Transport Ministry invests $800m in automation, connectivity research

About two-thirds of the funding focuses on autonomy and digital twin models.

Singapore will invest $800m over the next five years for transport and connectivity under the National Research Foundation’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2030 Flagship, according to the Ministry of Transport.

The funding, which covers the aviation, maritime, and land transport sectors, will be used to build cross-sector capabilities and support sector-specific technology development.

About two-thirds of the investment will be directed towards autonomy and digital twins for connectivity.

The autonomy workstream will focus on transport operations that require less manpower, combining relevant platforms, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

It will also support new testing and certification frameworks for unmanned aviation systems, as well as autonomous maritime operations and robotics-enabled cargo transloading.

The digital twins workstream will focus on improving visibility and coordination of cargo and passenger flows across transport modes.

Potential applications include cargo flow optimisation across logistics nodes, airport operations, weather forecasting to reduce operational disruption, and intelligent land traffic management.

The remaining funding will support sector-specific research in aviation technology, smart and sustainable port and ship operations, and next-generation mass transit technology and automated depots.

The funding is open to Institutes of Higher Learning and research institutes. Details on the application process will be announced during the RIE2030 tranche.

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