Indoor vertical farming is pivotal for addressing future food challenges, particularly in arable land-scarce countries. One common method is hydroponics, which uses mineral and nutrient solutions in a water-based platform to grow crops. To optimize the crop yield and to reduce the man work hours required, it is important to automate crop health monitoring and replenishing of specific nutrients. Currently, these tasks are labour-intensive and subjective. While some imaging techniques exist for detecting plant stress and chlorophyll monitoring, a complete system covering all aspects is still lacking. For nutrient analysis, tools like pH and electroconductivity meters can only detect a change in the nutrient composition to start a feedback loop but are unable to determine the specific nutrient component or deficiency level. This technology is a comprehensive quantitative monitoring system integrating imaging spectroscopy and laser-based elemental spectroscopy to quickly identify the crop growth stages, alert crop stresses (tested on several lettuce species) and quantify specific nutrient levels in the nutrient supply. This allows for reduced man work hours and improvement of crop yield.

Access to clean and safe drinking water is essential for health, yet millions of people worldwide still lack this necessity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 2 billion people globally use drinking water sources contaminated with feces, leading to severe health consequences. Unsafe water, along with inadequate sanitation and hygiene, is estimated to cause 485,000 diarrheal deaths each year. Water purification technologies face significant challenges, especially in decentralized systems lacking the efficiencies of large-scale operations. They often have a substantial carbon footprint due to energy-intensive processes and reliance on chemicals. Existing portable reactors primarily use filtration and struggle to remove recalcitrant pollutants or organic compounds from pharmaceuticals, limiting their effectiveness in producing safe drinking water. Developed by a research tema, this technology effectively addresses the above challenges by employing an electrochemical method that generates strong oxidizing agents to degrade recalcitrant pollutants that conventional portable reactors cannot remove via filtration. By harnessing solar energy, this chemical-free purification approach is not only environmentally friendly but also perfectly suited for deployment in remote areas, developing countries, and disaster-stricken zones where traditional water treatment infrastructure is lacking. The technology owner is looking for collaborations with local SMEs to co-develop scaled systems and deploy it through disaster relief organizations, government agencies and non-profit organizations in selected developing countries.

Due to the rising demand for industrial automation, autonomous robotic technology is gaining traction across various industries optimising processes and increasing operational efficiency. For these autonomous robots to execute their task with precision, they are required to be constantly aware of their surroundings to response adequately and quickly. Technologies developed from off-the-shelf components (e.g. camera-based perception) faces integration issues while industries with weak or no connectivity to the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are unable to utilise them. Developed by a Singapore-based startup, the proposed technology herein encompasses a modularised sensor hardware and edge AI software within a compact form factor, addressing fundamental 3D vision problems such as localisation positioning and obstacle detection. This solution can be easily customised, integrated and deployed in GPS-denied or GPD-obstructed areas while maintaining accuracy and reliability in navigation, tracking and monitoring of fleet, autonomous vehicles, etc. The technology solution has engaged with numerous proof-of-concept (POC) projects, including one notable engagement within the defence industry for a drone integration. The technology owner is looking for collaborative partners, such as manufacturers and system integrators within the automation space, who wishes to further enhance their robot’s perception capabilities.

As global temperatures rise, governments are setting eco-friendly building standards to address concerns about energy consumption and carbon emissions. Improving energy efficiency in buildings, especially in hot climates where cooling demands increase energy use, has become a major challenge. This has driven the need for sustainable and energy-efficient building materials. Aerogels are among the most promising insulation materials due to their large specific surface area (500-1200 m²/g), high porosity (80-99.8%), and ultra-low density (around 0.003 g/cm³). They are amorphous, chemically inert, non-flammable, and exhibit extremely low thermal conductivity (0.01-0.03 W/(m·K)). Silica aerogel (SA) is particularly notable for having the lowest thermal conductivity, making it ideal for building insulation. The technology owner has developed an advanced insulation coating that incorporating in-house fabricated silica aerogel (SA) powders to enhance both thermal and acoustic insulation in buildings. This technology also works with silica aerogel powders purchased externally. Incorporating 20 vol% SA into paint and plaster formulations can reduce surface temperatures by up to 12°C and chamber temperatures by up to 3.3°C, helping to lower air conditioning use and save energy. The coating also improves acoustic insulation, offering a dual benefit. By meeting the growing demand for greener building solutions, this technology offers a competitive edge in reducing energy consumption and improving overall comfort and building performance.   The technology owner is seeking industrial partners for test-bedding and is also open to licensing opportunities for commercialization, especially with construction companies, building material manufacturers, and developers focused on sustainable and energy-efficient construction.

In the construction sector, manual inspections have traditionally been the primary method for detecting water seepage surface defects, a mandatory requirement for construction projects. However, these inspections often suffer from the inherent subjectivity of human judgment, leading to potential inconsistencies and inaccuracies. To overcome these limitations, a handheld water seepage detection system was developed and rigorously tested in collaboration with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). This innovative system is designed as a portable, intelligent alternative to traditional methods, aiming to enhance the objectivity and reliability of water seepage detection. The system utilizes advanced Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) thermal sensing technology to accurately detect temperature variations indicative of water seepage. Unlike manual inspections, which can be prone to error, this system offers precise differentiation between genuine water seepage defects and common artifacts found on construction sites, such as glue and paint. By minimizing false alarms, it provides a more dependable and efficient approach to identifying and addressing water-related issues. This advancement not only improves the accuracy of inspections but also ensures that potential water damage is detected early, reducing the risk of costly repairs and enhancing the overall integrity of construction projects.    

