Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Scary Efficiency of Autonomous Intersections
Monday, March 21, 2016
FPGA Prototyping Techniques
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
SINGAPORE CHILDREN HOSPITALIZATION COST – KKH VS TMC
Ref: http://bumblebeemum.net/2015/05/12/singapore-children-hospitalization-cost-kkh-vs-tmc/
SINGAPORE CHILDREN HOSPITALIZATION COST – MY EXPERIENCE WITH KKH VS TMC
In March this year, both MF and MY were hospitalized one after another. Now that the ordeal is over, I thought I would share my experience, so that you would know what to expect in the event *TOUCH WOOD!* your child is admitted.
MF’S HOSPITALIZATION AT KKH
MF was having serious vomiting and stomach pain one night. Since all the clinics were closed, I decided to bring him to KKH. We reached there at about 10pm.
After a round of medication and observation at A&E, they eventually decided to admit him at around 1am. In between 10pm to 1am, we were waiting around the corridors as the observation ward at KKH was only for very serious cases.
ROOM TYPE
I requested for a single room, but they were out of single rooms. Hence, they were only able to give him a 4-bedder (Class B1). If you are going to KKH, do note that they do not have 2-bedders. So in the event one-bedders are filled, your next available option is 4-bedder.
LABORATORY TEST
During his stay, they did a stool culture and diagnosed him with Rotavirus. (I know what you want to ask. YES, he took Rotavirus vaccination before when he was a baby. But he still caught the virus anyway at 4 year old.)
MEDICATION
He was given probiotics, stomach pain medication, glucose syrup and fever medication.
DOCTOR’S CONSULTATION
Every morning, a group of doctors would come around to check on him once.
TOTAL BILL
He was admitted at 1am on a Wednesday and discharged at 4pm on a Friday. This was considered only 1 day stay. His total bill was$746.20 after government subsidy.
Since laboratory tests and medications would differ based on the illness, what you may want to note are the following:
Bed cost per night = $210 + GST (after government subsidy).Daily treatment fee = $89 + GST (after government subsidy).Doctor’s fee = $153.03 + GST (after government subsidy).A&E fee = $103.
So the base price (excluding lab test and medication) for a 1 day stay at KKH (Class B1) was around $586.67 (inclusive of GST).
MY’S HOSPITALIZATION AT THOMSON MEDICAL CENTRE TMC
MY started trembling in the middle of the night and was running a high fever above 40 degrees. I immediately rushed him to TMCinstead of KKH because it was nearer to our place and I reckoned waiting time was much shorter. There was a 24-hour clinic at TMC, but it is important to note that it is NOT a pediatric clinic. The resident doctor is a GP.
LABORATORY TEST
Upon arrival, after registration, I immediately got to see the doctor. He inserted a suppository to bring down his fever. They did an influenza test. The result was out in like 5 minutes. (Okay, I don’t remember exactly how long, but it was pretty fast and felt like just 5 minutes.) The test was negative, so they suggested I do a blood test. Since the blood test had a longer waiting time, they decided to admit him for the night. (Yay, no waiting in corridors!)
ROOM TYPE
I requested for a single room, but just like at KKH, they were out of single rooms. However, they had an empty 2-bedder, which they let me use as a single room (i.e. we were the only occupants.) The following night, they transferred me to a proper single room.
MEDICATION
MY’s blood test showed that he had a mycoplasma infection. Hence, he was put on antibiotics. Other than that, he was given fever medication.
DOCTOR’S CONSULTATION
He was attended to by Dr Ang Ai Tin. She came by twice a day to check on MY, once in the morning and once in the evening. 90% of the children admitted at TMC were attended to by Dr Ang Ai Tin, so the doctor’s fees below should be pretty representative of a TMC stay.
TOTAL BILL
MY was admitted at around 3 or 4am on a Friday night and discharged at 12noon on Sunday. This was considered 1 day. His total bill was $2239.95. (Woah, that’s 3 times of MF’s KKH bill!)
Medication and laboratory fees will vary according to illness, but the following costs are what you should take note of:
Accommodation (single bed) = $530 per nightDaily Treatment Fee = $145Doctor’s Fees (For Dr Ang Ai Tin) = $749Resident Doctor Services (this is the charge for visiting TMC’s 24 hour clinic in the middle of the night, akin to A&E fee at KKH) = $95
So the base price (excluding lab test and medication) for a 1 day stay at single bedded at TMC was around $1519.
