Singapore Government and Eight Industry Leaders to Research, Test and Deploy Physical AI in Punggol Digital District (PDD)

1. Robotics and Embodied AI (EAI) mark a major shift in AI development moving beyond screen-based tools to physical systems that can perceive, reason, and act in the real world. This evolution is seen as AI's next frontier, with the potential to transform industries and reshape daily life.

Real-world Robotics Testbed at Punggol Digital District

2. As announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in September 2025, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), JTC and the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will be setting up a living testbed for autonomous robots at Punggol Digital District (PDD), jointly with other government agencies and industry partners.

3. This will be Singapore's first testbed to deploy multi-operator robots in a mixed-use public area at PDD, providing a real-world environment where robots and AI systems are continuously tested and refined. To be launched later in 2026, it will:

• Streamline regulation and integrate physical-digital infrastructure seamlessly
• Ensure robot services deployed by businesses in public spaces are complementary and commercially viable

4. IMDA, JTC and SIT will work with eight leading industry players, and government agencies, to advance robotics capabilities and infrastructure in urban spaces through this testbed.

Please refer to the Annex for quotes from some of the industry leaders working on the PDD robotics testbed (156.71KB).

Initial Design Partners to Deploy Services through Robots 

5. In the initial phase, Certis, DHL, Grab and QuikBot will co-design testbed conditions, together with IMDA, JTC and SIT, within PDD that can enable sustainable, commercially viable robotics services in public spaces.

6. These services will include food and parcel delivery, working alongside delivery partners to improve first- and last-mile efficiency, as well as security patrolling and cleaning. They will complement existing human operations by extending services beyond office hours, patrolling hard-to-reach spaces, and conducting cleaning more frequently. In turn, this will allow workers to take on higher-value roles such as supervision, operations management, and service delivery.

7. Robots deployed in the testbed will also be required to meet safety standards and defined operational parameters, for safer human-robot co-existence in our communities.

8. The PDD testbed is facilitated in collaboration with the Land Transport Authority (LTA), through a precinct-level exemption framework under the Active Mobility Act. This gives Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) operators greater flexibility to trial different use cases on public paths within PDD, without having to apply separately to LTA for individual exemption orders, subject to safeguards and conditions to ensure public path safety.

Exploring EAI Use Cases with Industry Partners for Next-generation Robots 

9. Together with the National Robotics Programme (NRP), IMDA will also collaborate on EAI use cases with:

• Knowledge partners: FieldAI and Thoughtworks, who bring deep expertise in digital workflows, data platforms, and AI systems.
• Robotics companies: Slamtec, Unitree, and QuikBot, who specialise in automation, AI, and mobility, developing and trialling EAI use cases through SIT's new Centre for Intelligent Robotics at PDD.

10. IMDA will trial next-generation infrastructure that pushes the boundaries of how robotic systems communicate, coordinate, and scale safely to lay the groundwork for a truly physical AI future.

11. More details on the trials and use cases in the PDD testbed will be shared when it is launched later this year. 

12. These collaborations will help test, refine, and scale Singapore’s robotics capabilities. As AI robotic systems begin to interact directly with people, infrastructure, and everyday city environments, they will collect sensor-rich data, learn from their surroundings, and adapt to changing conditions, becoming more responsive and useful over time.