and on top of that, the cloud layer. The data is then put to test on a digital model where machine learning develops the AI. Then, the apps come into play.

Envision’s Energy OS (EnOS) IoT pla orm has many so ware players and business services. It needs to work with the hardware device manufacturers and cloud players like Microso , and startup companies who are developing so ware in different spaces and different domains, as well as work with service providers like Accenture or NCS, who can implement the project.

It must also collaborate with research ins tu ons, universi es, and also NGOs who are passionate in developing sustainability ini a ves. The solu on is then defined and eventually, the value is delivered to the endcustomer. This is the whole framework for the machine learning revolu on.

We talk about machine learning, human intelligence, ar ficial intelligence, but what is intelligence specifically?

I believe intelligence consists of three parts. The first is percep on. Let us take human intelligence as an example.

As humans, we know what our world is all about, what the people near us are like. We have a common sense of the world. When we want to interact with the world, we usually ask ques ons such as “Are we going to do this?”, “Are we going to do that?” and “What are the consequences?” Then we make some predic ons.

When we have made up our minds, we interact.

In the field of energy, we want to apply ar ficial intelligence to predict and solve poten al issues before they become a problem. We also need percep on.

In this context, we need to have percep on of many fields like renewables, electricity grids, energy storage, powerplants, manufacturing plants, buildings and mobility. Envision gathers a lot of such domain knowledge and, at the same me, would like each business or specific area to share its domain knowledge to help build this ecosystem.

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Dr Dong Zi Bo speaks on ar ficial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

recogni on. What ar ficial intelligence can provide us, which it does be er than human beings, is predic ng.

Thanks to machine learning, development has sped up this year and much knowledge is used in many applica ons.

In machine learning, there are three main parts, including supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and unsupervised learning, but the majority of our applica ons fall within supervised learning. Human beings need to use their domain knowledge to actually ‘massage’ the data and send it back to the machine to further glean and learn. We need to specify the exact target we want the machine to understand. Only through this process now, can ar ficial intelligence, through machine learning, help us solve specific problems.

With Envision’s EnOS, there is a set of machine learning applica ons like wind and solar poten al analysis, as well as wind and solar power forecas ng. There is also site loca on analysis, power load forecas ng, predic ve maintenance and energy trading. When all the informa on obtained from machine learning is applied in these fields, businesses, governments, end-users and developers can obtain greater insight which will help them in their forecas ng and to take ac on.

On gaining the background or domain knowledge, Envision can then figure out what businesses need, business pain points that need to be addressed or what kind of value Envision wants to add for its customers and end-users.

EnOS uses geosta onary satellite images to predict solar irradiance, by observing, from here, a clear pa ern of cloud movement which is the main factor that is going to influence the solar irradiance we receive on the ground and the amount of solar energy that can be produced.

Machine learning has surpassed human intelligence, especially in some applica ons rela ng to image

The system combines the satellite data and the data on the ground, and feeds them into the deep learning

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DIGITALISATION

structures using deep learning algorithms. The first one is called ‘Resnet’. For the past 10 years, it has been developing very fast. Before Resnet, the deep neural network usually goes up to about 20 layers at the most.

Before, if you want to add in more layers, the predic on accuracy decreases, but with Resnet, it enables the system to go deeper into more than 100 layers of the deep neural network, to make even more accurate predic ons. As a result, we can understand Resnet reports and make the deep learning even deeper.

The second deep learning structure that Envision uses is called ‘Incep on’. Resnet makes deep learning even deeper, while Incep on will make deep learning even wider. It is like passing informa on through the different layers and passing more informa on across each layer without reaching a computa onal bo leneck. By combining these two algorithms which provide world class solar irradiance forecas ng, we offer accurate forecas ng to the electricity grid for it to take ac on, and plan how to bring the solar energy into the electricity grid without jeopardising the stability of the grid.

Another user of EnOS is Greenwich whose system helps to evaluate the poten al wind energy at a certain loca on and which also helps in planning where to place wind turbines to maximise investment returns.

Taking remote sensing satellite measurements as a start, visuals show that the most blurred image is the one obtained from the satellite. That is not enough to make any predic on on the weather and for scien sts to make accurate predic ons on the wind

poten al. So, this is combined with data gathered from ground measurements and fed into the EnOS’ super resolu on, deep learning scheme, and super resolu on convolu onal neural network, before accurate evalua ons can be made on the largest wind poten al and the most convenient place to place wind turbines to maximise investor returns.

Elon Musk said, “AI is going to destroy the world”.

So, what steps should be taken by people to ensure a benevolent future, even with the use of AI? Rest assured that currently we are so far away from true ar ficial intelligence. True ar ficial intelligence requires us and the machines to have very strong unsupervised learning capabili es. How did we start to understand the world? How did we learn that the world is three-dimensional? How did we understand object permanence? How did we know about gravity? Machines need to have such strong capabili es like us, including capabili es for unsupervised learning.

Unsupervised learning is a very big challenge. It may take 5, 10 or even 20 years before we can figure out how it really works, how the brain really works, so that we can develop the algorithms to do that, to imitate how humans think. Man is a long way from developing machines that can learn through true ar ficial intelligence.

Intelligence is percep on plus predic on and ac on.

Knowledge needs to be pooled so that advanced machine learning capabili es can be further improved.

Together, we can all make the world a be er place.

Envision’s EnOS uses deep learning to provide forecas ng services for solar and wind power genera on.

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DIGITALISATION

OPTIMISING PERFORMANCE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

by Mr Nalin Amunugama, General Manager, BOGE Kompressoren Asia Pacific The technology is helping to overcome some of engineering’s greatest challenges, including cost and energy inefficiencies, and safety concerns.

The rapid evolu on of technology presents new opportuni es for improved precision, transparency and efficiency, whether in op mising workflows or crea ng smarter urban spaces. At the forefront is ar ficial intelligence (AI) which is achieving real breakthroughs in sectors as varied as manufacturing, energy, healthcare and finance. More than just enhancing real- me capabili es (eg enabling be er decision-making and shorter turnarounds), AI is set to bring adopters longer-term benefits. According to the Huawei Global Connec vity Index 2018, the technology has the poten al to double the value of the global digital economy to USD 23 trillion, by 2025.

With AI’s broader implementa on, quality engineering becomes more important than ever, in ensuring the efficacy of the technology’s applica on in key processes.

While con nued advances will test engineers’ crea vity in adap ng and adop ng AI, they simultaneously set the stage for be er interoperability, data management and genera ve design. In AI-powered produc on lines, for example, the automa on of low-value jobs allows resources to be directed to more complex tasks.

Early movers and followers of AI innova on are projected to enjoy a huge compe ve edge. With access to smart connec vity and quicker data processing, users will be able to integrate workflows, strengthen manufacturing and design capabili es, and increase produc vity.

Fleets of the future One of the most an cipated advances in AI is machine learning which is already becoming a major player in today’s industries. The technology helps smart machines grow even smarter and more accurate with datadriven input, in turn, improving predic ve repair and maintenance, and saving significant work hours.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the development of autonomous driving technology, with so ware engineers relying on machine learning to process huge amounts of data from mul ple sensors, radars and cameras, to operate vehicles.

At Volvo, applica on of deep-learning techniques is helping to enhance quality control and safety. The company’s self-driving system, Intellisafe Autopilot, will enable cars to drive autonomously in well-mapped areas without human supervision, by the targeted date 20

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Mr Nalin Amunugama

Machine learning is helping to make autonomous driving smarter, safer and more efficient. Image by Wikimedia Commons.

of 2020. Building on an earlier pilot called DriveMe, this updated system uses collected data to teach itself to be er iden fy different objects and discern situa ons to ul mately improve self-driving capability.

The Swedish automaker is no stranger to data-driven technology that aims to make its cars more convenient, autonomous and efficient. In 2016, a partnership with chipmaker NVIDIA allowed Volvo to u lise the la er’s deep-learning computers to run its DriveMe pilot.

Meanwhile, through Volvo’s Early Warning System, over a million events are analysed in a week to determine their relevance to failure rate. This data is then used to an cipate vehicle breakdowns and schedule servicing works.

Given that machine learning pilots and implementa ons are expected to double in 2018, compared to 2017, and double once more by 2020, the coming years will a ract new AI investments that extend beyond self-driving technology.

Intelligent connec vity Similarly, BOGE Kompressoren, a leading specialist in compressed air solu ons, is leveraging capabili es like predic ve maintenance. Along with Aven cs, BOGE developed a joint project that employs the intelligent networking of compressed air generators and users to efficiently manage compressed air supplies.

While compressed air is an essen al resource considered the manufacturing industry’s fourth u lity a er water, electricity and natural gas - its produc on can be expensive and energy-intensive. Tech innova ons

DIGITALISATION

The Smart Pneuma c Grid updates users on air consump on, so that they can op mise compressor performance.

centred on connec ng data, processes, devices and people have thus been par cularly useful in helping operators minimise redundancies and cost overruns.

The Smart Pneuma c Grid addresses these concerns by using machine-to-machine communica ons protocol OPC UA to facilitate monitoring and controlling, and ul mately op mise en re system topologies. Recognised by manufacturers across the board, OPC UA is currently the top standard for horizontal and ver cal networking in the automa on sector.

The grid actualises needs-based control rules for the BOGE compressors, upon determining specific energy requirements of individual consumers. Increases in air consump on caused by leaks are also quickly detected, allowing users to plan maintenance checks before a machine stands ll occurs. The smart system, highly adaptable to fluctua ng condi ons, effec vely unlocks poten al for con nuous observa on and monitoring of air consump on, allowing operators to correct out-of-tolerance lead mes and enhance compressor performance at high levels of accuracy.

With intelligent networking and extrac on of real- me insights becoming principal features of future smart factories, engineers and operators can look forward to a whole host of benefits, including lowering energy consump on, minimising disrup ons and improving overall business value.