SUMMARY OF SINGAPORE CHILDREN HOSPITALIZATION COST
A table of comparison for the fees between KKH (Class B1) and TMC (Single-bed) for a 1 night stay:
(Excludes medicine, laboratory and procedure fees.)
PROCEDURE FOR PAYMENT WITH PRIVATE HOSPITALIZATION INSURANCE
We have private hospitalization insurance coverage for both kids. Below was the procedure for paying the hospital bill via private hospitalization insurance.
FOR KKH
Upon arrival, I paid $103 for A&E Fee. (I used CDA.)Upon admission, I paid deposit of $610 (I used CDA.)At discharge, we were not required to pay any balance since we had private hospitalization insurance.The hospital submitted the bill to our insurance company, which paid KKH for the bill. KKH was to refund us the A&E Fee and deposit I had paid earlier.We filled in a form for the above payments to be refunded back to the CDA account.$698.02* was refunded to our CDA account.
* If your Math is good, you must be wondering why only $698.02 was refunded when I paid $713 earlier. If you refer to my KKH bill, you will notice a “Miscellaneous – Non Treatment Related” charge of $14. I have NO idea what that was for, since KKH did not give an itemised bill. I definitely did not call for room service. That $14 (or to be precise, $14.98 after GST) was NOT covered by our insurance. So I was refunded $713 – $14.98 = $698.02.
Our hospitalization insurance had a clause stating that if we stayed in a restructured (government) hospital, we would receive a cash incentive of $175 (for class A) / $225 (for class B1). So our insurance company sent us a cheque for $225.
FOR TMC
From arrival to discharge, I did not have to pay a single cent, because the hospital had records that we were covered by private hospitalization insurance.The hospital submitted the bill to the insurance company, the insurance company paid them. End of story. We did not have to do a single thing.
TMC FTW!
After discharge, we were required to return for two follow-ups with Dr Ang Ai Tin. Our hospitalization insurance covered post-treatment. So for the two visit, I paid for the visits first, then sent the receipts to my insurance agent to process. The insurance company subsequently reimbursed us.
IMPORTANCE OF HOSPITALIZATION INSURANCE
This was not the first time my kids were hospitalized. I always tell my friends, the first thing you need to buy when your baby is born is not new clothes or new whatever. It’s hospitalization insurance.
WHEN CAN / SHOULD I BUY HOSPITALIZATION INSURANCE FOR MY CHILD?
You can purchase it the moment you register your kid’s birth (i.e. your kid now has a name and BC number.. Yippee!) and you should.
WHY THE URGENCY?
Because *touch wood* you have no idea when your kids would fall sick and newborns are not known to have strong immunity.
AND BECAUSE INSURANCE APPLICATIONS TAKE TIME TO PROCESS!
When MY was 6 weeks old, he was hospitalized at TMC for 1 whole week for RSV + MRSA. You can imagine, this recent 1 night staycation cost $2000+. How much did our 1 week getaway, complete with massage services by physiotherapist and aromatherapy by nebulizers, then cost.
We had bought hospitalization insurance for MY immediately after he was born. Even then, after 6 weeks, the plan was not in force yet! Can you imagine my horror???
Turned out, our plan was approved shortly after we bought it. But it took a long time be in force (the insurance company blamed CPF timelines). To cut the long story short, because we had bought it long ago and it was approved, the insurance company eventually paid out the full hospital bill.
SO REMEMBER: BUY HOSPITALIZATION INSURANCE RIGHT AFTER YOUR KID IS BORN!
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
How Does an Apache Web Server Work
Ref: http://science.opposingviews.com/apache-server-work-1782.html
How Does an Apache Web Server Work?
Apache is a web server application that handles incoming and outgoing HTTP traffic.
The Internet exists as a collection of Web servers that host Web pages that users can access from their computers. These server must run server software to handle user requests. One such software package, the Apache Web server, offers a free server solution for developers to host Web pages from. As such, it has become a popular program for website hosting. The Apache server works by handling URL requests to the server through specific communication protocols in a multithreading fashion, and extending itself to work with programming and database languages.
