JOINT MEDIA RELEASE

Singapore, 20 May 2022

11 Start-ups Awarded MINT-STARTUP Grant at the Launch of Smart Port Challenge 2022

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), today announced the launch of Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2022 under Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined @ BLOCK71 (PIER71™) during a hybrid event held at the Singapore Maritime Gallery.

MPA has awarded 11 start-ups (see Annex A for details) a Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT)-STARTUP grant for prototype development and test-bedding. This brings the total number of grant recipients to 50, and the total funding disbursed since 2017 to over S$2.45 million. These 11 start-ups are collaborating with maritime corporate partners from PIER71™ on pilot projects that focus on the use of smart sensors, vision and data analytics, artificial intelligence and wearables amongst others.

For SPC 2022, 16 maritime companies have identified challenge statements across 15 areas for innovation under the areas of (1) Smart Port; (2) Smart Ship; (3) Crew Safety, Training and Wellbeing; (4) Smart Maritime Services and Logistics; and (5) Green Technology. Technology start-ups – both based in Singapore or abroad – are invited to submit proposals on solutions to any of the challenge statements spanning across the 15 areas or in other areas related to the maritime sector in an Open Category. The closing date for submission of proposals is 8 July 2022.

Shortlisted start-ups will be mentored under the PIER71™ Accelerate programme and may be eligible for a MINT-STARTUP grant of up to S$50,000. They will also enjoy continued entrepreneurial and technical support beyond SPC through PIER71™’s global network of partners. The top three winners for SPC 2022 will be announced at the Grand Final in November 2022 and will win cash prizes of S$10,000, S$5,000 and S$3,000 respectively.

Mr Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive (Industry), MPA, said, “Going into its sixth year, the Smart Port Challenge continues to play a vital role in developing a strong MarineTech sector. By collaborating closely with global start-ups, we keep abreast of the industry’s challenge and opportunities, co-create innovative and pragmatic solutions, and ensure that the maritime sector remains future-ready as a vibrant and dynamic international maritime centre”.

Professor Freddy Boey, NUS Deputy President (Innovation and Enterprise), said, “Smart Port Challenge and the PIER71™ Accelerate programme have been the gateway into the maritime ecosystem for many innovative start-ups. The cohesiveness of this ecosystem stems from the support of industry partners and is made stronger through the synergies between some of these start-ups.”

A recording of the SPC 2022 launch event will be available on https://pier71.sg.

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 About PIER71™

Founded by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), through its entrepreneurial arm NUS Enterprise, PIER71™ (Port Innovation Ecosystem Reimagined at BLOCK71) aims to grow Singapore’s maritime innovation ecosystem. PIER71™ boosts innovation in the maritime and maritime-related industries by attracting talents, creating opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, attracting investments into start-ups and accelerating ventures.

PIER71™ designs and delivers programmes to uncover opportunities within the industry and supports entrepreneurs from ideation to acceleration of their ventures. PIER71™ provides access to various markets, demand drivers, technology solution providers, investors and more. PIER71™ also represents a budding and increasingly vibrant ecosystem of stakeholders who are keen to digitalise and create the next wave of maritime innovation.

For more information, please visit https://pier71.sg

About the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)

MPA was established on 2 February 1996, with the mission to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre, and to advance and safeguard Singapore’s strategic maritime interests. MPA is the driving force behind Singapore’s port and maritime development, taking on the roles of Port Authority, Port Regulator, Port Planner, IMC Champion, and National Maritime Representative. MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in our port waters, facilitate port operations and growth, expand the cluster of maritime ancillary services, and promote maritime R&D and manpower development.

For more information, please visit www.mpa.gov.sg/

About National University of Singapore (NUS)

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 17 faculties across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established our NUS Overseas Colleges programme in more than 15 cities around the world.

Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, 30 university-level research institutes, research centres of excellence and corporate labs focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research and cybersecurity.

For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg

About NUS Enterprise

NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of NUS, plays a pivotal role in advancing innovation and entrepreneurship at NUS and beyond. It actively promotes entrepreneurship and cultivates global mind-sets and talents through the synergies of experiential entrepreneurial education, active industry partnerships, holistic entrepreneurship support and catalytic entrepreneurship outreach. Its initiatives and global connections support a range of entrepreneurial journeys and foster ecosystem building in new markets. These initiatives augment and complement the University’s academic programmes and act as a unique bridge to industry well beyond Singapore’s shores.

