An agreement between ST Engineering and Israel’s Ashdod Municipality has been signed to explore opportunities for the development of products and solutions for autonomous platforms and smart transportation.
ST Engineering’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr Chew Men Leong, and Head of Industry Development Division, Dr Smadar Itzkovich, signed the agreement at the 6th Annual Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv. Under the agreement, various aspects of the city’s transportation network. This includes Intelligent Transportation System for roads, fleet management system for buses, and the development and testing of autonomous buses.
As a global technology, defence and engineering group, ST Engineering has an extensive portfolio of experience in aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. The government linked company boasts over 500 smart city projects in 70 cities. Hence, it is well positioned to assist in the transformation of cities through its suite of Smart Mobility solutions. Currently, Intelligent Rail and Transport solutions have a strong track record and have been deployed in over twenty cities around the world. These includes cities in China, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
In an interview with the local newspaper, The Straits Times, Mr Chew said, “With the agreement, we can explore how we can bring some of the technologies we have in Singapore and see how we can apply them here…We’re not stopping here. Beyond Ashdod, there may be other municipalities (in Israel) that are interested. It’s just the beginning.”
No More Bumpy Rides
Through the use of Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning, the Group hopes to improve Ashdod’s transport systems. Service quality will be on the rise, as with the commuter’s experience. Real-time traffic and commuter sensing, supervisory and control capabilities, and early warning of potential service disruptions are some of the technologies used to improve Ashdod’s transportation system.
Located along Israel’s southern district’s coast, Ashdod is Israel’s sixth largest city. In 2013, the city made an aspirational plan to transform the area into a public transportation paradise. Back then, the focus was on intercity mobility.
In recent years, Ashdod has pumped in substantially amount of resources in Smart Mobility proof of concepts. Additionally, the city has given support to universities and international companies which have a proving ground for technologies.
Ride On
More plans are on the way for collaboration between ST Engineering and Israel. At the Summit, it was announced that ST Engineering will establish an R&D centre in Israel to support the country’s development of the Next Generation Autonomous Kit for buses. At the R&D Centre, visitors from project teams can look forward to opportunities for knowledge and experience sharing. Topics for discussion include advanced sensors and AI technologies for AV platforms. Additionally, visitors can look forward to accessing test sites for ST Engineering’s autonomous bus.
In time to come, the Group will pursue more initiatives in Smart City projects. An announcement has been made to scale up end-to-end competencies for the pursuit of growth opportunities in Smart City. Part of its smart city expansion will include countries in ASEAN, the Middle East, and the United States. They will work with government authorities in infrastructural upgrades.
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