Smart China Expo 2019: 13 MOUs Between SG & Chinese Companies
For the second year running, Singapore was the Country of Honour at the Smart China Expo 2019 in Chongqing, China. We had the pleasure of being invited to the expo by IMDA along with the delegation of close to 70 Singaporean companies, to take a look at the companies exhibiting this year and witness the signing of 13 MOUs, the launch of a RMB40 billion fund, and a joint venture between the Chongqing Tourism Investment Group and Singapore-based smart tourism provider Fooyo.
Singaporean company veriTAG came out on top with a total of three MOUs signed on the first day of the expo. Seeing the need for an untamperable stamp of authenticity for food products in China, Founder Jason Lim came up with a dual QR code system that allows retailers to label and authenticate products.
While it might seem like mere QR code tagging, the company also implements Cloud Tagging to prevent counterfeiting. veriTAG has also partnered with local merchants to import food items such as Singaporean style coffee, kaya, laksa paste and more.
There was plenty of interesting tech on display, with VR showcased by ST Engineering that has plenty of use applications. We got to try out the IRiS Frontline – VR Response Trainer (VRT) application, where the user will play the role of an anti-terrorist unit, sweeping through a realistic VR simulation of an underground MRT station that an armed suspect is currently hiding in.
Aside from just using the program for training troops and policemen, ST Engineering has also come up with different programs including one for firefighting.
Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo was also present at the event and gave a speech at the Future of Services conference jointly hosted by IMDA and the Chongqing municipal government. Minister Teo mentioned that Services 4.0 is Singapore’s vision for the services sector, which accounts for three-quarters of Singapore’s GDP.
Services 4.0 is meant to deliver a frictionless, anticipatory and empathic end-to-end experience for customers, by using emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Interfaces.
With such great showing by the companies this year and more than 50% growth from last year’s delegation, next year’s Smart China Expo seems to be shaping up to be an even more exciting event with technology that might be able to greatly accelerate business automation and digitisation.
