How we design and build a smart city and nation | Cheong Koon Hean | TEDxSingapore

Summary

The video script discusses the challenges and opportunities of urbanization, emphasizing the importance of smart technology in creating sustainable and efficient cities. It highlights Singapore's vision to become a smart nation, integrating information and communication technology to enhance daily living. The script explores various smart applications, from urban planning and environmental management to elderly care and energy conservation, showcasing how data-driven insights can improve city living and address issues like an aging population and climate change.

Takeaways

• 🌆 Half of the world's population now lives in cities, emphasizing the importance of urban planning and development.
• 📈 Cities face challenges such as growing and aging populations, necessitating infrastructure and services that adapt to these changes.
• 🌡️ Climate change demands that cities encourage energy conservation to reduce carbon emissions.
• 💡 Smart technology, leveraging ICT and IoT, is being adopted by cities to improve daily living and environmental conditions.
• 📈 By 2025, it is projected that there will be at least 88 smart cities worldwide.
• 🇸🇬 Singapore's vision is to become a smart nation, focusing on improving the quality of life through technology.
• 🏡 The 'Heartlands' of Singapore, housing 83% of the population, serves as an example of a smart town, functioning like the human body with buildings, greenery, and roads.
• 🛠️ Smart planning involves using data to create 3D maps and computer models to simulate and optimize various aspects of a town, such as windflows and solar irradiance.
• 🌿 Sustainable initiatives like solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems are being introduced in older estates to make them smarter and greener.
• 🔍 Sensors and data collection play a crucial role in monitoring and improving the efficiency of estate services like lighting and lifts.
• 🚗 Real-time data on transportation, such as taxi movements, helps in planning and providing information to commuters for better travel decisions.
• 👵 With an aging population, smart solutions like the SEMAS and telehealth are essential for elderly care and monitoring.
• 🏠 Home energy management systems are being implemented to save energy and provide convenience in daily living.

Q & A

What is the significance of cities in today's world according to the script?

Cities are significant as they are home to half of the world's population, posing challenges and opportunities for architect planners, especially with growing and aging populations seeking better quality of life.

What challenges do cities face as they grow?

Cities face challenges such as managing a growing and aging population, developing more infrastructure and services, ensuring these services work efficiently, and addressing climate change by encouraging less energy usage to reduce carbon emissions.

What is the definition of smart technology as mentioned in the script?

Smart technology is the use of information and communications technology, the Internet of Things, and data insights to develop smart applications that improve day-to-day living and the environment.

What is the projected number of smart cities by 2025?

It is projected that by 2025, there will be at least 88 smart cities in the world.

What is Singapore's vision for becoming a smart nation according to the prime minister?

Singapore's vision for becoming a smart nation is to enable people to live meaningful and fulfilled lives, seamlessly supported by technology, offering exciting opportunities for all, with a focus on people rather than just technology.

What does the term 'the Heartlands' refer to in the context of Singapore?

In Singapore, 'the Heartlands' refers to public housing towns that house 83 percent of the population, and are home to many residents living in about a million flats.

How does the script describe the functioning of a smart town?

A smart town functions like the human body, with buildings as muscles, greenery and parks as lungs, and roads as veins and arteries. It also has a sensor layer that collects data, allowing the town to learn and adapt.

What is the role of computer simulations in smart planning according to the script?

Computer simulations in smart planning help in designing a better living environment by collecting data about a town and simulating various aspects like windflows, shadow analysis, and solar irradiance, which can inform decisions on town design and functionality.

How can sensors in smart towns contribute to energy efficiency?

Sensors in smart towns can monitor environmental conditions like humidity and heat, and trigger actions like activating fans when certain thresholds are met. They can also collect data for analysis, leading to more efficient energy use.

What is the purpose of the Smart Elderly Monitoring Alert System (SEMAS) mentioned in the script?

SEMAS is a system designed to monitor the movements of elderly individuals in their homes, learn their patterns, and send alerts to caregivers if there is a deviation from the norm, providing peace of mind and ensuring safety.

How can smart technology improve daily living for the elderly and their caregivers?

Smart technology, such as telehealth and home energy management systems, can provide convenience and safety for the elderly, allowing them to receive medical care and manage their home environment remotely, while also giving caregivers the ability to monitor and assist more effectively.

