SG, Finland R&D centres work on next-gen factories tech
Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) have joined forces to develop technological capabilities that will advance competencies and address challenges of manufacturing enterprises in Singapore and Finland.
Given the current economic climate, it is essential to keep Singapore’s manufacturing base strong so that it is globally competitive. In areas such as Western Europe and Finland, many companies engaged in mass production are moving their activities to China and India. R&D is an essential tool to mitigate the migration of such high value manufacturing coupled with product design activities.
To advance collaborative research capabilities and technologies that will enable sustainable, intelligent and high-performance manufacturing, R&D projects in four research areas have been identified: sustainability, Internet of Things (IoT), additive manufacturing and virtual instruction tools.
“The collaboration provides a synergistic pathway to strengthen the technology base of the local manufacturing industry to sustain its future relevance and global competitiveness so as to anchor high-value complex manufacturing in Singapore. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, well-known for its multi-technological applied research providing high-end technology solutions and innovations, is an ideal partner to forge technological capabilities for Singapore’s manufacturing industry to be future-ready,” said SIMTech Executive Director Dr. Lim Ser Yong.
In related news, the Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) magazine acknowledged A*STAR as one of two Singapore institutions that implement the best strategies for maximising the value of the intellectual property they own. Public research institutes file about 15 per cent of all patent applications in Singapore every year. A*STAR accounts for about 70 per cent with an average of more than 270 patents filed and 140 licences generated annually.
Source: EET Asia
