Singapore — Smart City, Smart Nation

Singapore provides an unparalleled testing ground for its smart city ideas. The nation’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) maintains affordable apartments that houses more than 80 percent of residents, which is approximately 3.2 million people. Among these apartments, the Yuhua estate is the first to have thousands of sensors installed to monitor each individual apartment’s energy consumption, waste production, and water usage in real time. Given that Singapore imports tens of billions of gallons of water from Malaysia each year, being able to monitor its resources will considerably benefit both its citizens and the country as a whole.

In addition to monitoring resources, Singapore also have smart sensors to keep on eye on its citizens’ health. The Elderly Monitoring System (EMS) utilizes sensors on doors and inside rooms to monitor the movement of elderly citizens. If no movement have been detected for a long period of time, the caregiver will be alerted instantly. This greatly relieves the stress of caregivers who cannot be present by their side.

As the world begins to push towards autonomous vehicles, Singapore is already at the forefront of this new technology by allowing autonomous vehicles on the road. In the next decade, the government will also see its mandated satellite navigation system installed in all vehicles, giving the government the ability to know exactly where every car is on the road at any given time.

What makes Singapore truly unique as a Smart Nation is how the individual sensors can be brought together to create a “Virtual Singapore.” Virtual Singapore is a model of the nation built not just to scale, but with meticulous detail, and the best part is, it is open to the public. Anyone can make the best use of this data and test their own revolutionary ideas. Singapore is the leading example of what the world’s smart cities should be.