Powering smart ci es On a much larger scale, AI applica ons are transforming ci es, making them more connected and efficient than before. The availability of tools like cloud-compu ng pla orms, machine learning algorithms and comprehensive data sets are strengthening exis ng centralised systems and helping to create more such systems.

In the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the Alibaba-ini ated City Brain project is helping to run opera ons with the use of AI. A cloud so ware collates and processes informa on on urban spaces and the people in them, before feeding it back into systems around the city. The project first focused on improving traffic condi ons harnessing data from the transporta on bureau, public transport systems, a mapping app and thousands of cameras. The ini a ve helped to increase average traffic speed by 15%, within the first year of its implementa on.

Traffic accidents are also more quickly detected, resul ng in faster response mes by the police. In 2017, City Brain was rolled out to the rest of Hangzhou.

City Brain has now set its sights on Kuala Lumpur, with the earliest trials to similarly focus on the city’s traffic.

Equipping the city with AI and big data technologies will not only facilitate municipal opera ons, it will also provide an open, collabora ve ecosystem for Malaysian enterprises, start-ups and research ins tu ons. For engineers and urban planners, the accessibility to such valuable data will certainly be a boon in the designing and building of intelligent ci es of the future.

New digital experiences No longer per nent to just a handful of industries, AI is breaking barriers and overcoming challenges in a wide range of fields and applica ons, and with less human interven on. A lot of experimenta on will need to take place to ensure the relevance and effec veness of these emerging technologies. China alone is undertaking efforts to build an AI industry worth USD 1 trillion, by 2030 - a great indicator of AI’s mainstream adop on in workplaces and beyond, and its vast poten al to augment human and system capabili es to create meaningful digital experiences.

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DIGITALISATION

AZBIL CORPORATION

OPENS A SHOWROOM IN SINGAPORE The facility will showcase the company’s technological innova ons that leverage on IoT, AI and Big Data.

Japan-based Azbil Corpora on recently announced the opening of its showroom in Singapore. The showroom will allow stakeholders such as Azbil’s customers in Singapore and Southeast Asia to learn more about the group’s capabili es, its products and solu ons, as well as reference projects in the region.

Founded in 1906 and formerly known as Yamatake Corpora on, Azbil Corpora on is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Visitors to the showroom can par cipate in proac ve communica on with Azbil’s stakeholders in Japan and other countries, through remote and direct communica on ac vi es such as real- me presenta ons and discussions. This will enable Azbil, in coopera on with Azbil’s Fujisawa Technology Center in Japan, to offer the same solu ons that are being delivered in Japan.

“Japan, like most countries in the world, is facing a shortage of expert or skilled employees who play key roles in plant maintenance and safety. The possibility of major accidents is increasing. Therefore, Azbil has come up with solu ons for ‘Smart Manufacturing’ which will achieve a new dimension of produc vity. Technological innova ons such as IoT, AI and Big Data, will bring about a ‘super smart society’. Manufacturing sites that support such a society must also evolve into ‘super-smart factories’. Therefore the opening of our showroom here is in line with Singapore’s journey towards a Smart Na on”, said Mr Hirozumi Sone, President and Group CEO, Azbil Corpora on.

“We are pleased that Azbil Corpora on has chosen Singapore to anchor its regional office and showroom.

The latest investment by Azbil is aligned with Singapore’s efforts to digitally transform our manufacturing and built environment industries”, said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board.

At the showroom, Azbil will showcase how its technology and solu ons will help manufacturing processes and increase produc vity.

In the field of plant opera ons, Azbil uses a step-wise approach. The approach starts with the introduc on of smart devices in the field and then adds diagnosis and analysis of the data. Once the digitalisa on has been achieved, it is then me to introduce AI and Big Data analysis for ‘Smart Manufacturing’.

‘BiG EYES’, which is Azbil’s AI applica on, detects abnormal behaviour, such as signs of failure of equipment, devices and processes, at an early stage, and generates alerts. By learning various opera on 22

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At the official opening of the Azbil showroom in Singapore are, from le , Mr Hirozumi Sone, President and Group CEO, Azbil Corpora on; Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Assistant Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board; and Minister Naohiro Tsutsumi, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Japan in Singapore.

pa erns from Big Data already available at customers’ sites, this AI applica on makes it possible to monitor all equipment, devices and processes comprehensively, without any investment on addi onal sensors.

Azbil’s plant safety management product ACTMoS (Advanced Cri cal Trend Monitoring for Safety) is a so ware applica on that is independent of the Distributed Control System (DCS). ACTMoS automa cally monitors important process variables and predicts their future behaviour. If it judges that any trend will reach a cri cal value (at which point safety devices will have to be ac vated), ACTMoS will issue a cri cal alarm and will no fy all staff working in the control room, of the predicted value, together with the trend data and the predicted me. This is to prevent serious accidents and minimise poten al damage.

Electricity consump on has its peak hours and governments would want to ensure the reliable supply of power at all mes. Since 2012, Azbil has par cipated in collabora ve research and governmental proof-ofconcept experiments in various loca ons and compiled a strong track record in the aggregator business in Japan.

This involves bundling electricity customers to provide Demand Response (DR) services.

Two of Azbil’s key strengths are its remote control technology and its automa c control capability when using mul ple energy sources. The use of cloud technology will enable a building’s BEMS (Building Energy Management System) to be connected with Azbil’s aggrega on centre to provide DR services automa cally. By both managing and analysing data from mul ple buildings at the same me, Azbil’s energy services can help reduce energy consump on.

DIGITALISATION

KEYSIGHT PRESENTS

SOLUTIONS TO ACCELERATE INNOVATION The subjects addressed include 5G new radio workflow, end-to-end mission-cri cal IoT, autonomous vehicles and connected cars.

Keysight Technologies, a leading technology company, showcased a range of solu ons at the Keysight Measurement Forum 2018, held in Singapore on 20 July 2018.

These solu ons op mise networks and bring electronic products to market faster and at a lower cost, with offerings from design simula on to prototype valida on, manufacturing tes ng and op misa on in networks and cloud environments. Customers span the worldwide communica ons ecosystem, aerospace and defence, automo ve, energy, semiconductor and general electronics end-markets.

5G NR WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS Keysight’s 5G solu ons accelerate the delivery of new 5G NR products by leveraging common development tools to eliminate siloed data sets, and share design insights gained across each stage of the device lifecycle.

Simula on and design Keysight has launched what is said to be the industry’s first 5G NR software solutions that enable the mobile ecosystem to simulate, prototype and validate physical layer implementations with greater insight and confidence. One of these solutions, SystemVue, is a leading Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tool that enables mobile operators and their ecosystems to perform 5G system simulation and radio frequency modelling.

A range of technology solu ons was presented at Keysight Measurement Forum 2018.

To further accelerate innova on and product development, from concept through manufacturing and deployment, Keysight has also introduced PathWave, a design and test so ware pla orm that integrates design, test, measurement and analysis.

Development and tes ng Keysight is said to be the first to market with 5G NR channel emula ons enabling chipset, device, and network equipment manufacturers to characterise end-toend system performance of the latest 4G and 5G base sta ons and mobile devices, by emula ng real-world radio condi ons in the lab.

Deployment and op misa on Keysight also launched what is said to be the industry’s first 5G core high-scale network test solu on, earlier this year. The 5G Packet Core Live Tes ng Solu on provides mobile operators with real- me insights into their quality of service for quick benchmarking of scale and performance of the core network. As the world’s highest capac24

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Keysight has introduced PathWave, a design and test so ware pla orm that integrates design, test, measurement and analysis.

DIGITALISATION

ity and performance solu on, it features REST APIs that easily embed into the preferred automa on framework or development tool of choice.

NEW END-TO-END MISSION CRITICAL IOT SOLUTIONS Keysight customers span the full mission-cri cal IoT ecosystem, ranging from product and module makers and network equipment manufacturers, to enterprises, mobile operators, and service providers.

Manufacturing test solu on For IoT device manufacturers, ensuring IoT devices are high quality and perform as expected, prior to shipment, is cri cal. Any device failure occurring in the field can result in customer dissa sfac on and even a product recall, with poten ally devasta ng consequences to the manufacturer’s brand and reputa on.

Keysight’s new IoT Device Func onal Test solu on, X8711A, ensures Bluetooth Low Energy 4.2 and WLAN b/g/n signalling IoT devices are sufficiently tested for manufacturing defects (eg missing/wrong components, and soldering issues), prior to shipment. The X8711A delivers a cost-effec ve, over-the-air signalling test, measuring important RF performance indicators of IoT devices, while they are opera ng normally with producon-release so ware.

Network quality and service coverage test solu ons Field measurements are essen al to ensuring an IoT service is up and running smoothly in specific customer loca ons. They enable installa on companies and operators to validate that networks meet set requirements, IoT services offered to end customers are reliable, and onsite installa ons will be successful.

Keysight’s Nemo IoT Meter and Nemo Handy IoT are two new hand-held solutions specifically designed for making measurements in the field. IoT Meter is used to verify IoT service quality, both network coverage and connection quality, at customer premises. It runs on a regular Android-based smartphone and is connected through a narrowband-IoT or LTE-M dongle.

Nemo Handy IoT provides operators with in-depth information on their IoT network’s key performance indicators (KPIs), such as coverage, quality, and detailed log files from active field testing. All results can easily be exported for further post-processing with analytics tools like Keysight’s Nemo Analyze and Nemo WindCatcher.

AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES AND CONNECTED CAR SOLUTIONS In addi on to enabling the mobile and IoT ecosystem to accelerate 5G deployments and deliver cost-effec ve

Low-cost IoT func onal tester.

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DIGITALISATION

signalling of IoT devices, Keysight’s solu ons also cover next genera on, autonomous driving and connected car innova ons which will enable customers to design and manufacture products faster.

