by CIO-Asia Staff

University of Singapore & Grab launch S$6m AI lab to solve urban issues

News
Jul 20, 2018
AnalyticsArtificial Intelligence

The lab was created in a bid to alleviate urban transport pressures

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) lab with Grab – a Singapore-based ride-hailing app – to solve the city’s traffic and congestion problems.

Announced earlier this week, the partnership is the first of its kind, with Grab being the first commercial partner of the institution’s AI lab.

The alliance will see both companies make a joint investment of S$6 million in order to analyse real-world transport challenges in the region.

The lab will use data from Grab’s platform – which operates in 225 cities in eight South-east Asian countries – to track traffic patterns and congestion hotspots. The aim: to address concerns surrounding mobility in the region.

Located at the Innovation 4.0 building in NUS, the lab will house 28 researchers who will work on various AI projects to improve the efficiency of transport in the city.

The plan is to conduct research in Singapore and South East-Asia and then expand to other areas in need of reshaping.

The research will also benefit Grab customers as researchers will be looking at creating algorithms to improve accuracy in mapping pick-up points and improve overall safety by analysing driver behaviour.

This should improve travel time to customers and improve overall efficiency.

NUS is also committed to training PhD students in order to keep developing AI talent in the region.