SG rolls out SEA's first AR smart glasses and AI tech national civil defence

The 5G use case will be revealed in an invite-only event on 14 September.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and other stakeholders will launch a new 5G project that will promote the operational readiness of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) through AI and AR tech.

In a joint statement, IMDA, HTX (Home Team Science and Technology Agency), SCDF, StarHub, and IBM said they intend to "enhance operational readiness through automating equipment inspection process and facilitating remote assistance using smart glasses, AI and AR technologies."

It will be tested in SCDF's Smart Fire Station, Punggol Fire Station on its latest-generation fire emergency vehicles.

The project will feature the following:

AI-powered visual inspection
- AI-powered visual inspection, voice-activated commands, step-by-step on-screen procedures and dynamic content display on 5G-connected smart glasses will save time needed for firefighters to inspect their equipment and enhance the monitoring of equipment inventory.
- Data from the inspections will flow into a centralised dashboard to capture defects and provide status updates of equipment in real time. This will raise SCDF’s operational readiness to respond to emergencies.
AR-assisted real-time remote assistance
- The ultra-low latency and high bandwidth that standalone 5G empower SCDF to conduct AR remote assistance.
- During a post-fire investigation, the technology allows commanders on the ground to have live access to fire investigation specialists through real-time augmented annotations and video interactions to assist in thorough scene processing and analysis in a timely manner.

The next phase of the two-year project will include full integration of solutions with backend services and ongoing field testing. IMDA and IBM will back SCDF in integrating data governance and cybersecurity into the operations.

This 5G use case will be revealed at "Think on Tour Singapore, an exclusive, invite-only, in-person event experience hosted by IBM, taking place on 14 September 2023."

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