Outlines

00:00

🌆 Urban Challenges and Smart Technology Adoption

The first paragraph introduces the increasing importance of cities due to the majority of the world's population living in urban areas. It discusses the challenges faced by city planners, such as accommodating growing and aging populations while improving the quality of life and addressing climate change. The solution presented is the adoption of smart technology, which leverages ICT and IoT to create applications that enhance daily living. The script mentions a projection of 88 smart cities by 2025 and highlights Singapore's vision of becoming a smart nation, focusing on people rather than technology, and the readiness of Singapore with high broadband and smartphone penetration rates. The concept of a smart town is likened to the human body, with buildings, greenery, and roads serving as muscles, lungs, and veins, respectively, and the potential of sensor layers for data collection and smart application development is explored.

05:02

🏙️ Smart Planning and Environmental Simulations

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of smart planning, which involves collecting data on various aspects of a town and using computer simulations to create a three-dimensional map of Singapore. The speaker illustrates how computer models can simulate windflows and how adjustments to building layouts and park placements can improve these flows, leading to better air quality and cooler environments. The paragraph also covers the application of computer simulations at different scales, from town to precinct to building levels, and how they can be used for shadow analysis and solar irradiance to inform design decisions. The integration of sensor data to validate and refine these simulations is highlighted, along with examples of how sensor data can be used to trigger environmental responses, such as activating fans based on heat and humidity levels.

10:04

🛠️ Enhancing Estate Services with Smart Technology

The third paragraph discusses the application of smart technology to enhance estate services, such as lighting and lift systems. It describes how smart sensors can adjust lighting based on human presence and predict patterns to save energy. The paragraph also touches on the monitoring of lifts to prevent breakdowns and the potential of sensors to predict failures before they occur. The speaker mentions the use of real-time data for transport planning, such as tracking taxi movements to inform commuters about congestion and the use of smart card data to identify crowded buses. The benefits of smart technology in improving the efficiency and responsiveness of estate services are emphasized.

15:05

👵🏼 Smart Living Solutions for an Ageing Population

The fourth paragraph focuses on smart living solutions for an ageing population, highlighting the demographic changes and the need for support systems to assist the elderly who live alone. The speaker introduces the SEMAS (Smart Elderly Monitoring Alert System) as a pilot program that uses sensors to monitor and learn the patterns of elderly residents, sending alerts to family members if unusual activity is detected. The paragraph also mentions telehealth services that allow for remote medical assistance and the home energy management system that optimizes energy use. The importance of selecting user-friendly technology and ensuring strong cybersecurity measures is stressed, concluding with the optimistic view that smart solutions can significantly improve the quality of life in cities.

Keywords

💡Smart Technology

Smart technology refers to the integration of information and communications technology, the Internet of Things, and data insights to develop applications that enhance daily living. In the video, it is the central theme, as cities adopt this technology to address challenges like population growth, aging, and climate change. Examples include using sensors to collect data for improving town functioning and developing smart applications for efficient living.

💡Urbanization

Urbanization is the process where an increasing number of people live in cities, leading to the growth of urban areas. The script notes that half of the world's population lives in cities, emphasizing the importance of city planning and the challenges urbanization brings, such as the need for more infrastructure and services.

💡Infrastructure

Infrastructure refers to the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, such as roads, bridges, and buildings. The script discusses the necessity to develop more infrastructure as cities grow to support the increasing population and to ensure the efficient functioning of services.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in the context of the video pertains to creating environments and using resources in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The script mentions solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems as examples of sustainable practices in urban areas.

💡Smart Cities

Smart cities are urban areas that use different types of electronic data collection sensors to supply information which is used to manage assets, resources, and services efficiently. The video projects that by 2025, there will be at least 88 smart cities globally, highlighting the growing trend of cities adopting technology for better living conditions.

💡Singapore

In the script, Singapore is presented as a case study for a smart nation, with a vision to harness technology to enable meaningful and fulfilled lives. The term is used to illustrate the practical application of smart technology in urban planning and services, such as the use of broadband, fibre, and high smartphone penetration.

💡Smart Nation

A smart nation, as mentioned in the script in reference to Singapore, is a country that leverages technology to improve the quality of life for its citizens, offering opportunities and solutions to societal challenges. It goes beyond just technology, focusing on people and their needs, as illustrated by the various smart applications discussed in the video.

💡Elderly Care

Elderly care in the video is addressed through smart solutions like the Smart Elderly Monitoring Alert System (SEMAS), which uses sensors to monitor and alert family members if there is unusual activity or inactivity, ensuring the safety of the elderly while providing peace of mind to their caregivers.

