The areal density of the hard disk drive (HDD) increased 50 million times since it had been invented 50 years ago. The continuous shrinking bit size requires the current magnetic head to fly over the magnetic disk media at around 7 nanometer spacing. At such low nanometer spacing, the majority of HDD failures can be traced back to the issues at the head disk interface, which are strongly determined by this spacing. The measurement of head disk spacing thus becomes the foremost difficult task for the HDD industry.

The DSI team has created breakthrough technologies supporting the nanometer spacing measurement, which are at the world leading position in this area. The Triple Harmonic Measurement with a novel frequency calibration, provides increased SNR and enables true real-time precision monitoring of the head-media spacing at HDD drive level. While DSI’s optical measurement system provides the on-spot n&k compensation and ultra-smooth load/unload calibration technology which allow repeatable, accurate and absolute measurement of the spacing at component level. Local and international patents have been filed or granted. The production line compatible setups have been developed and these technologies are being transferred to the HDD industry.

By Data Storage Institute, A* Star

Winners:
Dr Yuan Zhimin
Dr Leong Siang Huei
Mr. Ng Ka Wei

Swimming is one of the favorite sports in Singapore. Playing at the beach, at a water park, by the lake, or in a pool can be a real treat on a hot day. With its popularity, it is becoming more important to ensure safety at the recreational swimming facilities. Worldwide, there is an estimated 400,000 casualties each year due to drowning. In Singapore, there has been an average of 17 drowning cases each year between 2001 and 2004.

DEWS is a new technology for early drowning behavior detection. It is a live visual surveillance system, which serves as electronic eyes providing constant monitoring that improves water safety.

The electronic eyes of DEWS are a network of overhead video cameras installed surrounding the pool. New algorithms are developed to automatically monitor swimmers in numerous challenging pool scenarios such as in the presence of reflections, shadows or lighting changes. Through modeling the unique traits of drowning victims, DEWS detects the incidents of distress and drowning and responses by alerting the safety personnel.

The development of DEWS has pushed the frontier of the current visual surveillance research. DEWS has proposed a new approach which facilitates timely rescue actions and revolutionizes  current crisis management at swimming pools. With the collaboration and support from the Singapore Sports Council and the Enterprise Challenge Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office, a prototype of DEWS has been implemented and successfully trial tested at the Clementi Swimming Complex. This “made in Singapore” technology has gained trust and good comments from the various collaboration partners.

By Institute for Infocomm Research
Winners:
Mr. How-Lung Eng , Mr. Wei-Yun Yau

Mr. Beng-Hai Lee , Ms. Survanti Anggrelly

The ability to carry out real-time tracking of items and know their locations at all times has been a highly desirable attribute in the retail business, resource collection and library systems. The SmartShelf System is designed to do not just that but also to do it in a cost effective manner and provide very good accuracy in reading the tagged items.

To be able to perform the above-mentioned functionalities, the SmartShelf System has to overcome challenges such as metallic characteristics of the usual shelves, which interfere with the radio frequency transmission between the tiny RFID tags embedded in the items and the RFID readers; space constraints of the shelf’s tiers, which determine the allowable size of the Reader Antenna; conformance to the shelf and items; controllable coverage of antennas, which demand that antennas can only cover up to a specified area and not to the full potential of the antenna; 100% read accuracy; Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) problems, which affects the read accuracy of the readers; ease of installation and control; and cost effectiveness.

To tackle these problems, the Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R) project team has developed patent pending technologies which allow wireless access and control to the SmartShelf System with 100% read accuracy antennas. System configuration and Reader Antenna are the two key technical contributions in the SmartShelf System. A low loss Antenna Multiplexer is developed to be flexible to cascade, able to connect up to 2000 pieces of antennas, and provide easy selection of individual antennas to perform reading of tagged items. Multiplexing the antennas to a RFID reader reduces the implementation cost significantly. A Wireless Gateway Controller allows the system to be installed easily and also provides for ease of access and control of the system. The horizontal placement Reader Antenna is designed and optimized to have uniformly distributed electromagnetic field which is capable of picking up the tagged items with 100% read accuracy.

The National Library Board (NLB) is currently working on the pilot deployment of this SmartShelf System at its Seng Kang Community Library. This system is able to provide tangible benefits by enabling library real-time stock take of the books. The stock take can now be carried out within minutes. The intangible benefits are that library users will no longer feel frustrated when searching for books which are misplaced or lost, but are wrongly reflected as available for loan by the current library database system. The system which is designed to provide real-time tracking and locating of tagged items on the shelves at all times will provide the users with the exact locations of the available books.