Keysight autonomous driving solu ons Modern cars are computers on wheels. Now, efforts are underway to make the car a fully autonomous media centre and it is pu ng a great deal of pressure on the internal car network. As a result, automakers are moving to automo ve Ethernet, to provide a flexible, scalable, cost-effec ve in-vehicle networking backbone for the connected, autonomous car, and adop ng audio-video bridging and me-sensi ve network protocols.

All this new func onality must be properly validated and secured. New Keysight automo ve Ethernet soluons provide the hardware, so ware, cables and accessories needed for compliance tests, as well as complete

tes ng of BroadR-Reach, 100Base-T1 and 1000Base-T1 standards.

Keysight connected car solu ons Current eCall systems are based on 2G and 3G cellular networks. However, global operators are planning to phase out 2G cellular networks and shi to next-genera on 4G technologies. Keysight has announced a new, upgraded E6950A eCall/ERA-GLONASS Conformance Test Solu on which supports 2G-, 3G-, and 4G-based emergency call systems, and offers the ability to test eCall over Long-Term Evolu on (LTE) which is referred to as Next Genera on eCall or NG eCall. It is a modern, mul cell, mul -format base sta on emulator that simulates a Public Service Answering Point (PSAP), emulates a cellular network, and provides Global Naviga on Satellite System (GNSS) coordinates required by the In-Vehicle System (IVS) to compile the Minimum Set of Data (MSD).

Keysight Technologies’ real- me oscilloscopes enable terrabit innovators to validate research in less me Keysight Technologies has announced the new Infiniium UXR series which is said to be the only oscilloscopes to support terrabit research with realme bandwidth up to 110 GHz, sample rate of 256 GSa/s and signal integrity with lowest noise and ji er.

As the demand for faster and more data continues to surge, digital speeds increase and consequently, margins decrease. Test equipment has struggled to keep up with the cutting-edge researchers who are racing to the next technology breakthrough.

• Full self-calibra on which ensures ongoing measurement accuracy while elimina ng the need to take the unit out of service.

• A chipset, based on a Keysight-proprietary Indium Phosphide (InP) process, that enables wide bandwidth and low noise floor.

The Keysight Infiniium UXR series offers advanced capabili es that enable leading-edge researchers to accelerate me-to-market with PAM-4, 5G, and op cal solu ons, by ensuring signals are clearer, eye diagrams are open, and results are accurate. In addi on, when paired with Keysight’s new, up to 110GHz op cal modula on analyser frontend and the VSA-based op cal modula on so ware, the Keysight Infiniium UXR series turns into an end-toend solu on for op cal research.

The Keysight Infiniium UXR series provides: • A 10-bit resolu on and industry leading signal integrity, to enable customers to experience superior effec ve number of bits (ENOB) during characterisa on of progressively complex modula on standards.

• Four full-bandwidth channels to reduce ming error when working with dual-polarisa on coherent modula on.

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Views of the Keysight-UXR1104A 110 GHz oscilloscope.

DIGITALISATION

PTC AND ROCKWELL AUTOMATION ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP The aim is to drive industrial innova on and accelerate growth.

PTC Inc and Rockwell Automa on Inc recently announced that they have entered into a defini ve agreement for a strategic partnership that is expected to accelerate growth for both companies and enable them to be the partner of choice for customers around the world, who want to transform their physical opera ons with digital technology.

As part of the partnership, Rockwell Automa on will make a USD 1 billion equity investment in PTC, and Rockwell Automa on’s Chairman and CEO, Blake Moret, will join PTC’s board of directors effec ve with the closing of the equity transac on.

The partnership leverages both companies’ resources, technologies, industry exper se, and market presence, and will include technical collabora on across the organisa ons as well as joint global go-to-market ini a ves.

In par cular, PTC and Rockwell Automa on have agreed to align their respec ve smart factory technologies and combine PTC’s award-winning ThingWorx IoT, Kepware industrial connec vity, and Vuforia augmented reality (AR) pla orms with Rockwell Automa on’s FactoryTalk MES, FactoryTalk Analy cs, and Industrial Automa on pla orms. The result will be an integrated informa on solu on that will enable customers to achieve increased produc vity, heightened plant efficiency, reduced operaonal risk, and be er system interoperability.

“This strategic alliance will provide the industry with the broadest integrated suite of best-in-class technology, backed by PTC, the leader in IoT and augmented reality, and Rockwell Automa on, the leader in industrial automa on and informa on. Our combined customer base will benefit from two world-class organisa ons that understand their business and deliver comprehensive, innova ve, and integrated solu ons”, said Jim Heppelmann, President and CEO, PTC. “Leveraging Rockwell Automa on’s industry-leading industrial control and so ware technology, strong brand, and domain exper se with PTC’s award-winning technology will enable industrial enterprises to capitalise on the promise of the Industrial IoT”, he added.

“We believe this strategic partnership will enable us to accelerate growth by building on both companies’ records of innova on, to extend the value of the Connected Enterprise and deepen our customer rela onships. As IT and OT converge, there is a natural alignment between our companies. Together, we will offer the most comprehensive and flexible IoT offering in the industrial space.

Our equity investment in PTC reflects our confidence in the partnership and the significant upside we expect it 28

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to create for both companies, as we work together to profitably grow subscrip on revenue”, said Blake Moret, Chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automa on.

Rockwell Automa on’s solu ons business will be a preferred delivery and implementa on provider, supported by a robust ecosystem of partners that both companies have established. The strength of both companies across geographies, end markets, and applica ons, is complementary.

Rockwell Automa on simplifies analy cs for industrial produc vity Rockwell Automa on has recently expanded the FactoryTalk Analy cs por olio, an advanced analy cs environment that empowers users with the ability to quickly make informed decisions. These latest advancements were developed to reduce the complexity of the opera ons environment for manufacturers and producers and their employees who are driving opera ons.

FactoryTalk Analy cs has been developed for scale, discovering and connec ng data sources from the edge of the network up through the enterprise, and then intelligently fusing the informa on to resolve issues close to the source. At the edge or the device, this can result in near-immediate resolu on of produc on issues. Empowered with machine learning capabili es, FactoryTalk Analy cs learns the process and looks for trends in the data, proac vely presenting users with insights before an issue arises.

FactoryTalk Analy cs brings contemporary user experience capabili es, which are common for consumer experiences, to the produc on environment.

Focused on driving ease of use and produc vity, FactoryTalk Analy cs features internet-like search capabili es of produc on data, as well as self-serve drill-downs, allowing the user to make data-driven decisions quickly.

Rockwell Automa on has chosen the Microso Azure cloud as the preferred pla orm for FactoryTalk Analy cs, to help develop and power advanced IoT solu ons from the edge to the cloud.

Rockwell Automa on executed several customer pilots before the official release of FactoryTalk Analy cs, which generated several purpose-driven applica ons that priori se ease of use and faster me to value.

Originally piloted as ‘Project Scio’ last November, FactoryTalk Analy cs is now available globally.

DIGITALISATION

Rockwell Automa on TechED and PTC LiveWorx showcase technology solu ons The Rockwell Automa on 2018 TechED North America technical educa on and user conference concluded with over 2300 a endees par cipating in a unique five-day learning and networking experience.

The event took place from 10 to 15 June 2018, in San Diego, California, USA, and featured over 300 hours of training and knowledge-sharing. A endees joined hands-on labs, technical sessions, and management discussions, to learn about the latest techniques and technologies to op mise producon data, build secure networks, and accelerate a digital transforma on.

Designed for end users, systems integrators, distributors, partners, and machine builders, TechED created an opportunity for par cipants to learn from industry experts and hear how their peers are solving manufacturing and produc on challenges.

The sessions focused on data analy cs and on the convergence of IT/OT to achieve smart manufacturing by capturing industrial data. The event also provided a endees with the latest innova ons in

mobility and virtualisa on, informa on management and analy cs, as well as safety and security.

Rockwell Automa on TechED conferences are also being held in the Asia Pacific and Europe, in 2018.

On 18 June 2018, PTC and Rockwell Automa on again showcased their complementary technology and solu ons at LiveWorx 2018.

PTC, as presen ng sponsor, organised the annual LiveWorx digital transforma on conference which was held from 17 to 20 June 2018 in Boston, USA. The conference and marketplace showcased solu ons for a smart, connected world. More than 6,000 technologists, developers, and industry evangelists from over 40 countries gathered at the event to discuss, debate, exchange, and explore the opportuni es being created by the convergence of the physical and digital worlds. The content spanned disrup ve technologies and topics, including augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR), IoT, Industry 4.0, product design, robo cs, AI, data security, and blockchain.

The Rockwell Automa on TechED Singapore 2018 and Process Solu on User Group (PSUG) Asia Pacific 2018 was held in Singapore from18 to 20 July 2018. The event a racted more than 200 a endees, represen ng customers, distributors, OEMs, system integrators and others, from industries such as chemicals, computer hardware, educa on, electronics, energy & u li es, food & beverage, health care, metals & mining, oil & gas, pharmaceu cals, and transporta on.

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DIGITALISATION

PRE ENGINEERED DATA CENTRE FROM

VERTIV INSTALLED AT INNOVIX SOLUTION CENTER Benefits include fast deployment, ease of management and incorpora on of risk protec on.

In a data-driven world, having a secure and flexible IT infrastructure is essen al for companies that specialise in ICT (Informa on and Communica ons Technologies).

One of Asia’s leaders in the technology distribu on field is Innovix, a member of the Fortune Global 500-listed Jardine Matheson Group. Innovix is headquartered in Singapore with more than 500 staff and has opera ons in 47 loca ons covering Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Malaysia.

Over the years, the company has grown to become a trusted distributor of more than 80 leading ICT and lifestyle brands. Innovix boasts more than 5,500 channel partners and 500 points of sale (POS) in three countries.