💡Telehealth

Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technology to provide remote healthcare services. The script describes how telehealth can allow the elderly to receive physiotherapy and health monitoring in their homes, reducing the need for hospital visits and improving convenience.

💡Home Energy Management System

A home energy management system is a device or set of devices that allows homeowners to monitor and control their energy consumption. In the video, it is used as an example of smart technology that can save energy by adjusting the temperature of air conditioners based on occupancy and usage patterns.

💡Cyber Security

Cyber security in the context of the video refers to the protection of internet-connected systems, including smart technologies in cities and homes, from theft, damage, or unauthorized access. The script emphasizes the importance of strengthening cyber security as more data is collected and used in smart applications.

Highlights

Half of the world's population lives in cities, making urban planning and development crucial.

Cities face challenges such as growing and aging populations, and the demand for better quality of life.

Infrastructure and services must be developed to accommodate urban growth while addressing climate change.

Encouraging energy-efficient practices in cities is essential for reducing carbon emissions.

Smart technology is being adopted in cities to improve the environment and daily living through ICT and IoT.

By 2025, it is projected that there will be at least 88 smart cities worldwide.

Singapore's vision is to be a smart nation, focusing on people and technology to enable meaningful living.

Singapore is well on its journey to becoming smart, with high broadband and smartphone penetration rates.

A smart town functions like the human body, with buildings, greenery, and roads serving different functions.

Sensors in a smart town collect data, allowing the town to learn and adapt, leading to the development of smart applications.

Smart planning involves using computer simulations to design better living environments, considering factors like windflows.

Punggol Eco-Town is an example of smart planning, where adjustments were made to improve windflows and air quality.

Smart estate services include energy-efficient lighting and predictive maintenance for lifts in HDB towns.

Data from solar panels can be used to monitor energy collection and predict weather conditions.

Smart living solutions like SEMAS provide elderly monitoring and alerts for family members.

Telehealth allows for remote medical care and monitoring of vital signs in the comfort of one's home.

Home energy management systems can optimize energy usage and save costs.

Selecting the right technology and ensuring user-friendliness and cybersecurity are crucial for successful smart solutions.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Sally Yang Reviewer: Peter van de Ven

Do you know that today, in the world,

half of the population actually live in cities?

So, cities are very important to us.

But cities also give us a lot of challenges,

especially the architect planners.

Because most of them face a growing population.

Not only is the population growing, but it is also ageing.

And people continue to have aspirations for a better quality of life.

And as the cities grow,

we would have to develop more infrastructure and services for them,

and we have to make sure that these services work.

And, with climate change, we have to encourage people to use less energy

so that we reduce carbon emissions.

So, cities seek solutions to address these challenges.

How do we deal with them?

Well, many cities are starting to adopt smart technology

to improve our environment and our daily living.

But what is smart technology?

Everybody talks about being 'smart'.

Well, in very simple form,

it is really harnessing information and communications technology,

the Internet of Things,

and getting insights into data,

to actually develop smart applications

that make day-to-day living for us comfortable.

It has been projected that by 2025,

we will have at least 88 smart cities in the world.

What about Singapore?

Well, the prime minister has said:

'Our vision is for Singapore to be a smart nation.

A nation where people live meaningful and fulfilled lives,

enabled seamlessly by technology,

offering exciting opportunities for all.'

Note that it's really about people and not about just the technology.

But are we ready to be 'smart'?

Well, I think we're pretty much on the journey.

We're quite wired up.

90 percent of our homes have broadband,

and we're going to bring fibre to every home.

And Singapore has one of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the world,

at about 85 percent.

So, we are on the journey.

But what is a smart nation?

I'd just like to illustrate with an example of a public housing town,

close to my heart.

And I call it 'the Heartlands'.

Why is it 'the Heartlands'?

Because it houses 83 percent of the population,

and many of you and I live in HDB towns, in about a million flats.

So, what is a smart town?

The smart town really functions like the human body.

We have all the buildings in there where activities take place,

like the muscles in our body.

We have greenery and parks,

like our lungs,

that help to cleanse the air for us

and give us oxygen to breathe.

And we have all the roads,

just like the veins and arteries in our bodies

that move the traffic, the people and the goods.

And you know, our body has the five senses.

And the senses send [information] to our brain,

so it senses what happens in the environment,

[which] tells our brain how to get the body to adapt,

whether it's hot or cold.

So, if you add a sensor layer onto a town, it collects data,

and insights from this data can help the town to continue to learn and adapt.

