THALES BOLSTERS HOMELAND SECURITY IN SINGAPORE
Thales announces the inauguration of the Public Security
Centre of Excellence (CoE) and extension of its partnership with HTX (Home Team
Science & Technology Agency) to continue driving innovation in homeland
security, at Milipol Asia-Pacific–TechX Summit 2024. The new CoE is poised to
significantly propel Thales in Singapore as a global hub for border security.
Thales’ Public Security CoE in Singapore seeks to build upon the successes of
ongoing partnerships and initiatives to enhance immigration and critical
infrastructure security, by way of research and development, continued
innovation, and partnerships with industry and government stakeholders. With
the creation of this CoE, Thales aims to grow its Security business threefold
in three years.
Between 2018 and
2022, Thales designed and developed a security system that streamlines
operations and improves real-time decision-making for Immigration and
Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at Singapore’s land checkpoints. In addition to the
use of smart data and automation to drive operational efficiencies, this
project includes integrating and setting up operations centres and a command
& control (C2) system.
This Centre of
Excellence is the latest in a series of investments announced by Thales in
Singapore to develop local capability and innovation in strategic domains such
as Air Traffic Management, Digital Identity & Security and next-gen
avionics manufacturing. In the area of Artificial Intelligence, Thales is also
deepening its expertise in Singapore through the creation of a ’cortAIx
Factory’, which alongside factories in France and Canada, will help
industrialise the development of AI use cases related to critical environments.
In line with this, Thales remains steadfast in hiring more than 1,000
Singaporean talents over the next three years, with the headcount for experts
in the security domain increasing to 100 people locally.
With Singapore’s
land checkpoints being among the busiest in the world, efficiency and security
at these borders are paramount for the smooth and safe flow of passenger
traffic. Thales’ innovative systems will support ongoing initiatives by ICA, to
deliver convenience, reduced waiting times, and improved experiences for
passengers at land checkpoints. In the long term, Thales public security
systems can potentially be rolled out from the CoE across borders around the
world.
HTX-Thales Co Lab extended for another 3 years.
In recognition of their strong collaboration, Thales and HTX have renewed their
joint lab for an additional three years since its establishment in 2022. This
renewal seeks to continue the joint efforts of the two organisations to
co-create game-changing science and technology solutions in homeland security
through experimentation and the building of prototypes and
proofs-of-concept.
Some of the key
achievements of this collaboration in the last two years include the i)
improvement of a drone classification in an urban environment, ii) a further
exploration of long-range biometrics identification, and iii) the successful
development of a high resolution prototype for situational awareness to allow
multiple agencies within Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to share a Common
Situational Picture (CSP) in order to enable a quicker response for operational
efficiencies.
Moving forward,
the Co Lab will work on more than ten projects that range from an integrated
communications platform across home-team agencies, to the development of
cloud-based platforms, to innovating next-generation border clearance concepts.
We are delighted to extend the collaboration
with Thales, to continue drawing on Thales’ strong track record in innovation,
to develop even more cutting-edge solutions for the future. HTX and Thales have
enjoyed a fruitful partnership over the years, and I look forward to more good
years of us tapping each other’s’ perspectives and strengths to keep Singapore
safe and secure,” said Ng Yeow Boon, Deputy Chief Executive (Development), HTX.
" We are proud of the strong partnership with
the Singapore government agencies in leveraging technologies to bolster
homeland security. We would like to thank HTX for their strong collaboration
with the extension of the Thales HTX co-lab for another 3 years. The
inauguration of the Public Security Centre of Excellence in Thales Singapore
affirms our commitment to further build up local capabilities in this important
space and the role of Singapore as a global hub. I look forward to the
realisation of cutting-edge technologies that will enhance the safety and
security of citizens and residents.” said
Emily Tan, Country Director and Chief Executive, Thales in Singapore.
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