AI-powered ideas for sustainable and inclusive Singapore

The finale of the third edition of Huawei’s hackathon competition in Singapore saw five teams – formed of youths between the ages of 18 and 35 – present their ideas to enhance an inclusive and sustainable Singapore using artificial intelligence (AI).  

The winning team for Tech4City competition, Golden Gamers, leveraged Huawei’s technology to develop their solution targeted to encourage active ageing in Singapore. 

In his keynote address, the guest of honour Senior Minister of State of Digital Development and Information and Ministry of National Development Tan Kiat How, commended the finalists for “using technology for good to improve the lives of fellow citizens.” 

The other finalists developed different ideas powered by AI to empower teachers and students with different learning experiences, assist individuals with disabilities, enhance seniors’ community engagement, and support sustainable agriculture.  

This year’s Tech4City finals was held on October 11, at Marina Bay Expo and Convention Centre, with the participation of SMS Tan, Huawei Technologies President of Corporate Communications Department, David Wang Chengdong, and Huawei International’s CEO Maxi Wang.  

Solutions for social impact and inclusivity 

Leading to the finals, the top five teams received mentorship, technical training, and S$2,000 funding to kickstart their prototypes for exhibition in the finals. 

To subscribe to the GovInsider bulletin click here.

The teams presented their solutions following a question-and-answer session for the final judging, which saw two teams receiving additional awards for their innovative ideas.  

Team Cikgang, formed by students from National University of Singapore (NUS), won the fourth prize in addition to the “Swan & Maclaren Social Impact Award”, sponsored by Swan & Maclaren Group, for their idea of using AI to build a learning platform that personalises teaching and learning for the future of education. 

Another team also formed by NUS students, Team BinaCloud developed a solution to improve accessibility for individuals with difficulty navigating public transport infrastructure, using AI-powered identification mechanisms to help transportation staff provide timely assistance. The team received the “Best Innovation in Mobility” award, sponsored by SBS Transit. 

SBS Transit’s Group CEO Jeffrey Sim commented that Tech4City stands as an ideal opportunity for youth to come up with creative ideas to benefit society at large which companies and the public sector can support for upscaling.  

Such was the case with the grand prize winner of 2022 Tech4City, FingerDance, a NUS startup that developed an AI-powered sign language prototype. Upon winning the competition, the startup received support through the Huawei Cloud Incubator where they were able to scale up their solution and partner with SBS Transit. 

The result of this partnership was SiLViA, an AI sign language virtual assistant that translates spoken or written language into Singaporean sign language. The solution was rolled out on a trial at Chinatown Station to help the deaf and hard of hearing to commute independently on public transport.

At the event, SiLViA translated all the keynote speeches in real time. 

Reimagining senior fitness  

The top team for this year’s competition presented their AI-integrated solution called PrimePlay, a senior exercise games arcade to encourage active ageing.  

To subscribe to the GovInsider bulletin click here.

“We’re flipping the script on fitness for seniors by turning exercise into something they look forward to while offering personalised, AI-driven fitness programmes that are tailored to each senior’s abilities, needs, and goals,” said Team Golden Gamers on their final presentation for the judges.  

The way it works is through the PrimePlay app where seniors fill in a health questionnaire that then generates personalised game recommendations based on research data.  

The team used Huawei HMS Core to build the PrimePlay app, creating the adaptive AI algorithm with Huawei ModelArts which stores information from the app. In the backend, Huawei Cloud holds the user and training data used to adjust the program and measure progress.  

Huawei’s technology was particularly essential at the start of the developing process to then move forward, said team leader Jonathon Leong. “When we first started the prototype, we had a lot of issues with data storage and processing. So, the most crucial technology was Huawei Cloud.” 

Some of the pain points the team sought to address with their solution involve the growing senior population in Singapore in need of motivating active ageing initiatives.  

The team developed three initial games to target grip strengthening, rhythm dance, and cycling simulation. As the winners of the grand prize of S$20,000, the team hopes to scale up to implement the project in multiple active ageing centres to boost community engagement as well.  

Tech for a digital and inclusive Singapore  

“There is unlimited potential in our hands,” said David Wang Chengdong, referring to the wide array of possibilities that technological advancements provide today. In his closing speech, he congratulated the winners and encouraged future participation to test more ideas for the benefit of the community.  

To subscribe to the GovInsider bulletin click here.

Since the inaugural Tech4City competition in 2022, the initiative has continuously gathered young talents to cultivate their skills and realise their ideas through networking sessions and tech upskilling programmes, contributing to Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0. 

The previous two editions of the competition saw over 740 youths and 180 innovative ideas for social good, following the framework of care, inclusion, talent, and youth (CITY). 

Huawei’s Tech4Life initiative was recognised for championing Singapore’s National Digital for Life (Dfl) movement earlier this year.