URLs and HTTP Protocol
Apache is web server software, and as such handles primarily Hypertext Transfer Protocol requests through Universal Resource Locator address requests. URLs are simply the name of a website that users enter into Web browsers in order to locate a Web page. When the user enters a URL, the browser sends an HTTP request to the server computer running Apache, usually on port 80. The HTTP protocol is the Internet standard data transfer protocol for Web pages, so when a user makes a URL request to an Apache server, the Apache server will handle the HTTP request and return the requested Web pages.
Multitasking/Multithreading
An Apache server will handle numerous HTTP requests at a single time. In order to do this, the server has to run on multiple "threads" of execution. A thread is a part of a program that branches off from the main program and runs at the same time in order to accomplish a specific task. The Apache server will create a new thread for each HTTP request that will handle fetching and returning the requested Web page. This allows Apache to serve Web pages to multiple users at the same time.
Program and File Serving
Along with Web pages, the Apache server can allow users to download files to their computers, which Apache will also handle via HTTP. These include audio files, movie files or certain documents such as Word documents or PDF. If the user requests a program file for a scripting language, such as PHP, Python or Perl, then the Apache server executes the program and sends the output of the program to the user through HTTP. However, in order to process requests for documents containing scripting languages, the Apache server must have installed the appropriate module for that language.
Apache Packages
The Apache server comes as a standalone package, as part of larger web serving programs and complete with modules to enhance its performance. A popular implementation of the Apache server is the "LAMP" (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl/Python) stack. This configuration packages the Apache server with its Web-serving capabilities with the MySQL database and scripting languages such as PHP in order to serve database content for updated websites such as blogs.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Upgraded to Windows 10 but get constant disconnections? This might help.
Prior to upgrading to Windows 10 from my Windows 8.1 Pro, I was sailing happily with my Realtel Ethernet adapter (Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller) on ASUS N551JK (https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/N551JK/)
Upon upgrading to windows 10, I started to notice regular disconnections from the internet. Then I realized I had to physically disconnect the Ethernet cable and then reconnect them back, before I continue surfing.
This got my hairstyle changing all the time.
Then I decided perhaps a visit to my friend Mr G might give me some hint.
True enough, I stumbled upon this site:
1) Visit Realtek and install the latest driver. (Might not be necessary but do it anyways)
2) Open Network and Sharing Center
3) Click on Manage adapter settings
4) Right click Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (Local Area Connection) and select properties.
5) Click on configure, the Properties Dialog Box appears.
6) Switch to "Advanced" tab and change the following properties:
- Auto Disable Gigabit -> Disable
- Green Ethernet > Disable
- Energy Efficient Ethernet > Disable
7) Switch to "Power Management" tab and change the following properties:
- Uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
- Click OK to apply steps 6 and 7 changes.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
HowTo: Verify My NTP Working Or Not
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-unix-bsd-is-ntp-client-working/
HowTo: Verify My NTP Working Or Not
by VIVEK GITEon MARCH 25, 2010 last updated NOVEMBER 29, 2015
in LINUX, NETWORKING, UNIX
I've setup an NTP (Network Time Protocol) client and/or server to manage the system clock over a network. But, how do I verify that it is working correctly?
You can use any one of the following program to verify ntp client configuration:
ntpq - standard NTP query programntpstat - show network time synchronisation statustimedatectl - show or set info about ntp using systemd
ntpstat command
The ntpstat command will report the synchronisation state of the NTP daemon running on the local machine. If the local system is found to be synchronised to a reference time source, ntpstat will report the approximate time accuracy.
exit status
You can use the exit status (return values) to verify its operations from a shell script or command line itself:
exit status 0 - Clock is synchronised.exit status 1 - Clock is not synchronised.exit status 2 - If clock state is indeterminant, for example if ntpd is not contactable.
Type the command as follows:
$ ntpstat
Sample outputs:
synchronised to NTP server (149.20.54.20) at stratum 3 time correct to within 42 ms polling server every 1024 s
Use the echo command to display exit status of ntp client:
$ echo $?
