An innovation festival to inspire ideas to power our Digital Economy for our Smart Nation from 29 April to 4 May 2017
SINGAPORE - 21 April, 2017: Want to experience what it’s like to purchase an item in an unattended automated shop? Or try your hand at inventing a simple gadget by programming a pocket-sized codeable computer? How can you save on utility bills using predictive technology or make use of smart solutions to improve work processes?
All these and more will be featured at The Smart Nation Innovations (SNI) Week, back for its third run this year to be held in Singapore from 29 April to 4 May. The four pillar events - Tech Saturday (Upsized!), innovfest unbound, arise, convergence, futurenow and fintech360 – will welcome more than 20,000 local and international guests across different communities and backgrounds to learn and share about disruptive tech, study the future impact of technology, and celebrate the success of innovative solutions.
Innovative solutions and capabilities, cutting-edge technologies and media, and fun and interesting components will be showcased. Strong presence from Singapore talents, businesses, Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) and research companies demonstrate a vibrant infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem in Singapore.
Chief Executive Officer of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), Mr Tan Kiat How said, “Innovation is key to converting digital disruption and challenges into opportunities. As we press ahead with our transformation into a digital economy, we need to involve every segment of society – from the businesses to the individual – to create a vibrant digital ecosystem that will power our future. I hope everyone joins in the fun and conversations at the events of the upcoming Smart Nation Innovations Week.”
Tech Saturday (Upsized!) Lead Up Event (22 Apr, 12noon - 7pm)
Leading up to Tech Saturday, a pop up event will be held tomorrow at the Plaza Singapura outdoor atrium featuring a teaser of activities available in the main event. There will be interactive hands-on tinkering stations, try-outs of a made-in-Singapore game, showcases of Microbits and the Digital Maker programme and more. Visitors to the lead up event can also pre-register for Tech Saturday’s workshops and competitions.
Tinkering Stations:
- Ozobot: Ready, set, colour, code! Learn how robots can be controlled using simple commands through a combination of colours
- Makey Makey: Make music from items like a banana, or play a game using a fork and spoon
- Mini Drones: Experience drone flying using a palm-sized drone toy using tablet
- MakeBlock: Programme a robot using a drag and drop interface
- Strawbees: Test the engineer in you. Build a bridge, a crane or your favourite animal using connectors and straws
- Little Artists in VR: Transform your hand-drawn art into a virtual world immediately
- Micro:bit: A pocket-sized codeable computer with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth techonolgy
- Playmaker: Tech toy robots to introduce pre-school children to problem-solving and planning skills and more.
Tech Saturday (Upsized!) 2017 (29, 30 Apr, 11am – 7pm)
Kicking off the week is Tech Saturday (Upsized!). The play-and-learn tech carnival is now double the fun, held on 29 and 30 April. Visitors will get to experience tech and media activities and showcases ranging from fun learning tinker stations, cool gadgets demonstrations, emerging tech innovations to free workshops. This year, thrill seekers can also expect more exciting activities at the upsized arena where there will be a remote control tank battlefield, a drone try-out zone, and two esport competitions featuring the evergreen FIFA soccer game and a brand new real-time strategy game, ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny, created by a Singapore game studio.
There is something fun for everyone at Tech Saturday – tech enthusiast, novice, young or the young at heart.
Minister of Communications and Information, Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, will visit on opening day as the GOH.
Some key highlights at Tech Saturday include:
- Tinker Space:
- “ThinkCrate” by Nullspace robotics, is an all in one Arduino project box to build and program projects like electronic piano or a mood lamp.
- “Potato Pirates” by Codomo, is a card game to teach fundamentals of coding.
- Interactive Showcase:
- “LightWing” a 3D printed superhero costume designed and modelled by students from the Pathlight School
- Award winning “BumbleBee”, an autonomous underwater robot that operates remotely to track, search and rescue
- Award winning “Nanyang Venture 8”, a 3D printed solar car for environment sustainability
- “Eyes on Habitat Coral Reef” is an immersive presentation featuring underwater environment at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, a collaboration between PIXEL Labs, HiverLabs and DHI Water & Environment.
- Arena+
- Super Cup Challenge esports competition on “ArmaGallant: Decks of Destiny”, a deck-building, real-time strategy game by local game studio, Rock Nano Global.
- Hackathon:
- Singapore’s inaugural FIRST LEGO League Junior Challenge. This competition is designed to introduce computational thinking concepts to the 6 to 9 years old, igniting their creativity while challenging them to think like scientists and engineers.
innovfest unbound (3, 4 May, 8:30am – 7pm)
The SNI week continues with anchor event, innovfest unbound, from 3-4 May 2017. Organized by NUS Enterprise and unbound, together with IMDA, this two-day innovation festival and digital conference that showcases Asian innovation, infocomm media ecosystem, jobs and talent, brings stakeholders – including entrepreneurs, corporates, academics, government and media representatives – together to discuss the latest trends, potential collaborations and new business opportunities.
Minister of Communications and Information, Assoc Prof Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, will be gracing the opening on 3 May as the GOH.