And from this, we can develop smart applications for day-to-day living.

As an architect planner,

actually, I planned and built many of the towns that you live in.

And I would very much like

to build a smart town that is liveable, efficient, sustainable, and safe for you.

We are going to look at 'smart' in four areas.

Smart planning,

smart environment,

smart estate services,

and smart living.

What is smart planning?

As an architect planner, I love this part

because it helps me to design a better living environment for you.

Now, what is smart planning?

Basically, the first thing I do is to collect all the data about a town -

the buildings, the roads, the parks -

and I put it into the computer.

And I'll also collect a lot of information about energy use and waste,

for example.

And with this information,

I can develop a three-dimensional map of Singapore in the computer.

Now, what do I do with this information?

Well, I can do a lot.

I can do a computer model that simulates the windflows through the town.

We're in the tropics, we love the wind.

We're not in Chicago.

Now, if you look at this diagram,

the colours that are yellow and orange mean that the windflows are pretty good.

The ones in blue mean it doesn't move so much.

So, when we did the first cut of Punggol Eco-Town,

this was the pattern of the windflow.

And then we adjusted the buildings,

we moved the parks around,

and then you find that the windflows improve.

You see more of the orange and the red colours,

which means you get a cooler and a better air quality through the town.

Computer simulations can do many things.

We can do it at a town level,

or we can do it at a precinct level,

and we can even do it at a building level.

So, welcome to Punggol Northshore.

It's a precinct we've just designed,

which I've just launched for sale.

I don't know how many of you applied for a flat there,

but I highly recommend it.

It's a great place to live in.

(Laughter)

Now, similarly, when we first did the design,

we looked at the windflows through the town.

And at a town level, we also made adjustments to the design -

I moved things around, cut holes in the buildings -

and you can see that the windflows have improved,

particularly in the neighbourhood centre.

We wanted a lot of natural ventilation

so that we can minimise the use of air conditioning.

Now, computer simulations can also help you in many ways.

It can do a shadow analysis of the town.

Here, you see the shadows moving from morning till night.

Why is it important?

Well, it helps the architect and the planner

to decide where to put the park,

the outdoor dining areas,

the outdoor plazas,

playgrounds,

and my childcare centre - I like to put them in the shade

so that the children can be out the whole day.

The computer can also tell you the solar irradiance in a town.

How much sun actually falls on the surfaces of the town

and on the buildings.

And why is this useful?

Well, it helps me to decide, for example, where there's moderate sunshine.

I'm going to put the roof gardens there.

And where there's a lot of sunshine,

that's where I put my solar panels.

We've talked about solar panels.

And it is very effective.

All this information helps the architect to design the town,

not only aesthetically,

but also to ensure that it is functional.

So this is the waterfront town.

Quite nice.

You can start applying for it.

(Laughter)

Now, we can add a layer of sensors to the town.

A layer of sensors that tells you about the humidity,

the heat, the windflows.

And all this data that I collect can go back into the computer systems

to validate the assumptions and make them even more accurate.

But more importantly, [the data] can be used in many ways.

For example, in my neighbourhood centre, I have these huge fans.

Now, I hope that these fans can be triggered.

When I monitor the humidity and the heat,

they would be triggered when it hits a certain threshold level.

But that is a greenfield site.

What about old towns?

So, welcome to Yuhua, Jurong, an old estate.

What we did a couple of years ago

is to try to introduce a lot of sustainability initiatives

into this estate to make it greener,

which means more cycling, more solar panels for clean energy.

We put in rainwater harvesting systems.

But can I make it even smarter so that they're more effective?

So, for example,

we have put a lot of solar panels on hundreds of buildings in HDB blocks.

You may not see [them] because you didn't climb up to the roof.

Now, we put in sensors to all the solar panels

and we track the energy that is collected.

And we know immediately when the panel is not working,

because it would not be collecting energy,

and we can fix it.

But do you know that such data collected can do many things?

It can even tell you the weather condition.

For example, if many of the solar panels are not collecting a lot of energy,

it might mean that over that town, it is cloudy, or it is actually raining.

So, it is a proxy to the meteorological station.

Another service that we see a lot in town -

an estate service that we're very familiar with -

is the lighting along your corridor.

How many of you walk into a toilet and [the light] suddenly switches on,

and you get a shock?

From dark to light, right?

Well, smart sensors allow a person to walk along the corridor,

it can even predict where you're going,

and then the lighting level picks up.