Sample outputs:
0
ntpq command
The ntpq utility program is used to monitor NTP daemon ntpd operations and determine performance. The program can be run either in interactive mode or controlled using command line arguments. Type the following command
$ ntpq -pn
OR
$ ntpq -p
Sample outputs:
remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter ============================================================================== *dione.cbane.org 204.123.2.5 2 u 509 1024 377 51.661 -3.343 0.279 +ns1.your-site.c 132.236.56.252 3 u 899 1024 377 48.395 2.047 1.006 +ntp.yoinks.net 129.7.1.66 2 u 930 1024 377 0.693 1.035 0.241 LOCAL(0) .LOCL. 10 l 45 64 377 0.000 0.000 0.001
The above is an example of working ntp client. Where,
-p : Print a list of the peers known to the server as well as a summary of their state.-n : Output all host addresses in dotted-quad numeric format rather than converting to the canonical host names.
A note about timedatectl command
If you are using systemd based system, run the following command to check the service status
# timedatectl status
Sample outputs:
Fig.01: Is my NTP (systemd-timesyncd) Working?
systemd-timesyncd configuration
If NTP enabled is set to No. Try configuring by editing/etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf file as follows:
# vi /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf
Append/edit [Time] as follows i.e. add time servers or change the provided ones, uncomment the relevant line and list their host name or IP separated by a space (default from my Debian 8.x server):
[Time] Servers=0.debian.pool.ntp.org 1.debian.pool.ntp.org 2.debian.pool.ntp.org 3.debian.pool.ntp.org
Save and close the file. Finally, start and enable it, run:
# timedatectl set-ntp true
# timedatectl status
Recommend readings:
TwitterFacebookGoogle+Download PDF version Found an error/typo on this page?
More like this:Debian / Ubuntu Linux Install NTPD To Synchronism Clock With Internet…What are the exit statuses of ssh command?Ubuntu Linux how to set the date and time via Network Time Protocol (NTP)Bourne Shell Exit Status ExamplesHP-UX UNIX Configure an NTP ServerShell: How to determine the exit status of Linux and UNIX commandCentOS / Red Hat Configure an NTP Client And ServerCentOS / Redhat Linux: Install OpenNTPD To Synchronize The Local ClockCentOS Linux Install and Configure NTP to Synchronize The System ClockBash: Find out the exit codes of all piped commands
{ 5 comments… add one }
Philippe Petrinko
Informative and simple. Thanks Vivek
Wes
You should fix this typo:
>> “exit status 1 – Cock is not synchronised.”
Thanks for the heads up. The faq has been updated.
Philippe Petrinko
Hi Vivek,
Recommend readings link seems to be broken:
“man ntpq”
http://www.manpager.com/linux/man8/ntpq.8.html
I guess you may want to recommend:
http://linux.die.net/man/8/ntpd
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntpd
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/html/ntpq.html
http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Support/TroubleshootingNTP
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntpd
http://www.unix.com/man-page/freebsd/8/ntpq/
http://www.kossboss.com/linux—maintaining-time-on-debian—datetime-and-ntp-client-and-server
Hi Philippe,
The post has been updated. As always, I appreciate your feedback and time :)
Leave a Comment
Name *
Email *
Comment
Tagged with: client configuration, echo command,network time protocol, ntp, ntp daemon, ntp network,ntpd, ntpq, ntpq command, ntpstat, ntpstat command,system clock, systemd, time accuracy, time synchronisation, Easy
Next FAQ: Linux / UNIX: Encrypt Backup Tape Using Tar & OpenSSL
Previous FAQ: Linux Kernel Recompile: Do I Have To Recompile All Installed Applications
Featured Articles:
30 Cool Open Source Software I Discovered in 201330 Handy Bash Shell Aliases For Linux / Unix / Mac OS XTop 30 Nmap Command Examples For Sys/Network Admins25 PHP Security Best Practices For Sys Admins20 Linux System Monitoring Tools Every SysAdmin Should Know20 Linux Server Hardening Security TipsLinux: 20 Iptables Examples For New SysAdminsTop 20 OpenSSH Server Best Security PracticesTop 20 Nginx WebServer Best Security Practices20 Examples: Make Sure Unix / Linux Configuration Files Are Free From Syntax Errors15 Greatest Open Source Terminal Applications Of 2012My 10 UNIX Command Line MistakesTop 10 Open Source Web-Based Project Management SoftwareTop 5 Email Client For Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows UsersThe Novice Guide To Buying A Linux Laptop
Follow Us
©2000-2015 nixCraft. All rights reserved. Privacy -Terms of Service - Questions or Comments
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Kilopass announces breakthrough memory technology for IoT devices
http://www.digitimes.com//supply_chain_window/story.asp?datepublish=2015/11/11&pages=PR&seq=200
Kilopass announces breakthrough memory technology for IoT devices
Press release [Wednesday 11 November 2015]
Kilopass Technology, Inc., the leading provider of semiconductor embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) intellectual property (IP), will unveil at ARM TechCon its new eNVM, the X2Bit bitcell, delivering 10X power reduction compared to currently available eNVM technologies.