The SmartShelf System has generated interests from users, providers and System Integrators (SI) after it was showcased to the public in January 2006. Tracking pharmaceutical products, luxury goods such as jewelry, time pieces and apparels and sensitive documents are just some of the other possible applications in the very near future.
By Institute for Infocomm Research
Winners:

Mr. Eddie Tan B S , Mr. Qing Xianming , Mr. Chen Zhining , Mr. He Dajiang

Mr. Fachmin Falianto , Mr. Tan Nyit San , Ms. Cai Ailian , Dr Yeo Boon Sain , Mr Wong Kim Sing

The advanced MEMS devices innovated by the NTU MEMS research group has made crucial breakthroughs and global impact under the leadership of Associate Professor Liu Ai Qun from School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University.

The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology is a cutting-edge technology that makes use of photolithography and deposition/etching processes to fabricate tiny mechanical devices. It possesses great advantages over the conventional bulky devices in terms of small size, significantly improved specifications and batch fabrication. Inspired by such inherent advantages, the NTU MEMS research group has been playing an active role in pushing forward the progress in some of the untapped frontiers.  In particular, they have been pioneering in the new field of photonic MEMS devices and biophotonic chips. Their series of innovation of new generation devices such as tunable lasers, injection-locked lasers and nano-photonic switches  have been used for single live cell detection and cells culture array chips.

Such innovations have generated substantial impact both in engineering and industry where both local and international representatives are found in following and borrowing these ideas. The breakthrough research results were reported 27 times by local and international media and won 10 local and international awards. The research team has established international reputation and leadership in the photonic MEMS. Additionally, many of the innovations have been transferred into military systems and commercialized products, which may further enhance Singapore’s competitive capability and allow Singapore to be one of the first countries in Asia to embrace economic success from new technological revolution.

By Nanyang Technological University

Winners:

Dr. Li Jing , Ms. Cai Hong , Dr Wu Jiuhui , Ms. Selin Teo Hwee Gee , Mr. Khoo Eng Huat , Mr. Chin Lip Ket

Ms. Zhang Xi , Mr. Song Wuzhou , Ms Sun Yi , Mr. Liang Xiao Jun , Dr. Liu Ai Qun , Dr. Zhang Xuming

Located in a prime position overlooking the Singapore River, the new Supreme Court Building is the culmination of a vision to create a courthouse that will equip the state’s legal system for the demands of the twenty first century. This impressive building attains the quality and grandeur that are to be expected of a Supreme Court. Yet it is the transparency and lightness that bring the local public closer to their elected judges.

The roof appears to hover over the chamber, in an impressive display of steel structure and cladding. These create a feeling of generous soaring space, with a sense of minimum structural effort. Through the combination of excellent design, local materials and high construction skills, this landmark building is something of which the Singapore people can be justly proud.

The New Supreme Court Building is a dramatic example of the beauty of composite structural steel with the frame being exposed internally and externally to support the weight of the entire building with lightness and elegance, whilst simultaneously allowing users the opportunity to see a steel skeleton in action. The 57,570 sq. metres building was completed in April 2005 for a cost of S$205 million.

Steelwork was the material of choice, in terms of space requirement, construction and cost. The disc structure itself was based on storey high vierendeel trusses acting both radially and tangentially with the floor plan. Lateral stability of the disc structure relied on a combination of core walls and the raking action of the inclined columns.

The logistics of fabricating the steel off site, and then transporting the elements to the site across one of the busiest streets, were daunting. The sequential jacking of the modules into position was innovative and effective.

The challenges for the planning, engineering concept, design, fabrication and erection were exceptional. This building required extraordinary cooperation among the design team members, and co-operation with the builders. Whilst it was challenging to design the structural elements of the building to be exposed to view, it was equally rewarding to have a finished project that displays the versatility and structural beauty of steel. The effort spent producing clear, well-coordinated construction documents was essential to project success and this building is a testament to the ability of steel to move beyond merely structural support and towards the architectural essence.

By CPG Consultants Pte Ltd

Winners:
Mr. Dan Yap Tian Wee , Mr. Lim Peng Hong

Mr. Tan Keng Soon , Dr Lai Hoke Sai