With more than 220,000 2 of warehouse space and the ability to handle more than 300,000 units of stock simultaneously, the company is ideally placed for growth in market share.

The expansion of Innovix’s business in Singapore led to a recent management decision to move to a new and larger loca on. This move provided the opportunity to establish an Innovix Solu on Center to showcase the ICT solu ons the company represents.

ICT solu ons showcase The Innovix Solu on Center is designed to allow channel partners and customers to see and experience the ICT solu ons that Innovix represents, in real-world opera ons.

This naturally calls for a self-contained integrated data centre within the company’s new complex.

Innovix decided to invest in a Ver v SmartRow solu on.

Ver v’s SmartRow range provides a fully-integrated data centre in a row - a pre-engineered solu on that reduces me to install and deploy. Varia ons are available to suit several specific ver cal markets. SmartRow data centres incorporate thermal and power management, UPS, monitoring and control technologies, and cable management, and offer mul ple possible configura ons for any future expansion.

For Innovix, the benefits of choosing Ver v’s 2 + 6 included fast deployment, ease of management and lower total cost of ownership. It took the company just two weeks to complete the installa on of the Ver v 2 + 6 SmartRow solu on, compared to the four weeks or more that a tradi onal data centre setup could have taken.

walkthroughs and demonstra ons by Innovix experts.

The results Since the deployment of Ver v SmartRow, Innovix has experienced an increase in requests from its partners to demonstrate the hyper-converged ICT solu on to the end-users.

Innovix also regularly uses the solu on centre as a venue to conduct training for its channel partners and to present solu on demos or proof-of-concept, to end-users.

The Ver v 2 + 6 setup is a full containment setup, with the racks protected by glass, back and front. It features a cooling unit and a touch screen monitoring system, and houses en rely within the suite, IT solu ons like ICT storage and a hyper-converged network.

Comprehensive risk protec on The typical risks present with server stacks are well covered by the Ver v 2 + 6. For example, the system features a built-in fire suppression system that allows the rapid dispersal of chemical agents into the racks, in the event of a fire. Emergency fans are also situated at the foot of each rack, that are capable of automa cally coming into service, in case there is a cooling outage or when supplemental cooling is required.

The built-in structure allows for the whole data centre to be shut down when necessary, rather than having to access controls in another room. Similarly, the design ensures that all serviceable parts are easily accessible to the service engineers, and the UPS and ba eries are ready to kick in automa cally, if ever there is a power supply interrup on.

The health of the en re SmartRow installa on is monitored via a conveniently posi oned smart screen.

The screen provides a granular breakdown of cri cal informa on like electric power consump on and temperature readings, and a more detailed readout is available at the press of a bu on.

Moving to a new office inevitably causes interrup ons to the flow of business but the SmartRow’s rapid deployment enabled Innovix to recommence partner and customer outreach with a minimum of delay.

The SmartRow on display at the Innovix Solu on Center will benefit not only Innovix but also its customers, as they will be able to get a first-hand view of the solu ons through 30

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Ver v’s SmartRow data centre at Innovix Solu on Center.

DIGITALISATION

FARO 8 AXIS FAROARM OFFERS MULTIPLE ADVANTAGES Real- me part rota on accelerates inspec on and design workflows.

FARO, a company headquartered in Florida, USA, develops and markets computer-aided measurement and imaging devices and so ware for factory metrology, construc on BIM, public safety forensics, product design and 3D machine vision.

The company has recently introduced the FARO 8-Axis FaroArm system. This comprehensive solu on combines either the portable Quantum FaroArm, Quantum ScanArm or Design ScanArm por olio products with a func onally integrated, yet physically separate, eighth axis.

The eighth axis is a complete rota onal axis iden cal to and a natural extension of all FaroArm products. It plugs directly into the FaroArm and results in a seamlessly integrated, high accuracy addi onal axis that requires no addi onal setup me or effort. Moreover, unlike a turntable, the eighth axis is completely transparent to the measurement so ware, so no so ware updates or upgrades are needed.

The recently introduced the FARO 8-Axis FaroArm system enables easier scanning and measurement of harder-to-reach areas of parts, whilst also reducing measurement me and human error.

This func onality enables the part to be rotated in realme rela ve to the arm instead of requiring the arm to be moved around the part. As a result, it is not only easier to scan and measure typically harder-to-reach areas, but also both measurement me and human

The 8-axis system is ideal for addressing a range of noncontact measurement and design challenges, including point cloud comparison with CAD, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, and 3D modelling of free-form surfaces.

measurement error are reduced, since the part itself rests on a stable, consistent pla orm.

FARO DESIGN SCANARM 2.5C BRINGS COLOUR TO 3D SCANNING The new FARO Design ScanArm 2.5C (DSA 2.5C) is an armbased solu on that includes high resolu on, 3D colour scanning capability.

The DSA 2.5C is compa ble with the FARO 8-Axis FaroArm system, which effec vely doubles the arm reach and improves the ease of use. The product is specifically designed to address design challenges across a range of sectors including computer graphics, industrial machinery, auto manufacturing and engineering services. A 3D colour representa on is an ideal baseline for product visualisa ons and special effects.

This leap forward enables parts and objects to be reconstructed and visualised as vividly as they appear in The new FARO Design ScanArm 2.5C is an arm-based solu on the real world. The true-to-life func onality not only allows that includes high resolu on, 3D colour scanning capability. design professionals to proceed with an even higher level of confidence but also, as a result, accelerates the comple on of important projects. Faster end-to-end project cycle me is also supported and enhanced by the rapid scanning colour capability of up to 240,000 points per second.

Consistent with the FARO commitment to op mising ease of use, through advanced ergonomics, the DSA 2.5C, like its predecessor, the Design ScanArm 2.0, is available in three manoeuvrable arm lengths - 2.5 m, 3.5 m and 4 m. This ensures that end-users can select the op on that op mally fits with the specific design objec ves for their projects. Furthermore, hot-swappable ba eries ensure that the user can bring the scan to the project rather than having to bring the project to the scan.

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DIGITISATION IN THE

SHEET METAL WORKING INDUSTRY

by Dr Andreas Thoss, THOSS Media GmbH, Germany Digi sa on, networking, virtualisa on are concepts that we encounter more and more frequently, also in the business world. What do they mean in concrete terms? And what implica ons do they bring to the shop floor? Digi sa on plays a crucial role, from the process level up to the factory network, as we can see in small and large companies in sheet metal working. As with many ideas around Industry 4.0, the goal is higher machine u lisa on, higher product quality, or quite simply, a produc vity boost.

In the produc on of the future, the tradi onal world of produc on processes will be connected and op mised via intelligent so ware. To accomplish this, companies will record data from processes, machines and products, from order acceptance to produc on and all the way to delivery. This transfer of data from the real world into the virtual world is what we call ‘digi sa on’.

According to Gartner, ‘digitalisa on’ is ‘the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportuni es; it is the process of moving to a digital business’.

As a part of digi sa on, ‘virtualisa on’ describes how the individual processes are mapped in a computer, in detail.

Thanks to sophis cated so ware, data and measured values from processes and products can be compiled and complete processes simulated. Physics, engineering and business management are combined to achieve different goals. Even before actual produc on, variants of the processes and products can be tested and op mised. Later, in the virtual world, processes are tracked and evaluated on a large scale, in order to, on the one hand, have upto-date data on produc on and, on the other, calculate trends for the future, as precisely as possible.

An important model in this context is the ‘digital twin’.

This concept describes the virtual image of a real product (or process, machine, service). The digital twin of a component is assigned the respec ve measurement data of the real component during all produc on steps. This results in a data set (coupled with a digital name tag of the component) that enables detailed traceability.

When process data and product data are combined, the processes can then be monitored and op mised. In the event that process values deviate from defined target values, it is possible to react immediately and to change individual process parameters accordingly. These process parameters may have been previously defined. Coupled sets of product and process parameters are then stored.

‘Horizontal networking’ refers to the mapping of a complete produc on line with all its processes and data. In contrast, ‘ver cal networking’ refers to networking from the individual process to the machine, to the produc32

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on cell, to the produc on hall and finally to the factory network. To give just one example, if a process has to be corrected due to changed material parameters, in ver cal networking, the corresponding data set can be exchanged on all machines that carry out the same process on the same material batch in the factory network.

‘Digital transforma on’ is the process of change that occurs when digital technologies are introduced. In the process, completely new business models can develop, such as purely digital business models and digital value crea on networks.

DIGITISATION ON ALL LEVELS Digi sa on in the industry is closely linked to the concept of Industry 4.0, because this concept is about the ‘comprehensive digi sa on of industrial produc on’. It is used to detect devia ons in produc on more quickly and to find solu ons to them. In addi on, digi sa on supports the industry in op mising its manufacturing processes through virtualisa on and further standardisa on.

To take full advantage of digi sa on, it is recommended that it be introduced on all levels of manufacturing. It starts with order processing and con nues through the actual manufacturing where all process data is collected and each process can be tracked, for each part. The aim is to op mise produc vity as well as the traceability of each individual produc on step for each part. The op misa on can also be automated, so that processes regulate themselves.

But digi sa on also has clear advantages beyond the boundaries of the factory. As men oned in ver cal networking, factory networks can derive new benefits from standardisa on and their economies of scale. In addi on, plant manufacturers can monitor the opera ng data of their machines at the customer’s site (condi on monitoring) and help remotely if maintenance is needed, or predict expected maintenance for the customer by means of parameter trends (predic ve maintenance).

A good example of the possibili es of digi sa on in industry can currently be observed in the field of 3D printing. There, product development and produc on are

METALWORKING

often completely separated, with the pure production sold as a service. Dassault Systemes offers a software environment in which not only simulation and virtual testing of the products are possible, but also evaluated suppliers can be contracted for production on Dassault Systemes’ 3DExperience platform. The individual steps are modularised, but continuous digitisation on a uniform platform nevertheless enables efficient and profitable economic activity.

