Opening Remarks by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Ms Indranee Rajah SC at the 13th South East Asia Survey Congress 2015

28 JUL 2015

28 Jul 2015 Posted in Speeches

Mr Loi Hwee Yong, President of Land Surveying, Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers

Pengiran Haji Matusin Bin Pengiran Matasan, President of ASEAN Federation of Land Surveying and Geomatics

Mr Chua Keng Guan, Chairman of the 13th South East Asian Survey Congress 2015

Distinguished guests and participants

Harnessing Technology for Accurate 3D Geospatial Information

  1. First, a warm welcome to Singapore for those of you who came in from other countries. I would like to thank the conference organisers for inviting me as the guest-of-honour. Today I think will be an excellent opportunity for all the participants to pull ideas, have a discussion and have a great conference.

  2. Before leaving home today as Mr Loi pointed out, many of you probably used mobile apps to make travel plans – whether you drove, or took public transport. And of course given the size of MBS, some of you may even have navigated to this exact room using your mobile apps.

  3. Over time, developments in geospatial data and technology will have an even more profound impact on our daily lives. For instance, you may arrive at future congresses in autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars as we refer to them. In planning for your journey, travel time estimates could also take into account not just road conditions, but also pedestrian traffic within buildings.

  4. Geospatial data and technology will play a crucial role in Singapore’s Smart Nation programme. The Smart Nation Programme Office was set up at the end of last year, and the Jurong Lake District is set to be the first test-bed.

  5. Virtual Singapore, a project led by the National Research Foundation, will utilise geospatial information to help develop solutions to urban problems such as crowd control, and gaps in mobile phone coverage.

  6. Government agencies are also using geospatial information for a wide range of Government-led applications, including flood management and aviation safety, as well as in climate change adaptation and pollutant dispersion studies.

    Growth in Demand for Location-Based Data

  7. The applications for geospatial technology are already vast and will continue to advance in the years to come. This will lead to increasing demand for location-based data. With the proliferation of new location-based applications such as driverless vehicles, the need for up-to-date and detailed data will grow exponentially.

  8. Data must also be collected and organised not only for professionals in traditional technical fields such as construction and aviation, but also serve the needs of business and the community. The way that survey data will be collected will also change, due to technological advances.

  9. These new demands and advances in technology will bring with it opportunities and challenges for the surveying profession.

    Developing Geospatial Capabilities

  10. To meet these challenges, there is an urgent need to continually develop new skills in geospatial information science and technology, such as spatial data analytics, and database management.

  11. To build these capabilities, the SISV (the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers) as well as the Building Construction Authority Academy have a Geospatial Information and Technology diploma programme. This is affiliated to the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education, or ITE, also offers a National ITE Certificate, or NITEC, in geospatial technology.

  12. Singapore is committed to investing in capacity building, as we work to establish ourselves as a Smart Nation. Our high-resolution 3D National Map already employs mapping techniques such as aerial imaging and laser scanning. We will continue to actively harness new technologies to support the increasing demand for accurate, real-time 3D information. Just two months ago, the Singapore Government launched the $2.2 billion dollar ICT (Information Communications Technology) tenders, towards realising our vision for a Smart Singapore.

  13. My colleagues at the Singapore Land Authority have prepared a video showcasing Singapore’s 3D National Map which will show its applications in more detail. Perhaps we can have a look at that. [Video screened]

    Conclusion

  14. You can see how far the merger of technology and data has taken us – to the extent that we can even simulate exactly where water will go when it rains, down to the smallest topographical detail! Within the surveying industry, there are many possibilities to be excited about. In fact, the Land Transport Authority has recently put out a call for ideas on how autonomous vehicle technology can be harnessed for mass-transport services, so it may not be long before we start seeing these on public roads as well.

  15. As the theme of this Congress suggests, the geospatial future is expanding – not only for the public sector, but also for businesses, research and the community at large. We all have a part to play in making sure that we as a region are well-positioned to ride this wave.

  16. So let me say thank you very much, and I wish you a fulfilling four days ahead.

Last updated on 28 Jul 2015