HP Inc. has linked up with a Singaporean university and the country’s National Research Foundation (NRF) to launch a Digital Manufacturing Corporate Lab.
The company has had a presence in Singapore since 1970, and by partnering with the NRF and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), has established its largest research collaboration worldwide. The result is the HP-NTU Corporate Lab, which aims to provide a platform for innovation and economic development, harnessing Industry 4.0 technologies. It serves to support Singapore’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan, the country’s national strategy to generate a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy.
Located at the NTU, the $84m lab will be home to 100 researchers and staff who will focus on advanced 3D printing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, new materials and applications, cybersecurity and customisation. It is the 13th Corporate Lab supported by the NRF, 7th at NTU, and HP’s 1st university laboratory collaboration in the whole of Asia.
“Corporate laboratories are an integral part of our strategy to anchor joint R&D partnerships between our universities and companies in areas that have direct relevance to the growth of industries in Singapore,” commented NRF CEO, Professor Low Tech Seng. “The HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Corporate Laboratory is significant to our long-term competitiveness in the advanced manufacturing sector, and ensures that we stay relevant in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is evolving and growing rapidly world-wide. It will also strengthen our capabilities to support multinational companies for expansion from Singapore into the region.”
“NTU has established deep capabilities and is a recognised leader in the areas of machine learning, data science and additive manufacturing,” added NTU Professor Subra Suresh. “These cutting-edge technologies are now an integral part of NTU’s education and research ecosystem, and the NTU Smart Campus serves as a test bed for them, aligned with Singapore’s vision of transforming into a Smart Nation.”
At the forefront of areas to focus on are new materials and applications, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and cybersecurity, but the collaboration will also see the development of an educational curriculum on designing for additive manufacturing, which will also touch on data management, security, and business models. It will all, the partners hope, tie together to enhance the way products are made.
“The World Economic Forum estimates more than $100 trillion in value will be created by digital transformation across all industries in the next 10 years,” said Dion Weisler, CEO and President, HP Inc, who was a witness as the deal between the three parties was agreed. “HP is helping lead the development of the underlying technologies, like 3D printing, that will enable the benefits of this transformation. Singapore is one of our key worldwide technology development and manufacturing centers in Print technology. The HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Corporate Lab will significantly deepen our involvement here and serve as a nucleus for this ecosystem.
“One out of every three jobs worldwide, more than 30% of global GDP, and nearly one-third of carbon emissions are related to manufacturing,” continued Weisler. “We are committed to innovating with purpose, not only driving the technology breakthroughs that improve HP’s business but also contribute to creating economic opportunity and improving people’s lives.”
