Minister Yaacob Ibrahim Announces Frontier Technology Focus Areas for Digital Economy

Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim,
made key announcements on frontier technology focus areas to support Singapore’s
digital transformation this morning at Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX)
2017, Asia’s largest infocomm and media conference.

1)      5G mobile network and future communications
infrastructure

IMDA will partner various
industries to develop and fortify key infrastructures to fuel the digital
economy. Improvements will be made to the Nationwide Broadband Network,
Internet of Things (IoT) networks and 5G mobile networks that enable
corporations to take advantage of high-speed and high-accuracy
telecommunications to promote business.

2)      Immersive media through virtual reality

IMDA has worked with production company, Beach
House Pictures, to pilot the use of virtual reality (VR) in Social Studies for
five primary schools. Beach House Pictures also collaborated with local
start-up Hiverlab to develop a customised VR classroom application for teachers
to guide students on VR experiences around Singapore. In addition, IMDA and Tan
Tock Seng Hospital will be collaborating with local tech and visual effects
company, SideFX Studios, to use VR and mixed reality to augment clinical
training.

3)      PlayMaker Programme clinches award

Complementing the focus areas, Minister Yaacob
Ibrahim mentioned the PlayMaker Programme which serves as a platform to
acquaint young children with technology through play. Using technology-enabled
toys to elevate a child’s learning experience, the programme has been rolled
out to 160 preschool centres and benefitted over 10,000 students. Moreover, the
programme clinched a Bronze medal in IMS Global’s annual Learning Impact
Awards, validating its influence on the future of the digital economy.