These examples may be a pipe dream now, but the Infocomm-Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is hoping they will materialize within the next decade.
The regulator unveiled this goal yesterday at its Singapore Infocomm Foresight 2015 conference. IDA identified emerging technologies that could help boost the local economy and tackle issues ranging from national security to healthcare problems associated with the country's rapidly-aging population.
One of the lynchpins behind IDA's new 10-year plan for a high-tech Singapore is an area it refers to as "sentient technologies". Simply put, IDA envisions a future where computer networks are capable of monitoring environmental factors like temperature, motion, light, pressure and possibly even the presence of the deadly SARS virus in the air.
These networks could also have self-healing properties that allow them to detect and resolve hiccups on their own, Tan Geok Leng, IDA's chief technology officer, said in his address.
CTO, IDA
"Singapore is already well-connected, so it's easy to hook sensor nodes to these networks," Tan said. "We can work on sensors that can detect all things, like chemicals, Anthrax or explosives".
These sensor networks can provide Singapore with an early warning system for emergencies, he noted.
Besides enhancing national security, Tan added, such monitoring systems also have a place in the home, where they can be used to help keep tabs on the elderly. For instance, sensors placed in bathrooms can be programmed to alert family members when an elderly at home slips and falls, or they could be used to monitor whether the elderly have taken their daily medication.
Although sensor networks may be far out on IDA's technology radar, dozens of other organizations overseas, ranging from universities to small technology start-ups to IT giants like Intel, are scrambling to make it an immediate commercial reality. However, technical issues and high equipment costs have confined current deployments largely to lab tests and small-scale trials.
Besides sensors, nanotechnology and bioinformatics are some of the other areas IDA intends to focus on in the next 10 years. A plan detailing how IDA will promote the development of these technologies and adoption by local vertical sectors will be released in 2006, Tan said.
CNET News.com's Alorie Gilbert and Richard Shim contributed to this story.
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