The patent-pending X2Bit bitcell has been silicon proven since Q2 2015, and its use in the macro-level Gusto product line will be optimized for extremely low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices in Q1 2016.
Kilopass has pioneered the antifuse One-Time-Programmable (OTP) eNVM technologies since 2001, including all variants of 1 transistor (1T), 1.5T, 2T, 3T, and 3.5T versions. A new programming method for its most popular bitcell topology, the 2T bitcell, yielded the 10X improvement in lower power consumption.
"The X2Bit bitcell is a very exciting innovation, and somewhat unexpected in my long career in the non-volatile memory industry," remarks Harry Luan, Kilopass' chief technology officer. "The tenfold improvement is obviously important for the emerging IoT market. But to achieve it without having to change any bitcell architecture, topology, or layout means we can go right to the market and deliver the benefits to our licensees without years of field trial and validation. It's truly remarkable."
The X2Bit bitcell technology
The X2Bit bitcell retains the configuration of the existing bitcell in the current XPM, Gusto-2, and SecretCode OTP products. However, using a patented new programming method, the new bitcell achieves a much lower turn-on voltage, the voltage at which the "1" memory bitcell generates current to distinguish itself from the "0" bitcell. For example, in the 55nm technology, popular for IoT devices, traditional Kilopass OTP bitcells have a typical turn-on voltage of more than 1V. With the X2Bit bitcell, the turn-on voltage that is much lower than 1V. As a result, Kilopass products employing the X2Bit bitcell would operate with core voltage supplies as low as 0.75V that are used in the emerging Ultra-Low-Power (ULP) process technologies from semiconductor manufacturers.
"We are excited about the potential of the X2Bit bitcell memory bitcell," says Linh Hong, vice president of marketing at Kilopass. "The X2Bit bitcell technology is a quantum step forward in the development of antifuse NVM IP in the standard logic process. We believe it's the next natural step to deliver the relentless cost, power, performance and integration improvements the industry demands."
Implementation benefits
The X2Bit bitcell is ideally suited for next-generation IoT devices that demand less than 10uA/MHz in read currents. Currently available eNVM technologies typically consume 100uA/MHz under comparable operating conditions. The X2Bit bitcell lowers the turn-on voltage by optimizing the programming condition. This patent-pending implementation results in a more ohmic programming of the N-MOS transistor with controlled locality toward the source, drain region rather than in the middle of the channel.
Benefits are twofold. First, since power consumption is directly proportional to the square of operating voltage, lowering the read voltage by two-thirds would result in tenfold power reduction. Equally important, with lower turn-on voltage, the memory macro would be able to operate at the same operating voltage as the rest of the chip, without resorting to power consuming charge pumps and voltage regulators.
Availability
Kilopass has completed the mini-array test vehicle of the X2Bit bitcell in a 65nm manufacturing process technology. The first product, likely the next-generation Gusto, using the X2Bit bitcell will tape-out in Q1, 2016. Pricing is available upon request. For more information about taking advantage of the X2Bit bitcell, contact info@kilopass.com.
Kilopass at ARM TechCon
Kilopass will exhibit at ARM TechCon (Booth #827), demonstrating the X2Bit bitcell Wednesday, November 11, and Thursday, November 12, from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, Calif.
For more information, visit http://www.kilopass.com/ or email info@kilopass.com
Thursday, October 29, 2015
How to measure differential signals
Ref: http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/76514/how-do-i-measure-differential-signals-like-rs-485-or-dmx-on-an-oscilloscope
How do I measure differential signals (like RS-485 or DMX) on an oscilloscope?
I've encountered differential signals in a few places, such as a differential output audio amplifier and now in a project working with DMX which is similar to RS-485. (Here's a similarquestion about RS-485.)
Looking at a waveform from a DMX lighting controller for example, I connected the channel 1 probe to D+, channel 2 probe to D-, and both ground leads to ground.
