CHART is a national platform established with the support of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), that enables healthcare professionals to work closely with industry, academia and research institutions to co-develop and testbed impactful healthcare solutions in assistive technologies and robotics. CHART also works with the National Robotics Programme, a multi-agency initiative to coordinate and support the end-to-end development of robotics technologies. For more info, please refer to www.chart.com.sg.

Simulation of prototypes, processes, infrastructure in trial environments prior to piloting in actual hospital / home setting

Participants will be introduced to FANUC and the Singapore showroom with demonstrations of some robots, including the FANUC Robot CR-35iA, a high payload (35kg) collaborative robot that can work without safety fences and stops safely when it touches a human operator; a high speed bin picking system which recognizes 3D locations of multiple parts at a time, allowing the robot to pick items up from a bin within a short amount of time; and a lightweight and compact high speed assembly robot which handles high speed pill sorting system by colour.

HOPE Technik is a Singapore-proud engineering firm that has been evolving the industry landscape with its technological innovations since 2006. The company’s unique structure empowers each of its businesses to develop world-class products and prototype innovative solutions for its global clients. Regardless of how unusual a project may be, HOPE Technik’s dedicated team of qualified engineers and technical staff are committed to translate concepts into reality.

Tour participants will see how the three business arms of the company – SESTO Robotics, Special Vehicle Operations and Technik² – are supported by a complete in-house suite of engineering expertise covering mechanical, electrical and software engineering, as well as industrial design and manufacturing capabilities. For more info, please refer to https://hopetechnik.com/.

Please take note that photo-taking is not allowed during the visit.

Participants will visit the A*STAR Social Robotics Laboratory (ASORO), which is part of the robotics department at the I²R under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The lab focuses on service and social robot technologies vital to Singapore’s industry. You will be able to understand some of the challenges being investigated, including autonomous navigation, robust perception, manipulation, human-robot interaction and cognition. In addition, learn about the research works undertaken to solve the real world challenges faced as part of the smart nation initiative in Singapore, as well as the autonomous vehicle testbed at One North – an approved site for autonomous vehicle testing on actual public roads – and its supporting infrastructure. For more info, please refer to www.i2r.a-star.edu.sg.

The RRC has two main research directions: human-centric robots, and infrastructure robotics and automation. With the establishment of LKC Medical School, RRC puts in strong R&D emphasis in healthcare robotics as well as encourage translational projects to benefit Singapore’s industry as a whole. A new direction for manufacturing robotics is to have robots work alongside human workers, rather than working in isolation for the human. The role of these robots is not to replace human workers but to assist human workers in completing tasks with human intelligence and experience. Infrastructure Robotics and Automation as a relatively recent drive for R&D excellence in robotics.

Due to our ageing workforce and also the hazardous nature of civil infrastructure construction, inspection, and maintenance, using robotic technology to assist workers to carry out their tasks becomes a necessity. Robotic equipment that are used for infrastructure applications are often operated outdoors, and the uncertainties present in an outdoor environment make this research area challenging but worthwhile. For more info, please refer to www.rrc.mae.ntu.edu.sg.

The Advanced Robotics Center (ARC) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The research at ARC spans a wide spectrum of robotics with a focus on human-centered collaborative robots. ARC aims to advance the state of art in robotics research and partners with Singapore government agencies and industries to translate cutting-edge research into real-world systems. The main laboratory is located on the top floor of a building, with a bird’s-eye view of the NUS campus. Participants will go on a tour of robotics facilities at NUS where they will see a number of demos, including autonomous driving, human-robot interaction, robot perception, rehabilitation robotics, soft robotics, etc. You will also be able to ride on various autonomous vehicles from wheelchairs and scooters to cars. For more info, please refer to www.arc.nus.edu.sg.

Participants will visit the Industrial Robotics Lab of the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). SIMTech is a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The mission of this lab is to research into and develop key technologies and expertise for the development of industrial robotic systems to tackle difficult-to-automate manufacturing processes. Some of the challenges addressed in this lab include platform technologies for scalable omni-directional mobility systems, robotics for adaptive material removal and robotic modules for precise control of force interactions with the environment. For more info, please refer to www1.simtech.a-star.edu.sg/programmes/research-groups/manufacturing-automation/mechatronics.aspx.

Participants will visit the robotic welding lab at SIMTech @ Valley Block, where the research activities aim to address the issues in welding automation. SIMTech is a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The tour will showcase intuitive robot teaching for welding path, orbital robotic system for large TYK configurations, and automated welding quality assessment and inspection. For more info, please refer to www1.simtech.a-star.edu.sg/programmes/research-groups/manufacturing-automation/mechatronics.aspx.

RIL is a multi-disciplinary research lab founded in 2013 that focus on robotics innovation in defence, manufacturing and medical. The tour will showcase the various research activities performed by the various robotics research groups located in RIL. Major research activities include bio-inspired robotics design, industrial robotics and assistive robotics. The tour will end with a visit to two of the four antique Chinese buildings donated by film star Jackie Chan, which date back to the Qing and Ming dynasties.

ST Engineering – NTU Corporate Laboratory is an academics-industry joint research lab that focuses on R&D of relevant technologies for advanced robotic and autonomous systems for applications such as airport gateway and crisis response. Aiming at bringing our research innovation to marketplace, the academics-industry partnership combines both NTU’s and ST Engineering’s expertise to develop critical technologies in four research areas, namely collaborative teaming, robust autonomous mobility, scene understanding and material handling. Demonstration of various research activities including collaborative multi-robot exploration, UAV precision landing and AI based object detection are to be expected during the tour, such that the participants have a clear overview of the Corp Lab’s key capabilities. For more info, please refer to www.ste-ntulab.ntu.edu.sg.

Charming visitors the world over since taking flight in 1971, Jurong Bird Park is one of the most renowned bird sanctuaries with some of the largest free-flying aviaries in the world. In habitats that mirror their naturalistic environments, Jurong Bird Park is home to the colours of the world, as Asia’s largest bird park with a collection of more than 5,000 birds across 400 species.

Our park and its line-up of award-winning exhibits, located at the west-end of Singapore, offers 20.2 hectares of exploratory landscape and gives visitors the opportunity to meet and interact with our feathered residents. For more info, please refer to www.birdpark.com.sg.