TECH OFFERS

Wireless monitoring solutions are gaining traction worldwide due to their added benefits of continuous monitoring capability 24/7. An innovative technology has been devised that has a way of converting variations in the reflected wavelength from fiber grating based sensors into intensity variations that can be easily processed through the electronic circuits and transmitted wirelessly. Conventional fiber grating based sensors measure the wavelength shift of the reflected light to determine the mechanical strain experienced by the medium in which the grating is embedded.  This is conventionally done through a Fabre Perot interferometer which is referred to as the Interrogator but is a costly solution. The innovative circuitry eliminates the need of the costly, and typically more bulky interferometer, replacing them with cost effective and compact fiber components configured in such a way that converts mechanical strain into intensity changes. Fiber Bragg Grating based fiber optic sensors connected to a LoRaWAN (923MHz) based wireless network. 1550nm Centre wavelength sensors connected to a configured wireless node to capture data and send to a designated server. Low powered, battery operated device with fully configurable sensor inputs. Suitable for players in the condition monitoring/structural health monitoring/ FEA validation fields. The system is designed for structural health monitoring applications which is agnostic in terms of specific industry. The system can be deployed in any industry that requires some form of monitoring of their asset, e.g. Aerospace/Oil and Gas, Civil Infrastructure, Rail, Mining etc. Conventional wireless technologies do not cater for fiber optic sensors, where fiber option solutions may have significant advantages in specific use cases. This system provides all of the benefits of a wireless system but based on fiber optic sensors. Conventional fiber optic systems are expensive in comparison to conventional electrical systems and are also not readily suitable for on-site deployment. This system reduces the cost of the optical components with the simplified architecture, as well as provides a system that is suitable to be deployed directly in the field. Fiber Bragg Grating, FBG, Wireless, Structural Health Monitoring, Condition monitoring, Sensor Electronics, Printed Electronics, Lasers, Optics & Photonics, Infocomm, Big Data, Data Analytics, Data Mining & Data Visualisation, Green Building, Sensor, Network, Building Control & Optimisation, Wireless Technology

With a focus on built environment, the digital twin technology developed by a Singapore SME offers a suite of tools to model, analyse and continually optimise entire groups of buildings, portfolios, communities, cities and resource networks across their lifecycle, providing a truly scalable solution to decarbonise the built environment. Bridging the gap between the real world and simulation, the digital twin enables the energy efficient design and continuous operational optimisation of not just single but entire groups of buildings. The digital twin solution investigates operational problems using AI and machine learning, engaging the community feedback in real time. It improves operational decisions by understanding where to focus attention on and facilitate decision making by the building operators. The technology owner is seeking partnerships with large building portfolio owner, product developer, IoT solutions provider who can deploy the digital twin solution for their clients. The digital twin tools integrate physics-based simulation with 3D models, real-time operational data, machine learning and AI, to provide a digital twin solution for the built environment that is unique to any other in today’s market. The digital twin technology provides: Physics Enabled Simulation Climate Ready Master-planning Design & Retrofit to Zero-Carbon Standards Community Energy & Renewable Integration Operational & Community Dashboards Data Analysis from Physical & Virtual Sensors Real-Time Optimisation & Fault Detection The digital twin technology can be used in any built environment (e.g. universities, local authorities, commercial real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, cities). The solution can be used for singular buildings or scale up to a city, across any geographical scale, the tools link all aspects of every building’s lifecycle from design and construction right through to operation. The solution connects everyone from owners and occupants, to planners and community leaders, in a single collaborative environment. Digital twins are one of the fastest growing technology segments in the market. Fortune Business estimates the market to be USD 6.7bn with a CAGR of 40%. The growth potential coupled to the growing applications makes digital twins an enormous potential for this decade.  Fully scalable from a single building to an entire city, The digital twin technology goes beyond building information modelling to create a live digital twin which responds and behaves like its real world counterpart. Delivering the data-driven information needed to uncover significant energy, carbon, capital and operational savings, while taking account of resource use, transport, social and economic factors. Digital Twins, Decarbonization, Net-Zero Buildings, Zero Carbon, Sustainability Energy, Sensor, Network, Power Conversion, Power Quality & Energy Management, Green Building, Sensor, Network, Building Control & Optimisation, Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sensor, Network, Monitoring & Quality Control Systems, Sustainability, Low Carbon Economy

