02 Nov 2018
At the annual Defence Technology Prize (DTP) ceremony on 30 October 2018, two DSTA teams and an individual were honoured for their outstanding contributions to defence technology and Singapore’s defence capabilities.
In his address, Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen spoke about the strong strategic trust between the Defence Technology Community (DTC) and MINDEF/SAF, and how this has led to many innovative defence solutions. He also cited DSTA’s new co-innovation lab, DSTA@71, as an example of the DTC’s constant endeavour to scale new heights. The lab would enable DSTA, and the wider DTC, to be plugged into technology start-up clusters to accelerate developments in artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and augmented reality, Dr Ng added.
Head Engineering (Underground Facilities) Dr Zhou Yingxin, from Building and Infrastructure Programme Centre (PC), received the DTP Individual (Engineering) Award from Dr Ng for his pioneering work in developing research and engineering capabilities in rock cavern technology and underground ammunition storage safety. Notably, his contributions to the Underground Ammunition Facility and the establishment of new safety standards for underground ammunition storage brought about significant land savings for Singapore.
On receiving the distinguished award, Dr Zhou said: "It has been an incredible journey for me as a mining engineer. I am grateful for the opportunity to do my small part and to work with so many colleagues and professionals in advancing rock engineering for Singapore's defence. I am honoured to receive this award and I dedicate it to all of them."
Dr Zhou on stage with Dr Ng.
A team, comprising members from ST Engineering’s Electronics sector, DSO, DSTA and RSN, received the DTP Team (Research & Development) Award for indigenously developing the VENUS unmanned surface vessel (USV), which can carry out mine-countermeasure and maritime security missions with less manpower and at a lower cost compared to manned naval ships. DSTA was the overall programme manager for the VENUS USV and oversaw the integration of its navigation, autonomy, safety and sensor systems. “It is an honour to receive this award, which recognises the contributions made by the team in realising the R&D innovations for the VENUS USV. This would not have been possible without everyone’s hard work and dedication that saw us through various milestones and challenges,” Head Capability Development (Underwater Systems) Kelvin Lin from Naval Systems PC shared.
The VENUS USV team representatives, including Kelvin (fourth from left), with Dr Ng (third from left) and Chief Defence Scientist Quek Gim Pew (extreme right).
Another team, comprising members from DSTA, DSO and the RSAF, received the DTP Team (Engineering) Award for delivering an integrated strike command and control (C2) system that enables the SAF to better orchestrate its wide spectrum of strike operations. Developed in-house by DSTA, the C2 system is equipped with indigenous decision support capabilities – such as the fusion of live UAV video feed with maps and automated target tracking – to shorten the sensor-C2-shooter loop as well as facilitate rapid, informed decision-making by commanders.
The Integrated Strike C2 System team on stage with Dr Ng (second from left) and Chief Defence Scientist Quek Gim Pew (extreme right).
After the award ceremony, the winners also took the opportunity to share more about their project innovations with Dr Ng.
Senior Development Programme Manager (Information) Loke Ee Foong (right) explained to Dr Ng how the Integrated Strike C2 System harnessed video content analytics and machine learning to facilitate rapid damage assessment by commanders.
Kelvin shared with Dr Ng (third from left) and Chief of Defence Force Melvyn Lim (left) about his experience integrating the VENUS USV’s navigation, autonomy, safety and sensor systems.