14 August 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Singapore wins bid to host RoboCup 2010
Joint bid casts Singapore in the spotlight for cutting edge robotics and artificial intelligence
Singapore, 14 August 2008
: It is official. Singapore will host Robocup 2010,
the
biggest robotics event and artificial intelligence showcase globally.
Singapore Polytechnic (SP) together with the Economic Development Board (EDB), Science Centre Singapore and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will be organising the RoboCup 2010, slated for 2010. The event is estimated to bring in 3,000 participants from more than 40 countries.
Winning Singapore’s joint bid in Suzhou, China was a sweet victory for SP and its partners. The team spent five gruelling months putting together Singapore’s proposal, which eventually persuaded the RoboCup Federation to hand over the 2010 organisation to the Republic.
According to Professor Enrico Pagello, a trustee of the RoboCup Federation, “Singapore is a truly high-tech oriented society that maintains strong industrial and academic investments. It offers an excellent opportunity to showcase the mix of science and industrial partnership in the RoboCup events.”
RoboCup 2010 will feature competition events - RoboCupSoccer, RoboCupRescue, RoboCupJunior, RoboCup@Home, as well as workshops, exhibitions and conferences. Scientists and students from world renowned institutions will be pitting their skills to secure top honours in the Championship. When it first began in 1997, RoboCup aimed to foster artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics research. By 2050, the RoboCup Federation hopes to field fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players to compete in the World Cup.
“I am proud that SP is one of the organisers of the 2010 competition. SP has long been recognised as a pioneer in the field of robotics and engineering. With two mega events - the inaugural Youth Olympics Games and now, RoboCup, to be held in the same year, it will certainly be an exciting and vibrant time for our young people,” said SP’s Principal, Mr Tan Hang Cheong.
The 2010 event is expected to ignite local initiatives to develop industry expertise and hone research and development in the field of robotics.
According to Mr Jonathan Kua, EDB’s Director for New Businesses, “RoboCup will allow us to showcase our new developments in robotics and intelligent systems, spur us to better our craft, as well as inspire young minds to explore this exciting new field. Singapore has the capabilities to exploit intelligent technology to alleviate global challenges posed by an ageing population, rapid urbanisation and security threats, by delivering and adopting cutting edge solutions which can be exported to the rest of the world. Hosting Robocup underscores our aim to make Singapore a centre for research and technology commercialisation in Robotics, Ambient Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence.”
Mr Aloysius Arlando, Assistant Chief Executive, Business Travel & MICE of Singapore Tourism Board, said, “With the congregation of hundreds of researchers, professors, students and companies from 40 countries around the world, this event will be instrumental to Singapore’s long-term development of the MICE sector and it will support the growth of one of our key economic sectors - the precision engineering clusters. RoboCup 2010 will hopefully inspire more such events to be held here in the future, and at the same time also encourage international automation and industrial robotics companies to bring their corporate meetings to Singapore."
Dr Chew Tuan Chiong, Science Centre Singapore’s Chief Executive, added that the Science Centre has been organising events in the field of robotics for many years. One such event is the National Junior Robotics Competition, which it has organized and hosted over the last 10 years. This annual competition has grown to become a well-recognised and eagerly awaited robotics event amongst schools, attracting 700 teams each year.
Dr Chew added, “RoboCup 2010 will provide students the opportunity to participate, interact, share and learn from the international participants. The robotics movement is much more than an exercise in artificial intelligence and mechatronics. It’s really about creativity and human endeavour.”
Summing it up, SP’s Mr Tan stressed, “That the Federation and selection committee have chosen to award the bid to the Singapore team amplifies its confidence in our ability to pull off a mega event like this”.
For more information, contact:
Singapore Polytechnic
Ms Jaime Goh
Corporate Communications Executive
T: 6870 6122 / M: 9106 1969
E:
jaime@sp.edu.sg
Economic Development Board
Ms Ching Bao Lin
Senior Officer, Communications
T: 6832 6206 / M: 9632 6838
E:
bao_lin_ching@edb.gov.sg
Singapore Tourism Board
Ms Sherina Chan
Manager, BTMICE & Services Communications Department Division
T: 6831 3476
E:
sherina_chan@stb.gov.sg
Science Centre Singapore
Ms Koh Shu Ching
Public Relations Officer
T: 6425 2541
E:
sc_koh@science.edu.sg
About Singapore Polytechnic (www.sp.edu.sg)
Established in 1954 to meet the manpower needs identified by the government, Singapore Polytechnic (SP) is Singapore’s first educational institution of its kind. Its nine academic schools offer 44 full-time diploma courses for its 14,900
students and courses are kept relevant through close links with industry and government bodies, as well as with various overseas institutions.
SP offers broad-based, multi-disciplinary and flexible curriculum dedicated to hands-on experience and is committed to the development of its applied research and development capability to enhance the quality of teaching and commercialisation efforts.
Among SP's 145,000 graduates are successful entrepreneurs, top executives in multinational and public-listed corporations, and well-known professionals, many of whom are captains of industries, university professors and researchers, and leaders in government.
About Singapore Economic Development Board (www.sedb.com)
The Economic Development Board (EDB) is the lead government agency responsible for planning and executing economic strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global hub for business and investment. It is the one-stop agency that facilitates and supports local and foreign investors in both the manufacturing and services sectors as they seek more value-creating operations, higher sustainable returns and new business opportunities.
Singapore commands global leadership positions in many areas. EDB is expanding and extending existing industry clusters, as well as exploring new growth areas to create good jobs and secure Singapore’s future competitiveness. Its emphasis is on capital-intensive, knowledge-intensive and innovation-intensive activities. EDB is constantly identifying new business areas to develop both in terms of new technologies as well as new consumer demands, such as our 'clean and green' focus - environmental technologies, urban solutions and clean energy, lifestyle, healthcare and wellness. EDB is also expanding its geographical reach, such as the Middle East, in addition to North America, Europe, Japan, China, India and ASEAN.
About Singapore Tourism Board (www.stb.gov.sg)
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is an economic development agency for one of Singapore’s key service sectors – tourism. The mission of the Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. The STB also differentiates and markets Singapore as a must-visit destination, offering enriching experiences through the "Uniquely Singapore" branding.
About Science Centre Singapore (www.science.edu.sg)
The Science Centre Singapore is a non-formal educational institution dedicated to the promotion of science and technology among students and members of the public. As a leading Science Centre in the region, the Science Centre Singapore has twelve exhibition galleries with more than 1,000 exhibits, and another 18,000 sq metres of outdoor space showcasing the Waterworks, Ecogarden and the Kinetic Garden exhibits. The Centre also houses the Omni-Theatre — Singapore’s only dome-shaped, 5-storey high theatre with a capacity of 276 seats. The Science Centre receives more than 950,000 visitors annually.