Singapore’s JTC industrial estates are poised to lead the way in smart retail services, encompassing cutting-edge features like autonomous food delivery robots and facial recognition payment systems. After successfully piloting these solutions at the JTC Summit, the organization is gearing up for an autonomous robot delivery trial at Woodlands North Coast, demonstrating its commitment to advancing industrial estates’ capabilities.
Autonomous Food Delivery Robots:
JTC’s autonomous food delivery robot, affectionately named ‘Kopi,’ represents a culmination of efforts to integrate various building management systems with a user-friendly food delivery application. Through seamless interconnection with building management elements like gantry turnstiles and lift management, Kopi can be summoned directly by customers. Its integration into the building management systems allows it to navigate different floors via elevators, while maintaining strict security clearance. The robot’s location is also monitored in real-time using JTC’s proprietary digital twin technology.
This innovative solution harnesses the JTC Summit’s Open Digital Platform (ODP), a flexible multi-protocol middleware designed to overcome the challenges posed by diverse proprietary systems and applications. Serving as a plug-and-play digital infrastructure, ODP encourages collaboration with tech-savvy businesses and opens doors to new opportunities.
Scaling Up:
Following the successful pilot at JTC Summit, JTC has initiated a tender to enlist robotics providers, with the goal of expanding and validating the solution’s commercial viability at Woodlands North Coast. This industrial development consists of two towers and will use its ODP to facilitate food delivery services from its Food & Beverage (F&B) tenants to 20 companies within the complex. The tender process will conclude on October 31, 2023, and the trial is set to commence in March 2024.
Facial Recognition Payment:
JTC Summit is also at the forefront of digital innovation by introducing facial recognition payment technology at its canteen. Customers can now complete payments swiftly with a mere facial scan, marking the first time facial biometric scanning has been deployed for transaction authorization. This achievement is the result of a collaborative effort between the facial recognition system provider, the payment gateway, and the F&B vendor’s point-of-sales web application. Beyond payments, the facial recognition technology has broader applications, including security access, retail, F&B, and smart lockers within JTC’s vision for intelligent industrial estates.
Government Collaboration:
In collaboration with the Singapore Government Technology Agency (GovTech), JTC is actively promoting a digitally-driven era for businesses and industrialists. The autonomous food delivery robot and facial recognition payment services exemplify JTC’s commitment to harnessing technology to foster innovation and create smart industrial estates. JTC invites tech innovators and businesses to join in experimentation, co-creation, and the development of groundbreaking technologies that align with Singapore’s smart nation aspirations.
**James Tan, Director of Smart District Division at JTC, and GovTech’s Director of Smart City Technology Division, emphasized, “At JTC, we are constantly exploring new technologies and leveraging our estates as living labs for testbedding and experimentation to bring new smart services to life. As we shape the future of smart and sustainable industrial estates, we invite tech innovators and businesses to collaborate, test out, and co-create new solutions with us.” Yap Eai-Sy, JTC’s Director for New Estates Business and Marketing Division, added that these innovative solutions, while enhancing customer convenience, herald a new era in which technology and innovation redefine commercial and retail solutions at future JTC estates, contributing to Singapore’s smart nation vision.
