New 3D map to collate local knowledge, as part of Smart Nation programme: PM Lee

SINGAPORE - A new 3D map may tap everyone's local knowledge to collect and show data like animal sightings, potential hazards for cyclists, or even the best mee pok or nasi lemak, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday.

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Here is the full statement from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore:

National infocomm awards 2014 winners picked for their cutting-edge technology that will help build Singapore into a smart nation

Twelve private and public organisations walked away with the coveted National Infocomm Awards (NIA) as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong presented them with Singapore's highest accolade for infocomm innovation this morning. The winners were selected from 164 submissions, all aiming to demonstrate this year's new selection criteria - innovative development of infocomm products/solutions and innovative use of infocomm technology that can contribute to Singapore's Smart Nation vision. Singapore is building the world's first Smart Nation, making full use of technologies to improve the quality of life for users and enable new opportunities for businesses.

The highest level of honours, were awarded to four of the twelve winners. In the category of the "Most Innovative Infocomm Product/Solution", Numoni Pte Ltd won the coveted award, for their NUGEN - Micro-transaction Self-Service Terminal for the Underbanked. NUGEN brings cash-into-account for those people that are underserved by banks. Designed to help bring the digital economy to the masses (e.g. those living in villages and remote areas), NUGEN allows users to top-up prepaid airtime to their mobile phones, pay bills, purchase tickets, issues vouchers, repay micro-loans, conduct micro-savings, make small remittances or value transfers, and top up to their mobile wallet.

The Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) won for the category of "Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Public Sector)" for their Advanced Data Analytics for the Bus Service Enhancement Programme. The programme has allowed commuters to enjoy better level of bus services in Singapore, achieved by leveraging on data analytics. By data-mining farecard data, they gained deep insights on travelling patterns and their demands of commuters, allowing LTA planners to assess and inject new routes and additional buses to improve bus frequencies.

In the category of the "Most Innovative Use of Infocomm Technology (Private Sector - General)", DBS Bank clinched the top honour for their submission. They exemplified effective use of data analytics to optimise efficiency and increase customer satisfaction, transforming the way organisations conduct their business and workflow. A first-of-its-kind in the banking industry in Singapore, DBS drove optimal ATM cash management with analytics by converting valuable ATM usage and customer behaviour data into daily, weekly and even monthly ATM cash replenishment schedules that minimise inconvenience to customers.

The winner of the "Most Innovative Use of Technology (Private Sector - SME)" category, Singapore District Cooling Pte Ltd won for their iTransform solution. The solution enabled the lean plant operation team to efficiently execute scheduled and ad hoc tasks and collect data in a flexible, location-specific manner, with the objective to transform the current maintenance operations from a paper-intensive, labourious and slow system, to a real-time and location-sensitive plant operations and maintenance system. The effective use of low cost Smart Sensors and Smart Devices to provide increased operational efficiency and productivity also helped the company win the top award.

Mr Steve Leonard, Executive Deputy Chairman of Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Co-Chair of NIA 2014 said, "Singapore is committed to become the world's first Smart Nation, and using technology and data in new ways that can improve the lives of people of all ages is the foundation of what it means to be a Smart Nation. My fellow judges and I were excited to see how this year's NIA nominees were also committed to innovating, and this gives us even more confidence in our future as a Smart Nation."

"The finalists for NIA2014 have demonstrated that innovation knows no boundaries as some of the cutting-edge products and solutions are also creating an impact beyond Singapore's shores, and we are very excited with the opportunities that these finalists have created for themselves," said Ms Shirley Wong, Chairman of Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) and Co-Chair of NIA 2014.

Jointly organised by IDA and SiTF, NIA is a biennial event that recognises organisations that have exemplified the spirit of innovation, in their development of new infocomm products or services, or their use of infocomm technology to achieve excellence. Nominations were evaluated by two evaluation committees and a panel of judges. In this seventh edition, the evaluation process considered criteria including innovativeness, the technology used, ease of implementation, business impact, market presence, potential and contribution to Singapore's Smart Nation vision.