Conventional aircrafts have been a preferred mode for fast middle mile delivery within logistics and supply chain. With the increasing traction of drone technology, the usage of drone as a potential alternative mode of transport within the supply chain is greatly considered, given its comparable performance and more sustainable. Current conventional aircraft requires a runway for landing and take-off, limiting their use-case within space constraint areas. For drones, its slow operational speed and short operation range greatly limits it widespread industrial adoption. The technology owner developed a UAV solution which enables faster operational speed (up to four times) and longer flight duration (over 2 hours) compared to incumbent multicopter drones of the same class. This UAV solution comprises of tilt-electric ducted fans, a hybrid energy source and optimised design to harnesses the advantages from both drone and conventional aircraft technologies. Due to these capabilities, the technology solution enables high-risk and high-difficulty missions to be carried out, with the safety of the operator in mind, such as wide-area surveillance and reconnaissance, transportation to remote regions and shore-to-ship deliveries. The technology owner is looking for collaboration partners seeking to further explore drone technologies or integrate drones into existing workflow processes which require longer operational range and faster speed that current traditional multicopter drone is unable to accommodate.

In healthcare, accurately assessing pain is critical, yet it remains a significant challenge, particularly for patients unable to effectively communicate their discomfort. This includes individuals with cognitive impairments, critical care patients, and pre-verbal children. Traditional pain assessment methods rely heavily on verbal communication or subjective observer-based pain assessment, which can lead to missed or poorly managed pain, resulting in either under-treatment or over-analgesia treatment. To address this issue, this advanced AI-based solution automates the process of estimating pain intensity by analyzing facial expressions captured in video data. The technology is a deep learning system consisting of facial landmarks (specific points on a person's face, such as the corners of the eyes, nose, mouth, and other prominent facial features) extraction, 3D normalization and Spatial-Temporal Attention Long Short-Term Memory (STA-LSTM) model. These facial landmarks provide critical information about facial expressions, allowing the system to accurately assess pain levels. By integrating this technology into clinical settings, healthcare providers can significantly enhance patient care, reduce the burden on staff, and improve overall pain management practices. This solution not only ensures timely and appropriate intervention but also protects patient privacy by using non-identifiable facial landmarks, making it a powerful tool for modern healthcare environments.

Cooking oil waste has become a significant environmental problem in recent years. Improper disposal of used cooking oil and fried food scraps can lead to pollution of water sources and the release of harmful greenhouse gases. When poured down into drains, it travels through sewage systems to rivers and oceans, disrupting ecosystems, clogging water treatment plant filters, and complicating water purification processes. Additionally, there are higher costs associated with waste disposal in volume-based plastic garbage bags which are also not environmentally friendly. This technology addresses the above pain points by offering a sustainable solution that recycles discarded fried food scraps into high valued biodiesel raw material, preventing water pollution and sewage pipe blockage when discarded without appropriate measures. This innovation addresses a critical market need by providing a greener alternative to conventional disposal methods, reducing waste disposal costs and the production of high valued biodiesel as an end point.  The technology owner is seeking collaborations with companies in the fields of waste management and biodiesel production for test-bedding and research & development projects aimed at recycling fried food scraps into biodiesel.

Fermentation is one of the oldest technologies used in food processing, Traditionally, fermentation was used as a method of preserving food, as well as imparting unique flavor profiles, such as in products like soy sauce or tempeh. In recent years, driven by the demand for a more sustainable food production system, fermentation is also studied for its applications in breaking down organic matter from indigestible to digestible nutrition for human consumption, growing biomass from the microorganisms used in the process, or producing specific target compounds like protein, fat or other nutrients. With Singapore’s ’30 by 30’ goal to produce 30% of our nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030, fermentation technologies are primed to play a key role in the food industry.

Diabetic foot ulcer is a devastating complication of diabetes mellitus and significant cause of mortality and morbidity all over the world and can be complex and costly. The development of foot ulcer in a diabetic patient has been estimated to be 19%-34% through their lifetime. The pathophysiology of diabetic foot ulcer consist of neuropathy, trauma and, in many patients, additional peripheral arterial disease. In particular, diabetic neuropathy leads to foot deformity, callus formation, and insensitivity to trauma or pressure. The management of DFU is usually complex and challenging to clinicians in clinical practice. The critical aspects of the wound healing mechanism and host physiological status in patients with diabetes necessitate the selection of an appropriate treatment strategy based on the complexity and type of wound. Additionally, costs of diabetic foot ulcerations have been increased to the treatment cost of many common cancers. Estimated costs of DFU management are greater than 1 billion in both developed and developing countries. Moreover, infection of a DFU frequently leads to limb amputation, causing significant morbidity, psychological distress and reduced quality of life and life expectancy. 

The increasing emphasis on fire safety regulations and standards, along with the growing awareness of the potential hazards posed by fires, has driven the demand for flame-retardant coatings. These coatings play important roles in fire protection by effectively slowing down the spreading of fires, thereby preventing catastrophic accidents, safeguarding assets, and saving lives. Industry segments such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, construction, and household, which extensively utilise materials prone to fire hazards, require effective fire protection solutions. As the demand for flame retardant coatings continues to rise across various sectors, the market is experiencing significant growth. According to MarketsandMarkets, the global flame retardants market is expected to be worth USD 9.5 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%. Particularly, the Asia Pacific region is the fastest-growing market.   Traditional flame retardants, especially those containing brominate or chlorine, have been associated with their impacts on the environment and human health. Consequently, the demand for environmentally friendly coating solutions, such as nanocomposites and natural bio-based retardants, is growing at a rapid pace. However, the performance, efficiency, environmental impact, and cost-effectiveness of these alternative materials are still hot topics of ongoing research. This tech need calls for non-toxic and innovative flame-retardant coatings capable of addressing the above challenges. Such coating solutions should be available for test-bedding, licensing, and co-development with industrial partners, paving the way for safer and more sustainable fire protection methods.