SWITCH 2023 opened Tuesday morning at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center, attracting around 15,000 participants, a 50% increase from 2022. The program aims to integrate the parts of the global ecosystem of innovation and promote new technologies in healthcare, AI, energy and food.
At the event, Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said the participation of thousands of people from over 100 countries and territories had shown their interest in the discovery of new ideas and new partners in the global community of technology and innovation.
Singapore is ranked eighth on the global startup ecosystem by Startup Genome and is home to over 4,500 tech startup companies.
Dennis Phua (pictured), director of business development of the Asia-Pacific region and general manager of Matwerkz, a tech development company in Singapore, introduced a heat insulating material used for electric car batteries.
The material is also fire resistant, capable of withstanding heat at 1,000 degrees Celsius. In case of fire, the material isolates the flames to stop them from spreading, before hardening and cooling.
"The aim is to stop the flames from spreading to other battery cells," Phua said.
AI technologies are showcased in several healthcare and medical products at the expo.
In the picture, a user experiences a VR product for healthcare.
AI technology is used for the early detection of breast cancer. When an X-ray scan is uploaded, the AI will evaluate the scan and report the result within 1-2 minutes.
Researchers said the application was being trialed in Singapore to prove its accuracy and cost-benefit, before being available to the world's market.
