TECH OFFERS

Singapore has a high consumption of fruits and vegetables, both locally produced and imported, and a significant portion of the total waste generated is derived from fruits and vegetables. These fruits and vegetables contain untapped nutritional and functional properties that can be upcycled into higher value products. This institute of higher learning has developed a technology with the know-how to cultivate microorganisms and a series of zero-waste extraction and purification methods to maximize the value of fruit peels into functional food ingredients.  This technology is designed for three types of industry players: i) fruit vending/processing industry with abundance of good quality fruit by-products; ii) waste management industry with technologies to value add to the by-products; and iii) start-ups with keen interest to upcycle by-products into novel food ingredients.

Population aging is a global phenomenon as most industrialized countries are experiencing growth in the size and proportion of elderly citizens in their population. The percentage of older adults is estimated to be double by 2050 than that in 2019, which will place new challenges on the social economy and healthcare. The increasing population of elderly people requires great attention to be paid to age-related problems. Especially, the decreased physical capacities cause elderly people to rely on others to perform daily activities such as showering, dressing, and eating. The lack of independence in activities of daily living (ADL) decreases their quality of life and exaggerate financial burden for family healthcare.   According to studies on affected daily activities of older adults, the showering activity needs more frequent assistance than any other ADL. Existing commercial products, such as Tutti Assisted Bath Tub and Sit & Shower, can provide automated bathing assistance for the elderly people. However, the available products are usually time-based passive cleaning that lacks active physical interactions with users, and thus they do not have some basic functionalities during showering such as scrubbing and wiping. Alternatively, robotic arms can provide active support in showering activity. Recent soft robotics technologies ensure safe and comfortable human-robot interactions. With different types of actuation (e.g. pneumatic, cable-driven), soft robotic manipulators can have dexterous motions and adaptable stiffness to achieve desired tasks.

Augmented Reality (AR) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Glasses are transforming the landscape of industrial and field applications. Designed to streamline processes and improve efficiency, these glasses are a ground-breaking solution to the necessity of instant, accurate, and engaging data presentation.  Housed in a pioneering, lightweight design, these AR AI Glasses effectively address the challenges faced with conventional AR devices, including their bulky nature, short-lived battery life, and limited connectivity. By ensuring an incredibly low heat signature, extended battery life, and compatibility with Wi-Fi, 4G, and 5G networks, these glasses have been developed with users' comfort and usability in mind, ensuring efficient performance throughout the day.  These glasses are a valuable asset to a variety of sectors, such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and construction, that value precision, efficiency, and safety. By seamlessly integrating sophisticated technologies like AR and AI into everyday operations, the glasses eliminate the need for extensive staff retraining or major procedural changes. They provide real-time information, enhance remote collaboration, and come with built-in security features like facial recognition, promising to fundamentally change how tasks are executed within these industries. 

Effective tracking and management of Work-In-Progress (WIP) and inventory across a manufacturing facility are key to maintaining productivity and operational efficiency. Despite this, misplaced inventory and inefficient tracking remain common problems within the sector, leading to time wasted on locating items, losses due to unaccounted inventory, and ultimately, a reduction in productivity.  To tackle these challenges, an innovative solution has been developed that integrates advanced technologies, sophisticated hardware, and robust software features to optimize manufacturing operations. This solution provides real-time traceability of WIP and inventory throughout a factory, thereby reducing time wasted in locating items and preventing losses due to unaccounted inventory.  The solution seamlessly integrates with various systems including Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Preventive Maintenance (PM) systems, and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This integration capability allows it to trigger alerts, visualize processes, and reduce waste, thereby streamlining operations and minimizing inefficiencies. 

Integration of different machinery to the MES systems and facilitating interaction between them is a common theme in Industry 4.0 implementation. This task can become complicated due to the presence of multiple vendors and legacy systems on the production floor. This invention is a software stack which can be classified as a middleware or control software. The middleware offers an intermediary communication for the different standalone machines to communicate and perform synchronised functions. The system can further be customised to extend its functionality to suit an end user's needs.

