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The Singapore Land Authority and Nanyang Technological University sign Memorandum of Understanding to benefit the geospatial industry

Home > Articles > Press Releases > 2007 > The Singapore Land Authority and Nanyang Technological University sign Memorandum of Understanding to benefit the geospatial industry
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Reg. No. 200604393R

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

Total: 3 pg(s) including this pg

 

Singapore, 04 June 2007

As geospatial information and technology1 become increasingly pervasive in the 21st century, Singapore has to keep up with the latest developments in the industry. To this end, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) and Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Civil and Environmental Engineering have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to conduct cooperative research and development, and education in the area of spatial information science and technology.

2 The MOU will allow SLA and NTU to tap on each others’ expertise and infrastructure to conduct research in the area of spatial information science and technology. This collaboration will eventually benefit industries such as real estate, national security, transportation, logistics, mapping and surveying.

3 SLA will be able to tap on NTU’s expertise in Geographic Information System (GIS) and make use of NTU’s array of equipment, software, training, resources and capabilities in the development of its own capabilities, whereas NTU’s researchers and students will get to work with SLA in various areas like structure monitoring, vehicle tracking and navigation, spatial data infrastructure utilising existing infrastructure (i.e. SiReNT2) and map data maintained by SLA. Under this MOU, experts from NTU will also be conducting executive courses for SLA’s officers.

4 Associate Professor Teh Cee Ing, Acting Chair, NTU School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), says: “We are excited about this collaboration with SLA. NTU will bring our expertise and capabilities in geospatial information to the joint research projects with SLA. The collaboration provides our researchers the opportunity to work on projects which will impact Singapore. For example, likely collaboration research areas include the applications of SiReNT and the creation of the Geoid Model3 of Singapore. With this MOU, CEE would further establish ourselves as a Centre of Excellence in Spatial Information Science.”

5 One important technology in the field of geospatial is the GPS (Global Positioning System). It is currently used in areas like taxi and bus tracking system. With the introduction of SiReNT, higher positioning accuracy can be achieved in the tracking of the taxi and buses. Potentially it will increase the reliability of the tracking and many new applications can be developed. SiReNT together with GIS, various real-time location-based services are possible now. SLA and NTU hope that the signing of this MOU will result in a much more extensive use of the GPS and GIS technology and for these technologies to be available to the man-in-the-street eventually.

6 Chief Executive of SLA, Mr Lam Joon Khoi says: “This MOU will position SLA as a leader in the field of spatial information science and technology. SLA is currently the authority on map data in Singapore and we have the national infrastructures in place to support the use of this technology. I believe that together with NTU, SLA will be able to bring geospatial information and technology to a higher level for the benefit of Singapore.”

 

 

                            
1 Geospatial information and technology refer to all activities and technologies related to the measurement, representation, analysis, management, retrieval and display of spatial data concerning both the natural physical features and the built environment on earth. Geospatial information and technology is made up of disciplines like mapping sciences (the acquisition, management and communication of geospatial information), land administration and management, geographic information systems (GIS), environmental visualisation, remote sensing, and surveying. Geospatial information and technology provide on-line and real-time location-related information, and is useful in location based services (LBS), law enforcement (eg. despatch of police officers), emergency and homeland security, intelligent transportation system (ITS) and logistics, survey and mapping, etc.

2Singapore Satellite Positioning Reference Network or SiReNT, launched by SLA in September 2006, uses reference stations to improve the accuracy of positions acquired using GPS technology. It is physically represented by five GPS reference stations strategically located throughout the island and provides many new opportunities to users for various geospatial applications.

3A mathematical model that enables surveyors to use Global Positioning System to determine the height above mean sea level.

 

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Issued by:
The Singapore Land Authority
4 June 2007

 

 

For media information, please contact:

Jackie Yu
Asst Director, Corporate Communications Office, NTU
Tel: 6790 5417
Mobile: 9688 4269
Email: jackieyu@ntu.edu.sg

Ms Low Chiew Leng
SLA
Tel: 6323 4594
Email: low_chiew_leng@sla.gov.sg

 

 

 

 

About Nanyang Technological University

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university with globally acknowledged strengths in science, engineering, business, humanities, arts and social sciences. The university is located in a garden campus in western Singapore, tracing its roots back to 1955.

NTU has 4 colleges comprising 12 schools. The College of Engineering comprises six schools focused on technology and innovation. Its research output ranks among the top four in the world. The College of Science pushes the boundaries of Singapore’s life
sciences initiatives. The Nanyang Business School (the College of Business) offers one of the world's top 100 MBA programmes. The College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences boasts Singapore's first professional art school offering degree courses in art, design and interactive digital media, the Humanities and Social Science School, and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, a top journalism and media school in Asia.

The 13th school, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was inaugurated on 1 January 2007. An important component of this autonomous school is the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, long recognised as a world authority on strategic studies and terrorism.

NTU is also home to the internationally-acclaimed National Institute of Education, Singapore’s only teacher-training institute.

NTU has in place multi-country programmes and initiatives with established institutions worldwide. Key partners include MIT, Stanford University, Cornell University, Caltech, University of Washington, Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University in USA, Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Waseda University, Indian Institute of Technology in Asia, Cambridge University, Imperial College and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Europe.

For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg/

 

About SLA
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resource for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system. For more details, visit www.sla.gov.sg.

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