Geospatial data can transform how people move, build and live

When residents look for support services and community programmes in their neighborhoods, having a digital map that can point them to the right location can be an invaluable asset.

That’s why Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is collaborating with the MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation (MOHT) to build a one-stop e-directory to consolidate where health and social service providers are located, as part of a broader plan to benefit citizens and enhance quality of lives.

This is the objective of Singapore’s ten-year Geospatial Master Plan released this year, which lays out the government’s commitment to tap on geospatial for preventative health, inclusive infrastructure, climate adaptation and resilience, and broader incident management.

Aside from tapping on geospatial data for the design and build phase in the construction sector, technologies like Trimble’s cloud platform enables collaboration on a common and connected data environment to broaden the use of data for different users.

Geospatial technologies are bringing more coordination and collaboration between the relevant stakeholders of many industries.

“We want to connect the users, data, and workflows across industry lifecycles because we think that’s how you can drive real productivity and system-wide benefits,” said Trimble’s CEO, Robert Painter.

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Tech stack for end-to-end geospatial workflows

Painter shared that the more-than-40-year-old Trimble, a global technology firm, has evolved in its offerings to the geospatial industry. The firm was an early pioneer in GPS positioning, primarily used by land surveyors.

Over time, it added software and workflows into its stack to customise its offerings for specific industries such as construction, agriculture, transportation and logistics.

The technology stack is the intersection of the where, the what and the why, he explained.

Beyond highly accurate positioning, Trimble leverages advanced data analytics to deliver relevant, valuable insights for different users in the project lifecycle.    

Citing an example of a road building project enabled through geospatial, Painter said, “The only thing we know almost for sure about building a road is that someday we’ll need to renovate or repair it. It always loops back.

“It’s not just design and build, but also operation and eventual re-design.

“This is the idea of closing the loop between work in the field and work in the office. It’s like a circular economy that runs throughout the asset’s entire lifecycle.”

AI and IoT to connect the physical and digital worlds

The vast amounts of physical data captured through Trimble’s positioning systems, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) enable the firm’s customers to leverage data at scale for actionable insights.

“People don’t want to buy data. They want to buy outcomes. How can they get work done better, faster, safer, cheaper and greener?”

“We see AI having implications in the geospatial context in helping users create more actionable, predictive and prescriptive insights and create better outcomes,” explained Painter.

He brought up the use of mobile mapping technology to illustrate how AI can help bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds.

“You can create a digital profile for all your roads in the country, profiling all the signs and assets along the highway,” he said, adding that AI can be applied to identify the areas that need repair work with a click of a button.

“That's how AI can be applied to link geospatial data collection with actionable information and real positive actions.”

Trimble’s GPS-guided machine control systems, base stations, rovers and total stations are connected to the cloud, enabling the easy transfer of information and better communication with everyone working on a project.

Since 2020, Trimble has invested more than US$2 billion in research and development (R&D). In 2023 alone, the firm invested more than US$660 million in R&D.

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Interoperability key focus of public-private partnership

Painter shared Trimble works with public sector bodies to connect data and emerging technology to improve collaboration, productivity, efficiency and sustainability.

Trimble is part of the Strategic Advisory Council (SAC) building SMART International, a non-profit body that leads the development of open digital information flows in the built environment industry.

At the local level, Trimble also works with Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to support standards setting in the construction sector with CORENET X.

“We need to be engaged at the local levels to understand how the countries want to deploy the technology, and increasingly become a part of setting standards to get interoperability in the data,” he shared.

Data comes from many places, and different systems need to be able to exchange data with each other, he emphasised, explaining the need for close partnerships between the public and private sector to architect the technologies for public infrastructure.

Another aspect of public sector engagement is education efforts to ensure that public sector agencies are aware of how the technologies can fit in the specifications of the infrastructure.

With an increasing focus on more inclusive and sustainable environments, the public sector can tap on technologies to optimise geospatial planning to deliver safer, cheaper and greener environments for the public.

You can find out more about Trimble here: www.trimble.com