Autonomous Mobile Robots

Businesses have begun exploring the use of AMRs to enable innovation in their operations and improve the quality of customer service. To facilitate the pervasive deployment of AMRs, we actively foster interoperability through adoption of middleware, based on the Robotics Middleware Framework (RMF). Catalysed by the National Robotics Programme (NRP), this is an open-source framework that deconflicts operations between different vendors’ robots and infrastructure assets (e.g., lifts and doors), promoting safe deployment, optimal efficiency and reduced integration costs.

IMDA also works closely with the research community and agencies to continuously stay ahead in RMF developments as well as setting standards and best practices to cement Singapore’s leadership in the space. We organise industry events to share latest technology developments and solutioning options as well as foster business partnerships to support AMR and RMF proliferation.

Outdoor AMR deployments face significant challenges due to the dynamic and unstructured nature of outdoor environments. The main challenges revolve around the complex governance, technical limitations, and commercial considerations.

IMDA works with various stakeholders, such as government agencies, technology solution providers and end users, to address these challenges and promote innovations in the commercial deployment of outdoor AMR solutions. An example of AMR deployment is the Mandai Wildlife Group that is piloting AMRs for tasks like meal delivery, visitor management and outdoor surveillance.

IMDA brings together players across the ecosystem to assess and meet future commercial demand. In addition to building the tech capabilities of AMR and RMF providers, IMDA also engages with end users such as estate owners and professional service providers (e.g., cleaning and security service providers) to proliferate the use of AMR and RMF.

Through strategic Minimum Viable Product deployments (i.e., involving commercial complexes and multiple use cases) as well as adoption of standard market-ready solutions (i.e. involving single-building and single use case, IMDA collaborates with partners across the ecosystem – enterprise users, industry partners, and the research community – to validate ease of implementation and ensure that businesses in other sectors can benefit from these deployments.