SMU, Fujitsu and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) have agreed to invest S$54 million in an Urban Computing and Engineering Centre of Excellence in Singapore to address challenges faced by highly urbanised cities. The trio inked the Master Research Collaboration Agreement, a five-year partnership, at Fusionopolis on Wednesday. The centre aims to harness high-performance computing capabilities to develop solutions for sustainable urban operations. Its researchers will use Singapore as a "living lab" to test-bed next generation solutions for real urban issues.

The centre will study the flow of traffic, both human and vehicular, and model simulations to test how Singapore can ensure smooth traffic flow in crowded areas. A key area of research, for instance, focuses on large urban areas where many people gather in a short time for activities such as sporting events or concerts. "The idea is to provide visitors to such events with intelligent and timely information through their mobile devices to help in decision making," said Deputy Director of the Living Analytics Research Centre at SMU and Professor of Information Systems Lau Hoong Chuin.

SMU President Professor Arnoud De Meyer said that the new Urban Computing and Engineering Centre of Excellence would allow faculty members, masters and postgraduate students to have the opportunity to participate in some of the research work at the centre. This collaboration will also allow SMU to hone its expertise in data analysis.

Related: A*STAR, Fujitsu, SMU to set up Urban Computing and Engineering centre

Channel NewsAsia (Oct 15) 
Channel NewsAsia (Oct 15)  
Channel NewsAsia (Oct 15)

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The Straits Times, Breaking News (Oct 15)  
The Straits Times, Breaking News (Oct 15)

Fujitsu, A*Star & SMU to tackle urban challenges