For more information, please visit https://enterprise.nus.edu.sg

For media enquiries, please contact:

Gerald Kheng                                                 Priscilla Goh

MPA Corporate Communications                  PIER71™ Marketing & Digital Communications

Email: gerald_kheng@mpa.gov.sg                Email: priscillagoh@pier71.sg

Annex A: Recipients of the MINT-STARTUP Grant

No.	Start-up	Project Title	Project Description
1	EcoWorth Tech	Enhanced Oil Removal Solution to provide better Marine Oil Spill Response	To develop a prototype that would put Carbon Fibre Aerogel (CFA) material into the optimal form that is suited for the industrial needs in the maritime industry. This would allow validation of CFA in comparison to other competitive products in the market. Based on laboratory tests, the CFA is at least 100% more absorbent on a per weight basis than traditional single-use absorbents.
2	EnvironSens	Robust Testing and Monitoring Drinking Water Quality On-board Vessels	To automate the manual processes of their current bacterial monitoring sensor system. The current manual process requires human expertise and interference in the steps of filtration, staining and colorimetric analysis, which is not feasible for vessel usage.
3	Eupnoos	Eupnoos lung function test for occupational disease	To enable shipyard workers to check for the first signs of lung disease by blowing into the microphone of their device. The AI model will identify symptoms associated with disease and flag the results to the user so that they can act and not ignore the problem until a crisis sets in. The application also can be used as a tool to support smoking cessation by showing smokers their lung condition and enabling them to track improvement over time if they adhere to their plan.
4	eyeGauge	Non-invasive Online Condition Monitoring for High-Speed Passenger Ferries Real-time	To leverage on eyeGauge’s non-invasive data collection solution using cameras and capture devices to gather data onboard ships. It will extract and digitise analogue signals from the main engine, electrical generators, and other onboard equipment to guide maintenance activities for the ferries and improve asset availability for utilisation.
5	FlexoSense	Smart Insole for Worker Safety and Productivity	FlexoSense has already developed a patent-pending pressure sensor technology for insoles, that has thus far been trialled in the health sector. Through the project, they will enhance and tweak their smart in-sole for the maritime and marine and offshore sector to detect Slips, Trips and Falls (STF).
6	ITAAS	Monitoring and Early Detection of Health Conditions	To re-design ITAAS’s current in-ear wearable technology to aid in the detection of cardiovascular-related health conditions to enable early intervention in a marine environment. The solution will also provide supervisors with real-time visibility of their crew’s health conditions.
7	MAGES Studio	Serious Game for Seafarer’s Onboarding Training	To develop a “Ship Emergency Simulation” game. This will be a level-based game, in every level the boat will be travelling from point A to B and the player will face multiple emergency situations along the way. The player must resolve the emergency situations by performing the correct actions in the right order and ensure smooth sailing throughout the journey.
8	MagicPort	Digital Procurement and Collaboration Platform for Ship Supplies and Services	To develop a digital marketplace and collaboration platform for ship owners and ship managers; a comprehensive directory that provides information on ports, suppliers and services providers, vessels, and owners; and work on the Request For Quotation processor which can help ship suppliers automate the process of preparing the quotations.
9	Temus	Detection and Prevention of Near-Miss Workplace Fall Injuries without Vision Analytics	To leverage on their existing Connected Worker System (CWS) platform suite, which consists of TAGU and NaviSafe and enhance their wearable device so that it can detect Slips, Trips & Falls (STFs) or Fall From height (FFH) accurately. TAGU is a IoT wearable device, while NaviSafe is the software application hosted on cloud.
10	Vilota	3D Vision-Based Solution for Rebars Distance Management	To leverage on their proprietary 360-degree vision-based sensor and develop a prototype to provide recognition and counting with high accuracy, diameter measurement of rebars, and information for automated tallying within a port environment.
11	WeavAir	WeavAir Loss Prevention Platform	To create value for ship owners, ship managers and marine insurers by developing a digital portal which can improve benchmarking, accelerate decisions, improve forecasting, and risk rating.   The digital portal will help ship owners and ship managers simplify the data collection process for marine incidents that required by marine insurers. While marine insurers can leverage on the digital portal for anonymised marine incidents’ data so that they can make better risk assessment and recommend potential loss prevention protocols which ships owners or manager can undertake to help lower insurance premiums.

(More information is available at https://pier71.sg/smart-port-challenge-past-cohort.)