Recycling of lithium-ion battery material is becoming an increasing necessity and to execute that task in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective method is as important. The novel method of recycling spent battery material using a redox flow battery approach requires the solid spent battery material to react with liquid electrolyte in the tank. The proposed technology by a Singapore-based research team relates to an electrolyte tank filtration system designed to allow solid particles to freely mix and react with electrolyte in the tank of the flow battery system, while being filtered and prevented from entering the pump and cell stack. The holder is designed to be simply placed into and removed from the electrolyte tank, and subsequently, for the easy removal of the solid from the holder itself. This innovation will allow the continuous running of the flow battery system while changing the filter periodically. The research team anticipates that companies planning to utilise redox flow battery recycling method would require the use of such a filter system to reduce the downtime of the entire system. The team is seeking to collaborate with an industrial partner for further research and development of the filtration system and subsequent licensing of the technology for commercialisation. The electrolyte tank filtration system allows free mixing of electrolyte with solid reactants, while preventing the solid particles from entering the pump and cell with the electrolyte Flexibility in addition and removal of multiple filter holders Ease of removing filter paper and solid product from filter holder Able to run flow battery continuously without having to stop for filter removal, leading to no downtime of the system While this technology is designed specifically for the recycling of solid spent battery materials using the redox flow battery system, it can be adapted to be deployed in any flow battery applications that requires filtration of solids reactants from a liquid electrolyte. Based on a non-exhaustive secondary research by the team, there is no “state-of-the-art’ filtration system designed for redox flow battery used for battery material recycling. Filtration systems in the market are not specifically made for the purpose of recycling battery material in a flow battery and therefore do not come with the features and the advantages that come with the proposed technology. Present technology can only allow for such filtration batch by batch, causing stoppages and idle time for the entire flow cell system. Lithium battery, Material recycling, Flow battery, Filter design, Flow frame, Tank design Energy, Battery & SuperCapacitor, Waste Management & Recycling, Industrial Waste Management

