Universities play a key role in building resilience, said SMU President, Prof Lily Kong. Research done by universities can make a difference in strengthening societies and communities. The academic sector contributes through the graduates whom universities nurture, who go on to add value by creating solutions and ideas that address adversities faced by societies.

There is a reason why engineers and designers provide machines with the semblance of friendliness, but it takes more than that to establish trust between AI and humans.

I was at Promenade MRT Station waiting to travel to work, when my attention was drawn to a little boy pointing at a cleaning robot moving in my direction. It was making comforting gurgling noises, its eyes were blinking gently and soft music accompanied its movements.

"Look at its smiley face!" said the boy and we all boarded the driverless train without a worry.

SMU welcomed Mr Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan and Global Digital Cities at Dell Technologies, as the first keynote speaker of the Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series (PDLS) of 2021 held at SMU Hall on 31 March.

SMU President Professor Lily Kong hosted the hybrid event which was attended by close to 350 SMU students, staff and faculty, polytechnic and junior college students, and teachers, as well as government, media and industry representatives.

Which do you think is more popular for online shopping: a computer or a phone? Well, it turns out that the answer is “both” — but for different reasons.

It's no secret that more shoppers are making the flight to online shopping. In fact, 21 per cent of all purchases are expected to be made online in 2022, with the global e-commerce market expected to hit over US$5 trillion in the same year.

Countries around the globe have experienced an acceleration in their digital transformation in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Too often, the media spotlights how apps, big data, automation and artificial intelligence have found their way into everyday life and business processes. Headlines highlight businesses scaling at turbo speed – think of the latest start-up unicorn or the fast-growing sector of tech-enabled firms.

It perhaps came as little surprise when the Singapore government announced a fresh round of measures to cool the city-state's red-hot housing market at the end of 2021.

Ranked the world’s best in human capital development, named the smartest city internationally for three consecutive years, and boasting a GDP that has grown at the fastest rate in a decade,  Singapore is well-regarded as a

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are becoming an increasingly popular mode of transport, and their legislation have to quickly evolve to accommodate this rising movement. As autonomous vehicles become more prevalent, it's important for legislators to keep up with the latest developments in order to create smart policies that will benefit their constituents.

Traffic lights that connect with cars and sensors to manage congestion; smart waste management systems that minimise overflowing bins and automatically suggest collection timings; laser particle sensors that detect air quality—such technology-enabled tools are employed by smart cities worldwide to optimise efficiency and convenience for their citizens. But beyond improving the quality of life, smart city technology can also help save lives—especially during a pandemic.

The Cooling Singapore project aims to improve the city’s outdoor comfort by assessing the potential impacts of planning decisions, says SMU Associate Professor Winston Chow

SMU Office of Research & Tech Transfer – It’s known as the Urban Heat Island effect, the way big cities experience hotter outdoor temperatures than nearby rural areas.