FULL CONTROL IN THE WELDING PROCESS At the Interna onal Laser Technology Congress AKL’18, Michael Ungers from Scansonic MI GmbH explained how digi sa on works at process level.

“From teaching to seam inspec on, we can document every weld on every component on video and with a complete dataset”, he said.

Scansonic builds laser processing systems for laser soldering and welding. With their SCEye camera system, they offer an integrated solu on for process control, both for soldering processes with tac le wire guidance and for remote welding. For each component, the so ware records both process parameters (laser power, wire feed etc) as well as the movement of the swivel axis (swivel axis posi on) or the pressing force of the wire. In addi on, the joining zone is recorded on video.

The camera images taken before and a er the actual process are edited in real- me. For example, such images can be used to iden fy obstacles before the process begins or dropouts during joining. A er the process ends, the camera also monitors the cooled seam and can clearly iden fy seam defects (for example, pores).

There is a lot of know-how packed into the software.

For this, Scansonic analyses large amounts of test data sets. With the help of machine-learning approaches, it then generates and optimises the algorithms for the respective application. The user receives the algorithms as a software update and only needs to make the fine tuning, by setting a reference track. As a result, material influences and product properties can be taken into account. The long-term goal here is further optimisation, in order to eventually generate a self-learning machine.

When tes ng the camera system, Scansonic checked about 20,000 welds, with a total of 69 defects (defects > 2mm). All errors were found reliably. The pseudo error rate of ‘false nega ve’ was 1.1%. These are displayed errors which are s ll acceptable.

The monitoring of process and machine parameters is also interes ng. The user sets warning and limit values for the manufacturing tolerances before processing.

The control so ware then shows in real- me whether the parts produced are within the tolerances (green), or are in the warning range (yellow) or are unacceptable (red). Not only can the reject rate be precisely controlled, but the system can also iden fy process problems in real- me. This way, greater damage to the processing machine can be prevented.

Trumpf shows how Industry 4.0 works in its sheet metal produc on unit. Image by TRUMPF / Frederik Dulay-Winkler.

SHEET METAL WORKING OF THE FUTURE Trumpf in Ditzingen has been working on new concepts for sheet metal working, for quite some me. At the plant, visitors can view the ‘sheet metal produc on unit’ in a manufacturing hall. One walks along the five sta ons - from receipt of order all the way to the delivery of the parts -and can find out more about the status of work on large screens. During a tour at the last INTECH in-house exhibi on, one could see that they presented real data.

In the morning at 3 am, a sheet metal part had obviously got stuck in the warehouse, so the machine had been stopped.

And that is what digi sa on is all about in produc on op mising capacity u lisa on, detec ng and elimina ng disrup ons in a mely manner. Even when planning the produc on unit, the company iden fied bo lenecks and op mised processes using simula on.

“Our vision is the autonomous factory”, said Dr Heinz-Jürgen Prokop, CEO of Machine Tools at Trumpf.

“Our goal is the step-by-step automa on of both order processing, which will be paperless and without media disrup ons in the future, as well as the value chain, about which we require full transparency at all mes”, he added.

In produc on, Trumpf relies on con nuous horizontal networking. For customers, some of whom are significantly larger than Trumpf, the Ditzingen-based company THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER August 2018

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also provides extensive possibili es for ver cal networking. Data acquisi on starts at the very bo om of the process. At the higher levels, the data is increasingly aggregated. The aim is to op mise the process, even beyond the limits of the site. The customer decides which data is passed on to whom.

In most cases, process data remains in the respec ve company, while opera ng data of the individual machines can also go to the manufacturers, such as Trumpf.

There, the data from as many machines as possible are compiled and evaluated. Changes in individual systems, and also in complete model series, are being pursued as ‘condi on-based services’. In the short term, companies can react to cri cal condi ons, to some extent, even before they occur. In the long term, the experience can be used for the benefit of all users.

STRATEGIC THINKING AT BMW PAYS OFF BMW AG in Regensburg, Germany, has gained a great deal of experience with digital transforma on in its lead plant, in the sector of metal forming. Dr Josef Meinhardt, from the Research and Innova on Center FIZ in Munich, has been accompanying the development as head of standards and innova ons in the sector of sheet metal forming and mounted parts.

He sees digi sa on as an important aspect of the ‘on-site’ strategy, which ensures the standardisa on of all pressing plants, in terms of structure, technology and organisa on, throughout the BMW Group’s en re sheet forming sector.

Large parts, the ‘major parts’, are pressed on-site using the same technology. The seven pressing plants of BMW have iden cal produc on technology, with two servo lines each. They work everywhere with the same servo presses which are very easy to adjust and control.

“All spo ng and tryout presses are iden cal to the drawing stage of the servo lines and they have the same press s ffness. In this way, we were able to set up a global pressing plant network to avoid overproduc on, thanks to on-site producon”, Dr Meinhardt said.

In the future, this ID will allow the press to be fine-tuned to the blank’s characteris cs. If required, the ID could include a control command that triggers addi onal lubrica on of the blank prior to forming in the press, for example.

Thanks to clear marking, the blank can be iden fied at any me. Each body part is thus assigned informa on that remains available through the manufacturing steps un l the produc on of the finished car body. The planning specialists of the BMW Group are already using the traceability of all parts, in order to op mise the process using addi onal algorithms.

Thus, by taking into account the measured proper es of each body part, the company can op mise the gap dimensions of the finished body even further, or obtain a be er match of the paint applica on to the surface of the individual body. Already today, the fine adjustment of the press parameters has a clear effect on the properes of the blank. The number of rejects has dropped significantly. The degree of material u lisa on of a coil has con nued to rise. This way, system down me required for defect analyses can be reduced.

Chris an Patron, Head of Innova ons and Digitaliza on in the Produc on System at BMW said, “With Smart Data Analy cs, we are se ng new standards in our produc on system. We combine the experience of our employees with the new possibili es of efficiently processing large volumes of data, in order to derive precise forecasts and to proac vely op mise processes.

This accelerates the con nuous improvement of the produc on system according to the basic principles of lean produc on”.

(This ar cle is based on a EuroBLECH 2018 White Paper. EuroBLECH 2018, the 25th Interna onal Sheet Metal Working Technology Exhibi on, will be held from 23 to 26 October 2018 at the Hanover Exhibi on Grounds in Germany).

BMW not only avoids overproduc on, but also reduces space requirements, set-up mes and transport costs. Ver cal networking thus helps it use the economies of scale locally and globally.

Laser-marked body parts Steel rolls weighing up to 40 tons and around 3 km long, called coils, are cut into blanks in the pressing shop and then formed into body parts. Plate thickness, firmness or the degree of oiling are not the same at every point of the coil. These characteris cs can lead to cracks during forming, in the case of par cularly stressed body parts.

This is where a Smart Data Analy cs applica on in the BMW Group in Regensburg works. It marks each blank by laser with its own ID code.

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The pressing plant assembly line at BMW in Regensburg will be copied for all other product plants in the BMW group. Image by BMW.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

PHILIPS AND SINGAPORE INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED MEDICINE HOLDINGS OPEN REGIONAL ONCOLOGY CENTRE The facility is equipped with advanced imaging solu ons.

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, and the Singapore Ins tute of Advanced Medicine Holdings (SAM) recently opened the Advanced Medicine Imaging (AMI) centre at Biopolis. The new facility will provide specialised oncology care to the fast-growing number of people confronted with cancer in Southeast Asia. In addi on, the centre will facilitate scien fic research & development and provide medical training targeted at upskilling the region’s healthcare professionals in the newest cancer therapies.

The AMI centre is equipped with advanced imaging systems and clinical informa cs aimed at helping clinicians deliver confident diagnosis of cancer with increased speed and efficiency. The facili es, which will open in phases, are scheduled for comple on by the end of 2019.

“The SGD 100 million investment in the regional oncology centre reaffirms our commitment to strengthen Singapore’s posi on as the ‘go-to’ des na on for specialised cancer care”, said Dr Djeng Shih Kien, Founder and Chairman, Singapore Ins tute of Advanced Medicine Holdings.

Another world-first solu on at AMI is Philips’ IQon Spectral CT, a new genera on CT solu on that allows clinicians to characterise tumours with greater certainty than is possible with black and white images from conven onal CT scans. Philips’ IQon Spectral CT is also said to be the world’s first spectral detector-based CT that allows clinicians to do both in-depth spectral informa on on demand and retrospec ve analysis at low-dose - a direct benefit to pa ents.

The AMI centre also has a Philips Ingenia 3T MRI equipped with Philips’ Ambient Experience, which uses dynamic ligh ng, video and sound, to provide pa ents with a calming immersive environment.

These imaging systems within the AMI will be complemented by a full suite of Philips clinicallyrich healthcare informa cs solu ons, suppor ng diagnosis and personalised treatment. Philips provides IT solu ons to integrate systems, aggregate data, accelerate workflows, and facilitate informed decisions, giving clinical teams the insights they need to work effec vely and efficiently. One example is Philips’

“Together with partners, including Philips, Varian Medical Systems and IBA Worldwide, we have a shared goal to provide a one-stop pa ent-centric hub where pa ents across the region can access the latest and most sophis cated technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer”, he added.

Cancer imposes an ever-increasing health burden in Asia, with the region accoun ng for half of the global incidence of cancer. Due to the region’s ageing and growing popula ons, together with lifestyle and socioeconomic changes, the incidence of cancer cases in Asia is expected to increase from 6.1 million in 2008 to 10.6 million in 2030. This rising threat not only affects the popula on, it also has a dire economic impact as treatment costs spiral upwards. With healthcare systems already opera ng with limited resources and exper se, advanced technologies need to be leveraged to drive efficiency and deliver op mum pa ent outcomes.

