TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Hardware and software
• Science-technology convergence
• Energy and green tech
• Mobile apps
• Healthcare initiatives
• Biotechnology
• Communications
• Infrastructure
• Intellectual and social capital
CONFERENCE OVERVIEW
The pace of technological and scientific change in Asia is nothing short of astounding. The inventions and innovations taking place there are having a major effect on world technology and economic markets.
With Singapore as our hub, we’ll examine leapfrogging technologies from three viewpoints, concentrating on their development and utilization in Asia: developing countries that are bypassing established technologies, instead deploying next-generation technologies; highend research and development; and cost-effective ways to implement technology.
The numbers of patents and refereed publications are indicators of Asia’s emergence as a high-end technology innovator. The convergence of science and technology in Singapore, as evidenced by the construction of Biopolis, is based on the premise that new ideas flourish when novel combinations occur. China is an increasingly vigorous capitalist economy: Internet use there is exploding, homegrown businesses are turning inward to sell to a rapidly emerging domestic market, and R&D and other advanced thrusts are pervasive. In India, whose burgeoning population presents an enormous opportunity for economy of scale, the software development and communications industries are finding receptive grounds for experimentation and novel ideas.
In Asia, government-industry partnerships abound. Intellectual capital is giving way to social capital; interdisciplinarity among science and technology centers takes advantage of complementary realms of expertise. Has the reverse brain drain from the West to Asia affected technology development? Leapfrogging technologies, in computers and beyond, are being applied in creative and important ways. In many instances, the innovation cycle is about process. How will technology development and invention emanating from Asia affect the rest of the world? In short, what can we learn from Asian countries that have positioned themselves as leapfrogging-technology pioneers?
FIELD TRIP TO FUSIONOPOLIS
http://www.fusionopolis.a-star.edu.sg/
Wednesday, July 16, 2009: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Fusionopolis—consisting consisting of FusionWorld, the Institute for Infocomm Research, and Mediapolis—brings brings together research scientists, engineers, and technology experts from the public labs of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the private sector. Inside Fusionopolis, working teams are comprised of researchers in different disciplines including materials science and engineering, data storage, microelectronics, manufacturing technology, high performance computing, and information and communications.
FUSIONWORLD
FusionWorld is an interactive showcase of award-winning inventions and cutting-edge prototypes from A*STAR. We’ll look at technologies designed for:
Home: Featuring indoor and outdoor elements, and technologies such as hand gestures, 3-D face modeling, smart shelves, and interactive wall displays.
Enterprise: Presenting a range of manufacturing-related technologies, such as cold rotary forming, laser aided manufacturing, and micromotors.
Medical: R&D focusing on ways to treat some of more common medical conditions of our time, anywhere, anytime. Brain computer interfaces, real time monitoring, DNA/RNA extraction, and smart bed with patient monitoring facilities will be highlighted.
Move: Including transportation-related technologies, events monitoring, materials technology, and computational elasticity.
INSTITUTE FOR INFOCOMM RESEARCH (I2R)
I2R’s research capabilities lie in information technology and science, wireless and optical communications, and interactive digital media. We’ll get glimpses into next generation content for IPTV, scalable media coding and delivery, personal 3-D entertainment systems, interactive sports games, and indoor tracking and location technologies.
MEDIAPOLIS AND THE MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (MDA)
MDA pursues initiatives that promote developments in film, video, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation, media services, and interactive digital media. A media ecosystem will consist of technologies that support sense phenomena, gaming, and the merging of virtual and physical worlds.