And when you have passed it, the lighting level dims again.

And you save energy.

And the data collected is useful

because if, along the corridor, after 11pm every night,

very few people actually walk there,

the system is smart enough to learn the pattern

and to reduce the brightness of the light

and save energy.

Another estate service we are all very familiar with is ...

the lift.

We have 24,000 lifts in HDB towns.

And we monitor them every day.

Now, you may not know this,

but we move the lifts when you are sleeping.

There's no ghost. We move it.

(Laughter)

The reason being that we are testing it to make sure it works

when you take the lift the next day.

Now, of course, when the lift breaks down,

we will get a signal and we have to go and fix it.

But, you know, with the new sensors,

maybe you can even monitor the vibration and the heat generation from the lift.

And they can even predict a potential failure

before it even happens so that we can go and fix it first.

So, that's wonderful, right?

To be able to predict.

Now, this is a map of Singapore.

If you look closely, you'll think there are a lot of ants running around.

Now, actually, this is real time.

It shows you where all the taxis are moving around in Singapore.

But why do we want to collect such data?

It's great data for transport planners

because by looking at this data,

the transport planner knows the road condition

and where the congestion is.

Now, we can push this data to you, to all your smartphones.

I'm sure all of you have smartphones.

And you'll know straightaway which road to avoid.

Going home from NTU later to wherever you came from.

You have your Ez-link card, right?

Every time you go up the bus, you tap the Ez-link card.

Now, that data's very useful

because when we collect that data, we can tell you which bus is crowded.

So, when you're waiting for your bus,

on your handphone, you will be able to find out

that this bus that's coming is going to be crowded,

so you might want to take another bus, or change your route.

So, such information and data are very useful.

Next, I talked about smart living.

Closer to home.

By 2030, we will have double the people who are over 65 years old

from 450,000 to about 900,000.

In 1970,

about 13 people supported one person who was over 65 years old.

By 2030, there are only two of us

supporting a parent who's over 65 years old.

And with dual-income families,

it means that many of us may not be home and our parents are left alone.

Well, meet two of my residents.

This is Doris, and her mum is 78 years old.

And Doris has to go to work.

She has to cater to the family, and she takes care of her mum.

But she's always worried because her mum once had a fall at home.

So, she's very worried when she's at work.

So, what we did was we pilot-tested a system called SEMAS -

Smart Elderly Monitoring Alert System - in her home.

So, what we did was we went into her home

and we fixed a couple of sensors throughout the home.

And what this sensor does is it monitors the movements of her mum.

But it doesn't just monitor.

It learns her pattern over a few weeks,

for example, the time that she wakes up.

Now, if this pattern is broken - it becomes very irregular,

or there's no movement at home -

what happens is that a signal is automatically sent to Doris's handphone

when she's at work,

and Doris can quickly call home and check if her mum is alright,

or to alert the neighbour to knock on the door.

And I think this gives Doris a lot of peace of mind.

So, with an ageing population,

such smart solutions are actually very useful.

Another application is telehealth.

When you're at work, and mum has no one to send her to the hospital,

she may not need to go to the hospital.

She can be home and do her physiotherapy

with a nurse watching her and training her

to make sure that she's doing it correctly.

She can do this in the comfort of her living room.

And in fact, her heartbeat and blood pressure can be monitored.

And so, it is very convenient.

But, of course, if she needs to go to the hospital,

the nurse would tell her, "You need to come into the hospital."

So, I think another very useful application

is the home energy management system.

I think everyone is quite familiar with this.

It tells you how much energy your appliances are using at home.

But the smart solutions can even alert you when they reach a certain usage.

It can even switch off your devices when you're not at home.

And do you know that it can even do this?

When you go to bed at night, and you turn on the air conditioner,

a lot of you like it to be very cool.

I don't know what temperature - 18, 20, or 21 [degree Celcius]?

But it uses a lot of energy.

So, what happens is, after you're asleep, very quietly,

the device is going to raise the temperature of your air conditioner,

and you won't even know it.

And therefore, you save energy.

So, I think, all these applications can make our daily living better.

But, of course, we'll have to select the right technology.

We have to make it very friendly.

And, frankly, the SEMAS system I showed you -

actually, Doris's mum found it very easy to use.

And, of course, we have to make sure that we strengthen cyber security

because we're collecting a lot of data.

And I believe that while cities are a great challenge to us,

if we can find the right smart solutions,

we can make Singapore a much better home.

Thank you.

(Applause)