Partial discharges (PDs) are early indicators of the deteriorating health condition of high-voltage electrical assets in power distribution networks. PDs are caused by localised dielectric breakdowns within assets such as generators, transformers, and switchgears. Left undetected, the health of the assets can deteriorate and lead to irreversible damage, posing safety hazards such as fire and explosion. Therefore, there is a need to detect and monitor PD events to ensure asset health and safety to extend the life time.  This technology offer is a compact PD sensor equipped with a fast detector which can be mounted on assets to detect and monitor PD events 24/7. The system integrates a wireless platform, allowing remote retrieval of information about the times of PD occurrences and source identifications (IDs). This information can be used to trace and identify PD emitting sources. By using the proposed technology to detect and monitor PD events, early signs of asset degradation can be identified. This allows necessary preventive measures to be taken to avoid unexpected failures and damages, saving costs associated with repair or replacement. Additionally, the technology enhances safety by minimizing the risk of fire and explosion caused by PD-related damages. Overall, the proposed technology helps ensure the health and safety of high-voltage electrical assets, while reducing costs and downtime associated with unexpected failures and damages. The main features of the technology offer are: A highly innovative solution that consists of a patented near-field PD sensor integrated with a high-speed detector. Can be powered by either a battery or an external power source, providing maximum convenience and versatility. Designed to work seamlessly with a wireless platform, enabling measurement data to be stored either on premises or in the cloud. Remote monitoring and data analytics capabilities allow users to quickly identify and troubleshoot issues in real-time, minimizing downtime and maximizing asset health and performance. The system's patented near-field PD sensor, high-speed detector/processing unit, and versatile power options make it the ideal choice for users seeking the highest levels of performance, reliability, and flexibility. The system can be further customised to monitor the health and performance of high-voltage electrical assets such as generators, transformers, and switchgears. Minimum size of sensor is 150mm * 150m * 8mm Size of the processing unit is 150mm * 90mm * 45mm Maximum power required by the system is 2W; it can be powered by a battery or adapter which can provide 5V voltage through USB type-C interface This technology offer is versatile and can be deployed in a wide range of different applications, such as, in high-voltage power transmission and distribution industries, especially for owners of high-voltage electrical machines and equipment providing critical services. The technology benefits: Semiconductor fabrication plants to ensure high-voltage electrical assets remain in peak condition, minimizing downtime and financial losses. Data centres to ensure reliable and efficient power supplies to operate effectively and deliver uninterrupted services to clients Public transportation systems such as, trains and subways, to ensure their safe and efficient operation. Hospital environments to provide reliable and efficient electrical assets that are critical for patient care and treatment Existing PD measurement systems in the market are deployed for periodic PD measurements, which is not real-time and may miss out early signs of insulation degradation of high-voltage equipment. These systems are sophisticated and good for comprehensive diagnostic and analysis, but they are too costly for large-scale deployment to provide 24/7 PD monitoring of multiple assets simultaneously. This technology offer is a low-cost, non-intrusive method which is scalable for deployment in a large-scale environment. The wireless platform allows remote monitoring of multiple assets at multiple sites from a dashboard. The data will be automatically collected and stored in the cloud for long-term analysis. Hence, this technology serves as a first-level PD detection and monitoring to identify a specific asset with degraded insulation issue and a more sophisticated PD measurement system can then be deployed for diagnostic purposes. The technology owner is keen to do R&D collaboration and licensing to high-voltage equipment manufacturers, and power system maintenance service providers. partial discharge, remote monitoring, high-voltage, near-field sensor Electronics, Sensors & Instrumentation, Energy, Sensor, Network, Power Conversion, Power Quality & Energy Management

Nanoscale 3D printed optical elements are the next-generation security features in physical products to combat the globally evolving problem of counterfeiting. Due to the design of complex structures with ultra-high resolution, nanoscale 3D printed optical elements are extremely difficult to copy by other means, while producing special optical effects for authentication. This technology involves the design and fabrication of nanoscale 3D structures by two-photon polymerization lithography. These structures have ultra-high resolution of up to 100,000 dots per inch (dpi) and are used to control the various properties (amplitude, phase, colour, orbital angular momentum) of visible light to achieve special optical effects. For example, a wide range of colours are directly produced by varying the geometry of the nanostructures, and do not require any additional processing steps.  The optical effects serve as security features that can be verified by naked eye, lasers, and optical microscope setups. This technology can be used as product authentication labels in high-value goods such as medicine, jewellery, and watches to prevent counterfeiting. Nanoscale 3D printing enables the fabrication of complex optical elements with ultra-high resolution. The key advantages of the technology are given below - Resolution of up to 100,000 dpi compared to conventional technologies which work at ~ 1000 dpi. Optically stable elements. Environment friendly and non toxic. The fabricated nanostructures are made of polymers and compared to technologies in this domain like quantum dots, are potentially more stable and with a lower risk of toxicity. This technology promises new and improved capabilities for security applications. nanomaterials, optics, anti counterfeiting Materials, Nano Materials, Electronics, Lasers, Optics & Photonics, Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Moulding, Sintering, Casting & Nanoimprinting