As climate change continues to cause rising temperatures and unpredictable droughts, the resulting environmental degradation and poor soil conditions have negative impacts on plant health and nutrition, ultimately affecting crop harvests and the global food chain. In Singapore, these changes threaten the very heart of the city's reputation as a garden city, including greenery, carbon sequestration, and aesthetically pleasing landscapes. To combat these issues and improve greening outcomes and land yield, enhancing soil conditions and plant resilience is crucial. One significant issue that needs addressing is soil water repellence, which prevents water from penetrating the soil, leading to rapid evaporation and reduced plant growth. This problem becomes more severe on sloping terrains like mounds and hillsides, where water is more likely to run off causing additional issues like soil compaction and disease. Soil water repellency also affects the hydrological and geomorphological properties of soil, leading to reduced infiltration capacity, accelerated soil erosion, uneven wetting patterns, development of preferential flow, and the accelerated leaching of agrichemicals. This technology refers to a specifically engineered nanogel formulation that controls water retention and release in dry soils. The nanogel formulation can uptake water-soluble nutrients and release them when needed. It has the potential to not only improve reclaimed land but also convert dry land into productive land that supports crop cultivation. The nanogel formulation can be tuned with varying retention capabilities based on underlying soil conditions and has been extensively tested in different plant species. The technology provider is currently looking for test-bedding partners from the agricultural industry and interested environmental NGOs.  

In manufacturing there are many instances where there is a need for low production runs of parts. These could be for parts of an equipment, tools, small volume runs for trials or customised parts. However, traditional manufacturing techniques are usually not cost-effective for such low volume runs, while current additive manufacturing suffers from low strength, long print times and poor surface finish needing post-processing. Additionally, for techniques using powder and filaments, considerations have to be given to the storage due to oxidation, degradation, flammability and toxicity of these precursor materials. The tech owner has developed a hybrid manufacturing technique that involves both additive and subtractive manufacturing methods. Instead of powder or filaments, sheets and foils are used as precursor materials, thereby alleviating cost, safety and performance concerns that were outlined. A laser is used to cut and fuse the different layers of the build.   Numerous tests conducted by the team have consistently yielded parts that are dense and displayed high strength. The system is able to work with different materials, including highly reflective ones such as, aluminium, copper. Parts using carbon fibres, composition materials, ceramics, etc have also been successfully printed. Based on initial estimates, this technique offers up to 80% cost advantage over powder bed systems. The tech owner is seeking partners to collaborate in test bedding the system for manufacturing of complex, customized and/or high strength / high thermal conductivity parts for applications in the healthcare, semiconductor, aerospace, automotive, telecoms or marine & offshore sectors.

Thermal management is an essential part of the design of high power density electronics. As the power density of electronic devices increases, so does the amount of heat they generate, and this heat must be dissipated effectively to prevent the devices from overheating and failing. This technology offers a method to produce high thermal conductivity boron nitride (BN) composites that aim to improve thermal management in high power density electronics, leading to more efficient, more compact, and safer electronic systems. BN composites are a group of materials made by combining boron nitride with another material, such as a polymer, metal, or ceramic. A key advantage of such composites is that they exhibit higher thermal conductivity than any commercially available material that is electrically insulating. The resultant BN composites are also low in weight, easily shaped, exhibit good mechanical properties, and offer the unique capability of designing the path by which the heat will be conducted. These properties fulfil the demanding requirements for electronic packaging in emerging markets like Internet of Things and embedded systems, autonomous vehicles, high speed computers, satellites to name a few. The technology owner is seeking for co-development and out-licensing opportunities with semiconductor and device-assembling companies that require high thermal conductivity materials.

Recent advances in soft robotics revolutionize the way robots interact with the environment, empowering robots to undertake complex tasks using soft and compliant grippers. Compared to traditional rigid structures. Soft grippers have excellent adaptability for a variety of objects and tasks. However, the existing gripper systems faces some challenges, such as handling delicate, wet, and slippery items, the risk of damaging valuable items, and high production cost. Based on pneumatic jamming of 3D-printed fabrics, the technology owner has developed a variable-stiffness soft pneumatic gripper that can apply small forces for pinching and pick-up heavy objects via stiffening. The invented grippers are soft and adaptive to handle delicate items with various shapes and weights, minimising the damaging risk of items during the gripping process. In addition, such gripper with adjustable stiffness could handle heavy and bulky items by increasing its gripping strength. These benefits make the gripper more versatile and adaptable to various applications in agriculture, food processing, packaging, manufacturing, and human-robot interaction (HRI). The technology owner is seeking to do R&D collaboration, IP licensing, and test-bedding with industrial partners intending to integrate variable-stiffness gripper in their applications.