The AMI centre houses two Philips Vereos PET/CT scanners, said to be the world’s first and only fully digital PET/CT system that uses proprietary Digital Photon Coun ng technology to provide advanced anatomical imaging.

Advanced imaging technologies With a comprehensive por olio of advanced imaging systems and clinical informa cs, the AMI centre will empower clinicians to deliver fast and robust oncology imaging. It will house two Philips Vereos PET/CT scanners, said to be the world’s first and only fully digital PET/CT systems. Using proprietary Digital Photon Coun ng (DPC) technology, Philips’ Vereos PET/CT provides advanced anatomical imaging and enhances lesion detectability with improved contrast and resolu on.

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The Advanced Medicine Imaging centre has a Philips Ingenia 3T MRI equipped with Philips’ Ambient Experience which uses dynamic ligh ng, video and sound, to provide pa ents with a calming immersive environment.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

IntelliSpace Portal, an advanced visualisa on analysis and quan fica on pla orm featuring a comprehensive suite of mul -modality applica ons, powered by ar ficial intelligence (AI). IntelliSpace Portal will also serve as a collabora on pla orm for clinical development and research for the Advanced Medicine Educa on Centre within the AMI, which will be open to third par es in the future.

“With our experience in health technology, Philips has provided the AMI centre with an integrated solu on comprising world-class diagnos c imaging and informa cs systems”, said Mr Henk de Jong, Execu ve Vice President & Chief of Interna onal Markets, Royal Philips.

“Our aim is to help clinicians iden fy cancer early, when

it is more likely to respond to treatment, poten ally resul ng in be er health outcomes and considerable savings in treatment costs”, he added.

Beyond diagnos c imaging innova ons, upcoming facili es at the regional oncology centre also promise more personalised and targeted cancer treatment pathways through the use of radioisotope therapies, such as LuPSMA (Lute um Prostate-Specific Membrane An gen) therapy, and proton beam therapy for tumour treatment.

The regional oncology centre also aims to promote clinical research for breakthroughs in cancer diagnos cs and treatment, and cross-border medical training to enhance the knowledge and exper se of the region’s healthcare professionals.

PHILIPS COMMISSIONED FUTURE HEALTH INDEX OUTLINES

JOURNEY TO VALUE BASED HEALTHCARE Royal Philips recently released the first chapter of the 2018 Future Health Index (FHI), a research-based pla orm designed to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges and build efficient and effec ve health systems. The FHI focuses on the crucial role that technologies for connected care and digital tools can play in delivering more integrated and sustainable healthcare.

volume-based measure of healthcare to a value-based one. Devising a meaningful Value Measure, including access to care next to pa ent experience and efficiency, is an important step in helping countries to measure their readiness to address healthcare challenges”, said Jan Kimpen, Chief Medical Officer, Philips.

The role of technology

This year’s FHI analyses the primary research and third party data from across 16 countries, represen ng about half of the world’s popula on. The 2018 FHI introduces the Value Measure, a new indicator of the value delivered by healthcare systems of developed and developing markets. Combining criteria associated with value-based healthcare and access to care, the Value Measure provides a benchmark against which a system’s progress towards efficient and effec ve healthcare can be evaluated. The report also includes the input from global healthcare experts and provides ac onable insights for countries to improve the value that their health systems deliver.

One of the most important findings from the 2018 FHI is that countries with a high Value Measure tend to exhibit high levels of connected care technology adop on. This indicates that integra ng connected care technology into health systems can accelerate countries along the path to value-based healthcare. Health systems that provide universal access to care and deliver effec ve outcomes, as well as high levels of healthcare professional and general popula on sa sfac on - such as those in Singapore, Sweden and the Netherlands - tend to be those with compara vely high levels of support from advanced data collec on and analy cs, and that have integrated connected technology into care delivery models.

A new value indicator

However, examining the overall Value Measure results across the 16 countries studied indicates that while there is a correla on between a country’s wealth, development levels and ability to deliver value-based healthcare, no one market is a consistent performer across all criteria. Varying pockets of excellence and system shor alls mean different countries may approach this journey in any number of ways. However, while methods are important, connected care technology is founda onal to value-based healthcare.

In line with the FHI’s historical focus and findings, the Value Measure is based on the following three key criteria: • Access - how universal and affordable is access to healthcare?

• Sa sfac on - to what extent do the general popula on and prac oners in each market see their healthcare system as trustworthy and effec ve?

• Efficiency - does the system produce outcomes at an op mum cost?

This methodology builds on the fast-growing consensus that the value-based healthcare model is the best approach to address the challenges posed by a combina on of growing and ageing popula ons with the rise of chronic diseases and healthcare costs.

“Global experts agree on the need to move away from a

Therefore, the next two chapters of the 2018 FHI will take a closer look at two digital enablers, which have the poten al to significantly drive change through connected care technologies: • Data collec on and analy cs - the ability to share and collect pa ent-centric data and analyse it on a large scale.

• Care delivery - technology developments which are bringing innova ve ways to deliver be er care.

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

SPACEBORNE COMPUTER

CONTINUES TO PERFORM WELL A self-contained HPE supercomputer housed in a locker-like casing was installed on the Interna onal Space Sta on (ISS).

The ISS is a complex of research laboratories in low Earth orbit, for conduc ng scien fic and technological inves ga ons in a microgravity environment.

Image by NASA.

It has been 12 months since HPE and NASA sent the Spaceborne Computer, the first-ever, high performance, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system to the Interna onal Space Sta on (ISS). As part of an experiment to operate seamlessly in the harsh condi ons of space, for one year, which is about the amount of me it will take to travel to Mars, the Spaceborne Computer is literally going faster and further than any other COTS supercomputer before it.

On 14 August 2017, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched a Dragon spacecra carrying HPE’s Spaceborne Computer, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, which reached the ISS on 16 August. A er delivering more than 2,900 kgs (6,400 lb) of cargo, the Dragon spacecra returned to Earth on 16 September 2017. The cargo included cri cal materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research inves ga ons that will be performed during Expedi ons 52 and 53.

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The Spaceborne Computer is the first-ever, high performance, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system sent to the Interna onal Space Sta on (ISS). Image by HPE.

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

During the one year in space, in which it has performed roughly 5,000 orbits, 250 miles above Earth, the system has operated virtually problem-free on the ISS, since it was installed and powered on, in September 2017. Not only has the Spaceborne Computer succeeded in becoming the first COTS - over tradi onally hardened computers that are more than 10 years old - to run one teraflop (over one trillion calcula ons per second) onboard the ISS, it has done so in zero gravity, with unique power and cooling condions, and subjected to unpredictable levels of radia on.

It has laid the groundwork for performing compute-intensive experiments without aid from Earth, which will be necessary to advance space explora on on journeys millions of miles away from our home planet. More importantly, this experiment enables HPE to apply the learning to advance earth-bound technologies and further increase their reliability and robustness.

Upon its planned return to Earth later this year, the Spaceborne Computer will endure a ba ery of standard product failure analysis (PFA) tests with HPE’s parts suppliers.

In the mean me, however, the theory of taking a COTS system, using a different approach of ‘hardening’ with so ware, as opposed to physical hardening that requires more resources to maintain consistent, high-level performance, has been applied in prac ce.

LEARNING POINTS Designing so ware for space Wri ng so ware is like any other form of communica on. It has a language and guidelines, but it can be subjec ve. When wri ng so ware on Earth, certain assump ons are made, that factor into the code, eg network connec vity will be rock solid with only occasional, minor interrup ons. Not so for space as it is the exact opposite. In general, there is no solid network. It is best to design as if there is only occasional connec vity.

Loss of signal (LOS) is much more frequent. Assuming a consistent AOS (acquisi on of signal) was an Earthly bias that crept into the so ware design. In future, the intenon is to design the space-bound (or remote) so ware stack differently to account for the much more frequent network anomalies.

for it. Since the radia on environment in space, minute by minute, cannot be predicted, an upside-down approach to monitor all of the components has been adopted. If a component is suspected to be out of the parameters, a safe mode is adopted. That safe, idle configura on is maintained through that me period. Once that event has passed, a health check is executed to ensure everything is performing well before resuming opera on.

THE FUTURE FOR COMPUTING IN SPACE With the Spaceborne Computer having run excep onally well for almost a year, in condi ons far different from those on Earth, the next challenge is what else can be brought to space.

With considera ons for mul ple launches and landings, from Earth to Moon to Mars, this opens a door to an en rely new set of challenges like weight and cost, to even greater longevity and higher performance from a compu ng system.

In the mean me, HPE will con nue exploring the use of the latest COTS supercomputers and work with its component manufacturers to improve durability without adding weight.

But for now, the homecoming of the Spaceborne Computer is eagerly awaited, as it will provide more knowledge and contribute to future innova on.

Dragon Commercial Resupply Services Mission SpaceX Dragon CRS-12, which was launched on 14 August 2017, is the 12th of up to 20 Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions to the Interna onal Space Sta on that SpaceX is expected to fly for NASA under the first CRS contract.

In January 2016, NASA announced that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecra were selected to resupply the space sta on through 2024, as part of a second CRS contract award. A variant of the Dragon spacecra , called Dragon 2, is being developed to transport US-based crew to and from the space sta on.

Astronauts and IT exper se The general prac ce is to write instruc ons for customer replaceable units (CRUs) to enable IT savvy customers to be able to resolve issues by using a provided replacement part. Astronauts are experts in a lot of things, but IT may not be one of them, especially when working in zero gravity. The CRU guidelines are therefore inadequate to hand to astronauts. In a fairly extensive process, HPE developed detailed instruc ons for customers who are not trained in IT and tailored them for the space environment, instead of standard data centre condi ons on Earth.