Corrosion of metal structures is often addressed as one of the main prevailing problems in aerospace, petrochemical, marine, automobile and aeronautical industries. Most of the currently existing technologies for corrosion detection lack sensitivity and focus on direct viewing, which restricts defect detection in difficult to access areas such small channels, technical cavities, pipelines, tunnels, oil wells and others. A flexible ultraspectral imaging-based probe, capable of providing more than hundreds of spectral bands would be the best choice in case of sensitive and early stages detection of defects and corrosion in human inaccessible area. This invention discloses a portable specialised imaging probe that uses fast (snapshot) and non-destructive imaging technology for early detection of stresses, contamination, and corrosion.   The ultraspectral probe presented here consists of bundles of lighting and imaging fibres in a small diameter flexible configuration. The main features of the probe are - Integrated wideband lighting source. Flexible with a diameter of less than 5mm. Optical NDT capability in multiple spectral bands. Early corrosion detection capability. Real-time remote monitoring capability Applicable to any metal inspection. Paired with a reference library specific to the material under inspection, the probe can potentially automate the corrosion inspection process.  The probe essentially offers ultraspectral imaging capability in difficult to access area. There are multiple use cases that can benefit from this – Corrosion monitoring in technical cavities and slots of aircrafts, automobiles and gas pipelines. Bond pad corrosion detection in semiconductor industry. Characterisation and detection in areas such as biomedical imaging, metrology, agriculture etc. The flexible integrated ultraspectral probe allows inspection in previously inaccessible areas for visual NDT inspections. The inherent digitization of the data in multiple spectral bands further adds to the possibility of using the probe for early detection of corrosion and for automating the inspection task. The probe also simplifies inspection in small cavities and pipes and facilitates efficient and early remedial actions.   Corrosion, Non Destructive Imaging, Non Destructive Testing, Probe, Ultraspectral, Technical Cavity Inspection Electronics, Sensors & Instrumentation, Lasers, Optics & Photonics

The technology presented here is a software stack (Agile Framework) for autonomous system development and deployment. This agile framework serves as a software container/launchpad for various autonomous technology related software modules. This includes localization and mapping, navigation and control, planning, perception, sensor fusion, HMI and others. The agile framework also provides a suite of digital-twin simulation and modelling tools for developers to test and validate algorithms prior to deployment on real hardware. It is dockerized for quick and seamless deployment. Developers can quickly build up an autonomous system using this stack, like assembling a set of LEGOS. Simulation models can be used to carry out different experiments while the actual deployment can be done using docker. Agile Framework: A software “container” that serves as a launchpad for various autonomous system/ technology software modules, including but not limited to robot/ sensor driver interface, robot platform control module, localization and mapping, navigation and path planning, perception, mission planning, etc.   Extensible and reconfigurable: The stack uses *.yaml file for configuration changes.  Process management (spawn and kill) and monitoring in one view  Resource management: memory usage, CPU loading, etc.   Dockerized  The software stack can be used for different use cases including - Autonomous system/robot development. Autonomous system software deployment.  Engineering education: Robotics, autonomous system, drone, etc.    Though there is a high demand for autonomous systems from different sectors, developers often face challenges in transitioning the innovative use cases to an autonomous system product. These challenges include but are not limited to - long product development cycle, high R&D cost, resource-intensive testing and deployment process, and decoupled user-developer development process. The agile framework presented here offers following advantages – Reduced entry point requirement by applying a LEGO like approach to autonomous system development. Easier testing and deployment with a GUI interface and yaml based configuration. Reduced R&D cost and development time.   Autonomous Systems, Autonomous Rovot, Software Stack, Docker Manufacturing, Assembly, Automation & Robotics, Infocomm, Robotics & Automation, Logistics, Inventory Management

