SIMIC

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise announced the 12 start-ups that would be awarded SGD50,000 each from Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @ BLOCK71 (PIER71)’s Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2019.

The funding will enable the start-ups to conduct prototypes and test bedding of their solutions and over the next 12 months the start-ups will be able to work on pilot projects with PIER71’s corporate partners.

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Two of the start-up’s awarded grants are Kanda and Cerekon, and Ron Fong, regional IT manager of Teekay said, “The use of Kanda’s VR solution to simulate a safety procedure known as Lock Out Tag Out, will allow our crew to undergo training in a virtual tanker which is essentially a digital twin of the one they work on, without endangering their lives or damaging any equipment.

“We’re also working with Cerekon to explore a remote support system, that will enable our onboard engineers to use voice-activated head-mounted wearables to safely and more efficiently conduct equipment maintenance.”

Quah Ley Hoon, chief executive of MPA, said, “Although the global COVID-19 situation has caused widespread disruption, we push ahead with innovation in the maritime sector. Singapore continues to support the use of emerging technologies to transform the maritime industry, uplift the way companies do their business and strengthen our resilience as a maritime nation.

“These grants represent MPA’s commitment to supporting innovation as part of Singapore’s Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map, and we are heartened by the results we’ve seen to date from previous grant recipients.”

The 12 start-ups are:

• ABEJA

• ASA Development

• C-LOG

• Cerekon

• Dravam

• Kanda

• KoiReader Technologies

• Marified

• Megapixel

• Newton Services Research (local entity of Delvify)

• Performance Rotors

• Tropical Renewable Energy Engineering (TREE)