Unpredictable dynamic radia on environments in space In tradi onal hardening, engineers would an cipate a variety of different radia on fields and possible events, and spend lots of me and money trying to design protec on

The SpaceX CRS-12 Dragon spacecra was launched on 14 August 2017, with 2,900 kgs (6,400 lb) of cargo to be delivered to the ISS which it reached on 16 August. The spacecra returned to Earth on 16 September 2017. Image by NASA.

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

BOEING TO ESTABLISH NEW AEROSPACE & AUTONOMY CENTER New research and development facility brings together engineering teams to accelerate development of future mobility solu ons.

Boeing recently announced plans to open the new Boeing Aerospace & Autonomy Center in Cambridge, Massachuse s, USA. The company will become the first major tenant of the Massachuse s Ins tute of Technology’s (MIT) new mixed-use district in Kendall Square.

Under the agreement, Boeing will lease 100,000 2 of research and lab space inside a new 17-floor building at 314 Main Street in Cambridge. The new centre will house employees from Boeing and subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, who will focus on designing, building and flying autonomous aircra and developing enabling technologies.

The investment in the new centre follows the recent crea on of Boeing NeXt. This new organisa on unites researchers and projects across the company to shape the future of travel and transport, including the development of a next-genera on airspace management system to enable the safe co-existence of piloted and autonomous vehicles. Employees at the centre will help develop new technologies in support of Boeing NeXt programmes.

“Boeing is leading the development of new autonomous vehicles and future transporta on systems that will bring flight closer to home”, said Greg Hyslop, Chief Technology Officer, Boeing.

“By inves ng in this new research facility, we are crea ng a hub where our engineers can collaborate with other Boeing engineers and research partners around the world and leverage the Cambridge innova on ecosystem”, he added.

The construc on of the new research facility is part of MIT’s broad strategy to foster vibrancy and diversity in Kendall Square which is o en referred to as the most innova ve square mile in the world. Through its Kendall Square Ini a ve, the university will develop six buildings to house a blend of lab and research, office, housing and retail space.

“It is fi ng that Boeing will join the Kendall/MIT innova on family”, said Mar n Schmidt, MIT Provost.

“Our research interests have been intertwined for over 100 years, and we have worked together to advance world-changing aerospace technologies and systems.

MIT’s Department of Aeronau cs and Astronau cs has the oldest programme of its kind in the United States, and excels at its mission of developing new air transporta on concepts, autonomous systems and small satellites, through an intensive focus on cu ng-edge 40

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Boeing MIT Kendall Square. Image by Perkins+Will.

educa on and research. Boeing’s presence will create an unprecedented opportunity for new synergies in this industry”, he added.

Employees from Aurora Flight Sciences’ exis ng research and development centre in Kendall Square will move into the new centre and operate it on behalf of Boeing, once it is complete.

“Today, Aurora’s Kendall Square team is already building innova ve autonomous systems”, said John Langford, Founder and Chief Execu ve Officer, Aurora Flight Sciences, and an MIT alumnus.

“By expanding Aurora’s 30-year rela onship with MIT, and working with Boeing, we are crea ng a collabora ve space where engineers, students and researchers can work together to create technologies that will define the next century of air mobility”, he added.

The new agreement builds on a century-long rela onship between Boeing and MIT to advance aerospace innova on. Last year, the company announced its role as lead sponsor of an USD 18 million project to replace MIT’s Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel.

Aurora Flight Sciences is a technology company striving to create smarter aircra through the development of versa le and intui ve autonomous systems. Opera ng at the intersec on of technology and robo c avia on, Aurora leverages the power of autonomy to make manned and unmanned flight safer and more efficient.

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defence, space and security systems.

IES UPDATE

IES RECOGNISES OUTSTANDING ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS

WITH PEAA 2018 The 10 winners of this year’s IES Pres gious Engineering Achievement Awards (PEAA) were announced on 26 July 2018, during the conference dinner of the 12th Internaonal Conference on Ceramic Materials and Components for Energy and Environmental Applica ons (CMCEE 2018).

These awards celebrate the most outstanding accomplishments of engineers in Singapore in the past year and recognise their significant contribu ons to s mula ng engineering progress and enhancing quality of life in Singapore.

Mr Heng Chee How, Senior Minister of State for Defence, was the guest-of-honour for the dinner. He presented the awards to the winning teams in the company of about 400 local and interna onal guests from 46 countries.

The winning projects emerged from 27 submissions a er a rigorous round of judging by a panel of experts. The

teams in charge of these projects dis nguished themselves in resourcefulness in the planning and solving of design problems; pioneering use of materials and methods; innova ons in planning, design and construc on; and other unique aspects and aesthe c values.

“Through the awards, IES hopes to raise greater awareness of the contribu ons of engineers to our society and economy and to inspire the younger genera on to consider engineering as the preferred career choice. We also hope that the awards will spur the winning teams to advance their work to the next level of excellence,” said IES President Prof Yeoh Lean Weng.

The top projects will be nominated as Singapore’s entries for the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award, a coveted accolade for engineering professionals and organisa ons in the region.

Winners and Project Descrip ons CATEGORY: APPLIED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

4-in-1 Smart U li es Plant Tailored for Tropics by Na onal University of Singapore (NUS) & King Abdullah University of Science and Technology This system paves the way for a more environmentally-friendly and cost-effec ve way of producing key essen als for daily living — electricity, potable water, air-condi oning and heat. Energy efficiency is op mised by maximising the cascaded recovery of waste energy that is generated. Specially designed for use in tropical countries, this 4-in-1 smart u li es plant offers greater energy and cost savings and it is also more space-efficient.

The novel approach lowers energy usage by 25 to 30 per cent and cuts carbon emission by two to four per cent for Singapore at business-as-usual levels.

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Automated Needle Targe ng with Medical Image Robo c Assisted Guidance Equipment (ANT-MIRAGE)

by NDR Medical Technology Pte Ltd The ANT-MIRAGE is the world’s first robo c system that uses ar ficial intelligence and image processing to carry out automated lesion targe ng. The robo c system works well with exis ng imaging methods like C-Arm fluoroscopy, CT-scan and ultrasound, and can carry out image processing of 2D images to access 3D targets with precision, which is useful in minimallyinvasive applica ons like surgical punctures and lesion biopsies. ANT aims to help surgeons speed up the process of accurately aligning the needle to the lesion target while minimising unnecessary radia on exposure to the surgical team.

UV sensors from bulk photovoltaics by IMRE (Ins tute of Materials Research and Engineering, a research ins tute under A*STAR) The project team created a unique UV sensing and monitoring technology, including the world’s first ba ery-less and wireless UV monitoring system. It is based on the u lisa on of bulk photovoltaics in a ferroelectric thin film as the fundamentally different scien fic principle, and aims to provide a reliable, robust, low-cost and even energy-autonomous UV sensing and monitoring solu on.

Low Mo on Semi: A next-genera on revolu onary semisubmersible by Keppel-NUS Corporate Laboratory The LMS is innova vely designed to offer versa lity in its opera ons, with the ability to be adopted for drilling, produc on or accommoda on in harsh and deep-water environments.

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IES UPDATE

Renewable air filters from regenera ng molecular building blocks by NUS Faculty of Engineering This project focuses on a simple and cost-effec ve way of producing high-quality air filters by coa ng a new nanofibre solu on on a non-woven mesh.

This novel approach involves water-induced selforganisa on and self-regenera on of nanofibres with high filtra on efficiency and mechanical stability. A er exposure to PM 2.5 par cles, the nanofibres can be easily treated and re-applied onto the mesh, hence making the air filter reusable and eco-friendly.

CATEGORY: ENGINEERING PROJECT Na onal Gallery Singapore by CPG Consultants Pte Ltd The transforma on of the former Supreme Court and the City Hall building into the Na onal Gallery is one of the largest undertaking in addi on and altera on works within a Na onal Monument. Adding a deep basement beneath buildings on foo ngs requires very careful planning and design, together with innova ve engineering like underpinning and shoring; while key spaces like the City Hall Chamber needed to be preserved and suspended in mid-air, while the deep excava on proceeded below such spaces. A er comple on, the Na onal Gallery now houses the world’s largest collec on of modern South East Asian Art, helping to posi on Singapore as visual arts hub.

Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled on-demand ligh ng for the Smart Na on by Housing & Development Board and ST Engineering A collabora on between HDB and ST Engineering, the sensorcontrolled smart ligh ng system is designed to op mise energy use in ligh ng common areas around HDB estates. Equipped with sensors, the collected data can be analysed for understanding human traffic pa erns, predic ve maintenance, and to detect and alert service providers to abnormal situa ons.

This system has been successfully deployed in mul -storey carparks, stairwells, link-ways, common corridors and void decks of selected HDB estates, and has poten al for use in commercial and industrial buildings.

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CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION So hybrid surgical gripper for delicate ssue manipula on by NUS Faculty of Engineering The So Robo c Surgical Gripper System is a lowcost, portable surgical pla orm that can be mounted onto any stereomicroscope to aid with delicate ssue manipula on. It comprises a pair of variable-s ffness robo c arms, each equipped with a so hybrid gripper, and a compact fluidic control box with foot pedal controls. Preliminary findings have shown that the so gripper system allows compliant gripping of nerve ssue with much lower compressive forces and risk of damage than conven onal forceps.

CATEGORY: YOUNG CREATORS AWARD A 16-channel capaci ve sensor interface circuits for physical signals monitoring by NUS Faculty of Engineering In this project, the team has proposed and implemented a 16-channel Code Division Mul ple Access (CDMA)-like mul -capaci vesensor interface that can be deployed for mul -sensor or mul -pixel sensors. The team has demonstrated order of improvement in terms of power, data throughput and Figureof-Merit (FoM). This work has been presented at 2018 Symposium for VLSI Technology and Circuits, which is the premier solid-state circuits conference for papers with proven silicon results.