Over 300 booths will be featured at innovfest unbound! Some of the highlights include showcases on:
- NEUTO Therapy: the world’s first intelligent hydrogen dry cleaning system invented for vehicles running on combustion engines. Invented by Neutrinos Engineering Pte Ltd, an IMDA SMEs Go Digital pre-qualified vendor, this made-in-Singapore NEUTO Therapy is a smart solution that vastly improves efficiency by cutting down cleaning time significantly
- Bee Bryte: Energy Intelligence to reduce utility bills - a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) which is able to control select electric equipment in order to time-shift electricity purchase and energy use (demand-side flexibility) and benefit from the cheapest electricity prices.
- Arcstone: The future of manufacturing – a software platform operating system that consolidates information and provides a holistic view on the entire manufacturing process.
- Shelfx: Automated and unmanned merchandising that allows customers a touch-and-feel experience. Payment is done through mobile phone or cards.
More than 200 speakers at the event and they include:
- Jordan Mattson, Vice President, Engineering, Carousell
- David Hanson, Founder & CEO, Hanson Robotics Limited
- Dirk Ahlborn, CEO, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies
- Eric Salama, Chairman & CEO, Kantar
- Deborah Barta, SVP Innovation Management and Start-up Engagement, Mastercard
- Min-Liang Tan, CEO, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Razer
- Robert Gilby, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company South East Asia
- Mark Adams, SVP Innovation, Vice Media
- Hiroshi Saijou, CEO & Managing Director, Yahama Motor Ventures and Laboratory
The week comes to a close with four additional satellite events – convergence, arise and futurenow and fintech360 – that will highlight the trends shaping the world of tech this year.
convergence (3, 4 May 2017)
Established for the first time alongside innovfest unbound, convergence highlights the growing synergies between advertising, media and technology. The event will provide an interactive experience that brings players across the marketing ecosystem under one roof - from global brands, local advertising agencies to media and tech professionals in the region. Through a series of content-rich workshops, panel discussions, fireside chats, meetings and networking opportunities with thought leaders, attendees can expect to be inspired by the latest trends in advertising with the convergence of content, communications, creativity and technology to find new collaborations and ways to transform the advertising business and stay at the forefront of a digital future. Check out the Innovation Academy, with workshops by Facebook, Yahoo and Vice Media on the latest innovations and best practices.
Minister of State Janil Puthucheary will be having an opening fireside chat with Mr. Robert Gilby, Managing Director Southeast Asia of The Walt Disney Company on 3 May.
futurenow (3, 4 May 2017)
This series of sessions will showcase the best technologies from research to application taking place in universities, corporations and the start-up space. How will rapid urbanization and global ageing shape the future development of cities? What are the advancements in healthcare that will enable us to live longer, and live better? How are innovations in materials and automation making an impact across diverse fields, from synthetic biology to manufacturing to even wearables and fashion? futurenow sessions will connect the dots between the most bleeding edge research happening today, and their vast potential for impacting the world tomorrow.
arise (4 May 2017)
arise will explore the emerging trends throughout the robotic revolution and give insight into how it will affect the way we live and work in years to come. Experts are saying we are on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution: by 2025, one in three jobs will be done by Robots or AI and by 2020, robots would have taken over 5 million Jobs in the US alone. The dawn of Artificial Intelligence is upon us, real breakthroughs are taking place and as the technology becomes more readily available, developers have the opportunity to create software that has the ability to go beyond one simple task. arise will explore the macro trends emerging throughout the robotic revolution and how the revolution will affect the way we work and live. The sessions will give insight into big data, intelligent robots, bionics and AI powered mobility. A highlight of the event will be a Keynote address by Dr. David Hanson, Founder and CEO of Hanson Robotics, creator of the most expressive and engaging robots. Dr. Hanson will showcase one such robot on stage.
fintech360 (4 May 2017)
fintech360 will bring together the fintech ecosystem, build relationships, share knowledge, and create business opportunities. Co-organised by unbound and the Singapore Fintech Association, the multi-format fintech360 will range across the brave new world of money, featuring deep dives into key areas of disruption and spotlights for the most exciting innovations, covering a wide spectrum from the rise of Asian fintech to globalising fintech.
The Smart Nation Innovations Week is spearheaded by IMDA as a Smart Nation Initiative.
For more information on the line-up of the events in the Smart Nation Innovations Week 2017, visit www.sniweek.com.
Related Resources
Annex A: Tech Saturday (Upsized!) Factsheet
About Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)
The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will develop a vibrant, world-class infocomm media sector that drives the economy, connects people, bonds communities and powers Singapore's Smart Nation vision. IMDA does this by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore's ICT and media infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment. IMDA also enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission. For more news and information, visit www.imda.gov.sg or follow IMDA on Facebook IMDAsg and Twitter @IMDAsg.
About Smart Nation
Singapore strives to be a Smart Nation, in which our people are empowered by technology to lead meaningful and fulfilled lives. By harnessing the power of networks, data and info-comm technologies, we endeavour to improve living, create economic opportunity and build a closer community. We have the conducive environment to experiment, prototype and deploy innovative solutions that can be shared with other global cities. It is an exciting journey, and we want your ideas to help us realise our vision. For more information, please visit www.smartnation.sg.
For media clarifications, interview and other requests:
Regina GOH (Ms)
Manager, Industry & Marketing Communications, IMDA
DID: (65)6211 1295; (65) 9839 5913
Email: regina_goh@imda.gov.sg
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