Page 59 - ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services – Executive Summary

• Healthcare for an ageing population: Due to falling birth rates and increasing ageing populations,
Singapore’s health care costs are rapidly increasing. Mobile apps to prevent chronical illness, like
obesity and diabetes are being developed, use of tele-health tools are planned and IT solutions are
being used to improve logistics in hospitals. An example will be Smart Health-Assist, which was
piloted in Jurong Lake District, which involves deploying unobtrusive and easy to use sensors in the
homes of the elderly or patients suffering from chronic diseases. Smart Health-Assist will enable
patients to manage their conditions from the comfort of their homes, allowing them to remain
independent and active in their community. Reducing the number of medical visits also frees up
hospital resources and makes chronic disease management more sustainable in the long run.
• Smart transport solutions: As a city state, Singapore is the second most densely populated country
in the world. Roads take up about 12 per cent of total land area, and this does not include the space
required for parking lots. Building more roads to cater to personal cars is not a sustainable option in
land-scarce Singapore. Therefore, Singapore continues to invest heavily in improving its public
transport system, and has taken significant steps to improve train and bus services, as well as the
first- and last-mile connections between homes and transport hubs. For the occasions when there
is a need for point-to-point transport, this will increasingly be met by taxis, private hire car services
like Uber and Grab, and car-sharing services. Singapore is also working with partners from academia
and industry to develop various self-driving vehicle technologies and mobility concepts. Trials for
autonomous mobility-on-demand shared services have been ongoing since 2015, and initiatives are
underway to develop self-driving buses, truck platooning technology and autonomous utility
vehicles. The Land Transport Authority has jointly developed a Smart Mobility 2030 plan with the
Intelligent Transport Society Singapore (ITSS) to implement innovative and sustainable solutions for
smarter urban mobility. Initiatives include using predictive and pre-emptive capabilities with
integrated pedestrian detection to minimise delays and eliminate unnecessary stoppages for
vehicles, as well as green Intelligent Transport System (ITS) infrastructure and alternative energy
sources to power ITS equipment. Singapore is also developing a next-generation Electronic Road
Pricing system that will tap on Global Navigation Satellite System technology not only as a means to
implement congestion pricing in a smarter way, but also to enhance traffic management. Having
aggregated, comprehensive and real-time data of all road traffic in Singapore through this system
would, for example, allow Singapore to implement a much smarter and more optimal traffic light
management system that improves traffic flow, disseminate more timely, accurate and targeted
updates to motorists to help them optimise their travel routes, and enable vehicle-to-vehicle and
vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.
• Smart logistics (especially for the maritime industry): The ease of customs clearance in Singapore
has been underpinned by a set of trade improving initiatives called “Trade-FIRST” where businesses
can streamline its application process for different trading schemes, resulting in more cost savings.
It also has a one-stop electronic submission site for customs documentation and therefore reduces
red tape for businesses. With such ease of access, the marine industry has become aware of its
environmental footprint. Singapore is building a Liquefied Natural Gas terminal and looking into
Electric Propulsion, better energy management system for ports and biofuels as alternative fuels.

2.3 Results

Since its launch in November 2014, the Smart Nation Singapore has proceeded by leaps and bounds. The
main features and results of this vision coupled with other urban interventions are as follows:
• Towards Even Better Living
Singapore serves as an example of an advanced and developed nation that tackles challenges such
as ageing populations, technological disruption and new areas of economic growth through its use
of smart policy innovation. Smart initiatives such as data-driven public transport planning, smart
town planning and increasing key education collaborations between universities, has led to
Singapore becoming one of the most reputed and liveable cities in the world.

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