Mars Science Space Rover by Nanyang Polytechnic Mars has always been a source of inspira on for explorers and scien sts. Robo c missions have found evidence of water, but it is s ll a mystery if life exists beyond Earth. Robo c and scien fic robo c missions have shown that Mars has characteris cs and a history similar to the Earth’s, but there are striking differences that mankind has yet to begin to understand. The Mars Science (MS) Space Rover is a prototype built in NYP that could certainly help explore and understand about the Red Planet.

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IES UPDATE

NATIONAL ENGINEERS DAY 2018 CREATING SMART SOLUTIONS TO TRANSFORM QUALITY OF LIFE

Between 26 and 28 July 2018, the ninth Na onal Engineers Day (NED) celebrated the best of youthful crea vity and passion in making a difference to society through engineering, all at Suntec Singapore Conven on Centre.

The largest engineering youth carnival in Singapore, a slew of talks and workshops were presented to help students discover the wonders of engineering and the rapidly growing career opportuni es for those with an engineering educa on and an ap tude to discover, imagine and create.

Apart from perennial crowd favourites such as the Magic and Engineering demonstra on, as well as the F1 in Schools Programme, there were workshops on trending fields such as augmented reality and AI. Expert speakers also shared their insight on the role of engineering in areas such as air quality control and in mi ga ng the effects of natural disasters.

F1 in Schools, a perennial crowd favourite.

Energy Innova on Challenge (EIC) 2018 This year’s EIC required par cipa ng students to design smart engineering solu ons for health, living, mobility and services. A total of 120 teams entered across four categories, compared to only 73 in its inaugural year in 2015.

This includes 18 overseas teams from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines, who competed in Category 4 for local and overseas universi es.

A er a networking party in March 2018, par cipa ng students from Category 1 to 3 went through a series of workshops and camps that equipped them with design, finance, marke ng, logis cs management and technical skills to build their solu ons.

Students discovering the wonders of engineering at the AR Workshop held by Rolls-Royce.

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round of judging by a panel of academia and industry experts, 14 projects where shortlisted for presenta on.

The Gold Award for the polytechnics category went to Mr Chua Chryston and Mr Neo Yizhe from Singapore Polytechnic, who built a “demen a pa ent tracking” system using Sigfox, a LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology.

In the university category, the Gold Award winner was Mr Subramanian Gowtham from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), who designed a portable image-based cytometer for rapid malaria detec on and quan fica on.

A student from ITE College West uses an instruc onal comic to explain the inner workings of his team’s project.

They also had the unique opportunity to be personally guided by professional engineers as mentors over a fourmonth learning journey.

For the final rounds of judging, 80 teams (with some 250 students involved) were shortlisted. The finalists had to display their projects at NED 2018 and pitch them to the judges making their rounds during the exhibi on.

Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance presented the EIC and ICC 2018 awards to the winning students at the NED 2018 prize presenta on ceremony, where he was the guest-of-honour.

Launch of “I am a Young Engineer” Badge IES also launched the “I am a Young Engineer” Badge for primary three to six students at the event, witnessed

by Mr Heng. This new ini a ve is a collabora ve effort

by IES and the Science Centre to encourage students

The four champion teams who eventually emerged were: Category 1 (Secondary Schools): Team S-24, River Valley High School Category 2 (Junior Colleges): Team J-10, Dunman High School Category 3 (Polytechnics & ITEs): Team I-06, ITE College West Category 4 (Local & Overseas Universi es): Team U-01, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology In recogni on of their outstanding performance, the top prize winning teams from Categories 1 to 3 earned an overseas educa onal trip to Germany, hosted by BMW Group, while the second, third and merit prize winners won cash prizes of $1,000, $700 and $300 respec vely.

The champions of Category 4 walked away with $8,000 in cash while the second, third and merit prize winners were awarded $5,000, $3,000 and $1,000 respec vely.

There was also a Popularity Prize worth $300 each across all four categories.

Mr Heng Swee Keat, Minister for Finance, together with Ms Jasmine Foo, Chairman of the NED 2018 Organising Commi ee (extreme right), poses for a photo with the Category 4 champions from the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology.

EIC 2018 was jointly organised by IES and Science Centre Singapore and supported by both the Ministry of Educa on and the Na onal Research Founda on (NRF) Singapore.

IES Innova on Challenge for the Community (ICC) 2018 Ter ary students also received awards for applying their engineering knowledge and crea vity to design userfriendly solu ons to enhance the quality of life of the elderly, handicapped, and the community-at-large.

This year’s challenge received a total of 35 project submissions across two categories. A er a rigorous 46

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(Le to right) Mr Mervyn Sirisena, Vice President, Educa on Group, IES; Assoc Prof Lim Tit Meng, Chief Execu ve, Science Centre Singapore, Mr Heng and Ms Foo unveil the “I am a Young Engineer Badge” during the NED 2018 Prize Presenta on Ceremony on 28 July.

IES UPDATE

to discover the fun of engineering and ins l interest in engineering from a young age.

Through self-directed engineering-related tasks listed on the badge’s ac vity card, students will be able to gain introductory engineering skills and knowledge. They can submit their completed works to their teachers or parents for verifica on to earn stars that will qualify them for the badge.

with the Science Centre in 2016 to s mulate interest amongst students in engineering and is sponsored by HDB, PUB, Micron and ST Engineering.

The badge is one of the outcomes from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that IES signed

Many more exci ng and memorable moments were captured by our photographers during NED 2018. Catch them all on the IES Facebook Page at h p://facebook.com/engineerssg today!

Energy Innova on Challenge 2018 Results Category 1 (Secondary Schools) Posi on

School

Project Title

Champion

River Valley High School

An Eco-Friendly Barbecue Pit System

1st Runner-up

Geylang Methodist Secondary School

A Personalized Breathing Zone Ven la on System Design for Epidemic Control in Public Transporta on based on Computa onal Fluid Dynamics Analysis

2nd Runner-up

Na onal Junior College

Harves ng The Kine c Energy of Rain and Wind with a cost effec ve, efficient and green set up

Posi on

School

Project Title

Champion

Dunman High School

Micro Energy Harves ng (μ-EH) and Its Applica on in Water Desalina on under Emergency and Stressed Situa on

1st Runner-up

River Valley High School

Self-Ordering & Payment Kiosk at Food Court

2nd Runner-up

Anglo-Chinese Junior College

Smart Bullying Detector in School

Category 2 (Junior Colleges)

Category 3 (Polytechnics & Ins tutes of Technical Educa on) Posi on

School

Project Title

Champion

ITE College West

Robo c Helper FETCH

1st Runner-up

ITE College Central

Smart Rehabilita on Knee Brace

2nd Runner-up

ITE College East

Mobility Tracker

Category 4 (Local & Overseas Universi es) Posi on

School

Project Title

Champion

Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology

Affordable Braille Interface for e-book Reading

1st Runner-up

The University of Newcastle, Australia

A Smart Wireless Healthcare Monitoring System

2nd Runner-up

Nanyang Technological University

The Hand Mo on Controlled Robo c Arm THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER August 2018

47

IES UPDATE

YOUNG ENGINEERS AND STUDENTS LEARN MORE ABOUT

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES The IES Young Engineers Commi ee, together with the Singapore Polytechnic Student Chapter, visited CleanTech One (located right outside NTU) on 13 July 2018.

During the visit, the students were given a comprehensive overview of the current and future development and business ecosystem of the en re CleanTech Park. It was a golden opportunity to see for themselves how green features could be implemented on an industrial scale in Singapore.

CleanTech One is listed as a Green Mark Pla num building, which is the highest ra ng classifica on in Singapore’s green building cer fica on scheme, run by the Building and Construc on Authority (BCA).

4) A one-megawa fuel cell plant supplying renewable energy.

5) A bio-digester to eliminate food waste and aid in energy supply.

Apart from gaining an understanding of CleanTech One’s green features, the visitors also had the privilege to go on a tour and view the ECOSOFTT water sustainability project, which u lises Mitsubishi Electric control technology to aid in managing the recycling and re-use of wastewater within CleanTech One. All in all, the visit was certainly an inspiring glimpse of a greener business ecosystem in Singapore.

It is part of CleanTech Park (CTP), Singapore’s first eco-business park for companies in clean technologies and sustainable urban solu ons.

The development of CTP has been done gradually to prevent loss of biodiversity and adheres to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s LUSH (Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises) guidelines.

It has managed to replace all of the greenery lost from the site during development by greening the building, maximising the use of building spaces for greenery features such as roo op gardens and ver cal greenery.

Gaining given an overview of developments in CTP.

Furthermore, to enhance its sustainability and eco-friendliness, several green strategies were adopted in CTP, such as: 1) Aligning the buildings’ facades to face East-West, so as to maximise solar orienta on and create a wind-tunnel effect to maximise wind-capture. This helps to reduce heat gain.

2) Solar panels on the roof and energy-efficient ligh ng installed throughout the building.

3) Demarca on of green zones within CTP, where exis ng trees and plants are conserved. Development works must be planned around these zones.

The visit par cipants posing for a group photo outside CleanTech One, together with Mr Danny Lee, Chairman, Student Chapters Commi ee (front row, 5th from le ) and Dr Victor Sim, Deputy Chairman, Young Engineers Commi ee (6th from le ).

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

48

CAFEO ––––––––––––––––––––––––– Inside Front Cover

Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd ––––– Outside Back Cover

Employment and Employability Ins tute (e2i) –– Page 11

Mul Nine Corpora on Pte Ltd ––––––– Inside Back Cover

EuroBLECH 2018 –––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 15

Power-Gen Asia 2018 –––––––––––––––––––––– Page 27

Igus Singapore Pte Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––– Page 01

SBS Transit Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 09

Jingslink Marke ng Pte Ltd –––––––––––––––––– Page 35

ST Synthesis Pte Ltd ––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 13

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER August 2018