Tech Round-up Week 3 Sept 2020: PS5 & Xbox Pricing Announced, NUS Grads Win James Dyson Award &

Pricing and availability for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S announced

Credit: Sony Singapore

We finally have confirmed pricing and availability dates for the highly anticipated PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. The PS5 will cost S$729 and the Digital Edition without the Bluray disk drive will be slightly cheaper at S$599. Both models will be available in Singapore from 19 November onwards.

Credit: Xbox Singapore

As for the Xbox Series X, it will be priced at S$699 while the Series S will come in at S$459. Both models will launch slightly earlier than the PS5, on 10 November 2020.

NUS graduates win James Dyson Award

Credit: Dyson

Two NUS graduates are the National Winners for the James Dyson Award for 2020 with their KIMIA Rehab Kit, a wearable device powered by patented flexible sensor technology that aims to provide a comprehensive service for remote rehabilitation monitoring of patients who have undergone Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgeries.

Patients can follow guided exercises at home and have their progress shared with therapists in real-time, who will be able to keep track of the patient’s rehabilitation journey and deliver evidence-based personalised prescriptions remotely.

Johnson Controls opens new OpenBlue Innovation Centre at NUS

Credit: Johnson Controls

Additionally, Johnson Controls has announced the opening of their S$50 million OpenBlue Innovation Centre located within NUS. Applications built on Johnson Controls’ unifying technology suite, OpenBlue, will be developed there, and NUS will serve as a living laboratory for the solutions to be tested.

The centre is pioneering the use of a common configuration language that bridges core building technology with behavioural, wellness, and spatial data to develop solutions that meet new demands for safety and sustainability in connected spaces.

Canon releases full production version of EOS Webcam Utility software

Credit: Canon

If you don’t have a proper webcam at home, but you have a Canon camera, you’re in luck. Previously in beta testing, Canon has now rolled out the full production version of their EOS Webcam Utility software, allowing owners of 42 different Canon camera models to use their cameras as a webcam with their computers.

The software download and list of compatible cameras can be found here on Canon’s website.

Visa and Singapore Tourism Board partner to boost tourism

Credit: Singapore Tourism Board

Visa has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to support local tourism and lifestyle SMEs with a goal to drive domestic and international tourism.

In the first phase of this partnership, Visa and STB will work together to drive domestic tourism by introducing Visa cardholder promotions, while developing a domestic marketing campaign.

In the second phase, once international travel resumes, both organisations will launch international marketing campaigns to increase awareness of local brands and experiences in Singapore.

“Local tourism and lifestyle businesses contribute significantly to the vibrancy of a city like Singapore. STB and Visa both want to help such businesses to survive and succeed in the new environment. We recognise that many of them, especially the smaller and medium-sized ones, are especially vulnerable. We hope to help them develop new digital capabilities and transform their businesses. Through our partnership with Visa, we also aim to give local businesses a much-needed boost through domestic spending,” said STB Chief Executive Keith Tan.