Living Lab for Smart Campus Innovation  – iHLS

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A smart campus uses advanced network infrastructure and internet-connected devices joining people, devices, and applications and allowing universities to make insight-driven decisions to improve security and maximize resources.

5G has come at a time when operational efficiency and climate change matters are fast becoming priorities for businesses, campuses, and government entities. An intriguing smart campus trial will soon be conducted in Singapore.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) will conduct a two-year trial to test the usage of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in order to better manage its campus. Drones and patrol robots, for example, might be used in live experiments to improve safety and speed up reaction times.

StarHub will incorporate its latest 5G and IoT solutions into the University’s smart campus innovations. Through ‘live’ trials, StarHub and NUS will exchange knowledge, identify gaps, and co-develop solutions in smart campus facilities management. The project is based on the enhanced infrastructure of StarHub 5G Standalone (SA) services and Singapore’s first 100% solar-powered campus WiFi. 

The wide variety of 5G and IoT use cases in smart facilities management include building facade inspection, housekeeping and landscape management, waste management, security management, and augmented/virtual reality applications, using the campus as an immersive classroom for sustainability education.

Among the applications, smart sanitary sensors have been installed at NUS U-Town, which will alert facility managers when taps or flushing systems are faulty. This not only reduces the need for regular maintenance and cuts wastage but also speeds up response and rectification. 

The high-speed connectivity and real-time communications that 5G provides will allow the university to redesign its facilities management workflow, enhancing productivity, efficiency, and safety, as well as provide targeted responses tailored to different situations. 

According to the company’s announcement, “partnering NUS, we are capitalizing on 5G to build a smart sensor network and generate new insights, for more agile decision-making and greater workforce productivity.”

The project is part of the university’s vision of being a borderless university, where learning and working can take place anywhere, anytime and through any device.