A challenge faced by many chemical processing plants is the high process temperature and high energy consumption. For example, in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) production process, one of the commonly used approaches of concentrating the medicine is by evaporation. This process operates at 100°C and aims to remove 2/3 of the total amount of water from the feed solution. The main issues are: High operating temperature causing irreversible damage to the active ingredients. Taking up 75% of the overall energy consumed. 2-3 days to process one batch of the extracted liquid. Labour-intensive and hard to scale up. Furthermore, as the production is operated in batch mode, the boiler needs to be turned off and on (heating and cooling) frequently. To overcome these challenges, the membrane – pervaporation system has been developed. The operating principles have been tested at laboratory scale using actual TCM products. The operating temperature can be lowered so that the risk of damage to the active ingredients is reduced. It was computed that an energy saving of 39% can be achieved. The team that designed and developed the system is well-versed with membrane technology and is ready to transfer the know-how and knowledge. They are seeking partners to collaborate and further develop this proof-of-concept for commercial deployment, targeting applications where thermal damage to high value active ingredients are of concern.      The integrated membrane – pervaporation system provides an attractive alternative for the purification and concentration of water-based extracts. The system makes use of proven technologies that are widely deployed in the industry to help reduce implementation risk and cost. It uses widely available commercial hollow fibre ultrafiltration membranes (operating at a low pressure of a few bar) from the water treatment industry to directly process the filtrate and then further concentrate the permeate using pervaporation technique which uses widely available polymeric hollow fibre membranes. With such a system, a lower operating temperature can be used on the feed solution thereby reducing energy footprint and also reducing the risk to thermal damage on the active ingredients in the permeate. The system produces water vapour from the condenser that is downstream to the pervaporate, which can be condensed into distilled water for other applications. The system’s operating parameters can be customised to meet the specific requirements needed to preserve the active ingredients’ functional properties and at the same time balance the overall processing time and energy consumption. Potential applications include: Purification and concentration of liquid extract (e.g. TCM) Purification and concentration of liquid food and beverage products Recycling of alcohol solvent in semiconductor industry Separation, purification and concentration of liquid chemical products in chemical industry Separation, purification and concentration of intermediate and final products in pharmaceutical industry Water treatment and seawater desalination Operating at a lower temperature to minimise the damage to active ingredients The system has the potential to significantly reduce the energy consumption by 39% Increase purity of the end products It can be automated for continuous production Pervaporation, TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Concentration, Active Ingredient, Evaporation, Boiling, Membrane filtration, Filtration Manufacturing, Chemical Processes, Foods, Ingredients, Sustainability, Low Carbon Economy

Routine monitoring of water quality is paramount in aquaculture operations such as Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) to ensure high productivity and high produce quality. Currently, the monitoring of microbial content in water is mostly based on visualisation of water turbidity and observation of fish behaviour. Some RAS operations use the bacterial culture-based approach for surveillance of microbial quality of water. However, this approach is laborious, requires microbiological testing expertise, and test results are obtainable only after a long incubation period.  Bioluminescent ATP assay is another method that can be used to monitor microbial content. However, it requires lysis of bacteria to release the ATP contained inside the bacteria, and enzymatic reaction of luciferase on ATP to produce the luminescence. While it provides results within a short time, the cost of luciferase, lysis reagents and luminometer could be prohibitive for routine and extensive testing of water samples.   The technology owner has developed a non-enzymatic test reagent which gives a rapid colour change in the presence of Gram-negative bacteria. The technology owner is keen to collaborate with manufacturers of analytical instruments and diagnostic test kits, as well as partners from the aquaculture, biomedical and water quality control industries, to further develop and commercialise this technology. Features of this novel test reagent include: Fast reaction, any colour change is visible within 15-20 seconds Specific detection of Gram-negative bacteria, e.g. Vibrio spp., which contribute to many of the bacterial diseases in aquaculture Does not require samples to be treated with lysis buffer prior to adding the test reagent Can be prepared easily by simple mixing of a formulated solution with a powder Environmentally benign and not corrosive This test reagent is efficient in detecting aquatic bacteria in aquaculture farms. It is a convenient, instrument-free, and economical alternative to detect presence of Gram-negative bacteria, enabling more farmers to monitor the microbial content more regularly and frequently to avoid the disease outbreaks.  It may also be applied in other sectors which require routine monitoring of bacteria, such as environmental water testing laboratories, biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Rapid colour change and can be visualised without the use of any electronic devices Quick and simple preparation and testing method without involving special equipment or personnel with advanced microbiological testing expertise  Ingredients of the test reagent are commercially available at low cost Environmentally benign and do not require special treatment for disposal  Unlike ATP reagents that require storage at low temperatures, this test reagent is stable at 25-30°C for at least 8 months Rapid, Colorimetric, Detection, Non-Enzymatic, Aquatic, Bacteria Life Sciences, Agriculture & Aquaculture, Chemicals, Analysis, Environment, Clean Air & Water, Sensor, Network, Monitoring & Quality Control Systems, Sustainability, Food Security