Is Singapore forgetting startups in Smart Nation? 3 startups weigh in

Transportation, population density, population aging, healthcare—these are all problems in any developed country. Revealed earlier this year, the Smart Nation Programme (SNP) seeks to harness ICT, networks, and data to support better living, create more opportunities, and support stronger communities in Singapore.

Macro initiatives were carried out by the government, for example, the trials of Above Ground (AG) boxes, HetNet and the IoT@Home initiative, focusing on collaboration with mainly large tech companies. However, the tech startups seem to be missing out on the action. That is a shame as there are nuggets of value that can be extracted from the startup community.

I discovered startups that are running their own mini versions of data collection and analytics. If you combined some of these trials together with SNP, I am sure there would be added value creation and breakthroughs. I spoke with them about their solutions, their conducted trials, and how we could improve on the SNP initiative.

Smart living – Intraix

We use a fair amount of electricity but it is not necessarily efficiently used. Darrell Zhang, CEO of Intraix, notes that data in this field is underutilized and his team is committed to reducing energy consumption through the careful analysis of sensory environmental, energy, and physical data.

Intraix deploys a Home Energy Management Solution that is made up of two components, the first being an easy-to-install Smart Energy Meter (Klug Hub) that is capable of capturing energy consumption information, giving users insights in their energy consumption habits in a bid to reduce energy consumption through behavioral changes.

The second component is a smart Air-Conditioning Thermostat (Klug Air), which is capable of collecting data from the room itself and then runs diagnostics via Intraix backend engine on the cloud which will deduce in optimized controls for the air-conditioners. It regulates the air-conditioning settings while one is asleep and savings are achieved.

Klug Hub and Klug Air: Data analytics on energy consumption.

Applying the tech to Smart Nation

Zhang said:

“Imagine the data that is collected on the power consumption of homes, buildings, everything. It will be a windfall of information that will be vital to understanding the country’s power needs. It would also be useful to manufacturers of appliances who can understand the optimal efficiency and usage patterns. Who knows, we might just reduce our nation carbon footprint and also reduce energy consumption levels.”

Feedback on Smart Nation

Many such solutions require large critical mass before significant benefits are reaped. As such, there should be incentives provided to encourage early adopters of such systems. For example, the Echonet Lite Consortium was set up in Japan to provide subsidies of 50 percent to homeowners who are keen to adopt smart home solutions. In the area of data, Smart Nation solution companies should focus their efforts on what tangible values the system can do rather than get engrossed in the collection of data and trying to monetize them. There has to be actionable end objectives which can bring about tangible benefits, and I feel this is lacking a lot.

Smart transportation – Carmen Automotive

Carmen uses data analytics to emulate behavior of sensors. Data obtained from the Carmen dongle, which is plugged into the onboard diagnostics (OBD) port of a vehicle, is uploaded to the cloud and using data analytics to predict failure, all without the need of expensive sensors. With analytics technologies, they allow the average sedan to achieve the same optimal car maintenance regime as top marques and help save maintenance cost and better reliability. Data gets monitored 24/7 and events trigger car owners to avoid breakdowns.

Smart behavioral analytics – ORT Solutions

Smart mobile connectivity – Loco