It produces this display:
While this is usable, I know it's still not the correct way to look at differential signals.
What is the correct way? I've heard of "differential probes;" does that mean I need to purchase new probes?
The reason you can't measure differential signals quite as easily with an oscilloscope has to do with the fact that oscilloscopes are (generally) notfloating. The ground lead on the probes are connected to the oscilloscope chassis, which in turn is earth grounded. Because of this, anything you connect the ground lead to will also be connected to earth ground. (As videos I link below demonstrate, this is dangerous if measuring high voltage!)
When you measure two random points with a multimeter, the meter is floating, so you're not connecting either point to actual earth ground, which lets you measure differences between points without concern that you're creating a short circuit.
In low voltage signal applications, tying one side of a differential signal to ground can cause problems and might damage a transceiver.
There are two ways to measure differential signals with an oscilloscope:
If you have a two-channel oscilloscope, connect one side of the signal to channel 1, and the complementary signal to channel 2. The ground leads stay unconnected.
Since you are interested in thedifference between the signals, you want to subtract channel 2 from channel 1. Most scopes provide a way to add or subtract channel 1 and channel 2 inputs. On some scopes you might have to add channel 2, but invert it so that you are effectively subtracting it.
In this image, the scope has an A-B mode which subtracts channel 2 from 1:
The other way is indeed using differential probes, and provides better results without reducing the number of usable channels on the oscilloscope. (And are usually designed for safer high-voltage measurements.) However these probes are expensive.
W2AEW does a superb job explaining these concepts in his video on differential measurements using oscilloscopes. There's also a video by BTC Instrumentation which shows the channel subtraction method in more detail.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Urban Manufacturing Making a Difference
Ref: http://brandinsider.straitstimes.com/hitachi/urban-manufacturing-making-a-difference/
Urban Manufacturing: Making a Difference
An example of advanced manufacturing in Singapore: the Dyson advanced motor manufacturing facility with an annual production capacity of 11 million motors. The S$200 million investment in West Park Tuas, which opened in 2012, has more than 800 employees. Fifty robots and 22 components produce motors on the highly automated production line. Only 13 operators are needed to operate an entire line. In July this year, Dyson manufactured its 10 millionth digital motor. Photo: Dyson
Governments, developers see the economic and social values of urban manufacturing hubs that bring together design, creative technology and business talent.
By Martin L Dunn and Jeffrey Huang
The Business Times
Sponsored Content
October 13, 2015
IN April 2014, in the small prefecture of Aichi, Toyota City, a ‘model intelligent city’ called Toyota Ecoful Town opened to much fanfare. It was designed to be a place where the flow of traffic, human, goods, waste and resources would be monitored, managed and regulated, promising an urban life that would be more energy-efficient, less congested and better served.
Toshihiko Ota, the Mayor of Toyota City, noted that one aim was “to provide a single contact point, take responsibility to provide a site, and offer other support to proving experiments that promise to solve Toyota City’s problems and make our citizens’ lives happier.”
Toyota City’s Ecoful Town, also nicknamed “Mirai no Futsu” (Normal in the Future) can be seen as a harbinger of a first generation of smart cities that also include larger, international examples such as SongDo in South Korea, Rio in Brazil and Masdar City in the UAE. It was a generation of smart cities often sponsored by big tech companies and based on the idea of centralising big data captured for the “better good,” with regulated public welfare.
However, Smart City writer Adam Greenfield cautions about the much publicised Rio control room “that fuses data from weather stations, traffic cameras, police patrols, sewer-mounded sensors and social media postings into a synoptic, war-room style overview”.
While it epitomises this first smart city generation’s ambition, it also reveals its Achilles heels – that of being overly invasive.
In reaction to the fear of the city becoming an Orwellian big brother who incessantly monitors its the inhabitants and turning them into involuntary subjects for the big tech sponsors’ experiments, a few courageous citizens protested. They stood up and started a “bottom-up” movement as an alternative to the prevalent smart city focus.
Anthony Townshend, an early advocate, calls it the Smart Citizens movement. “Our goal is to shift the debate toward the central place of citizens, and of decentralised, open urban infrastructures”. Examples of the Smart Citizens movement, where city data are given to citizens and ethical hackers to develop their own applications, can be found in the USA, Europe and Asia.
In September, at the URA Centre in Singapore, Mr Ridwan Kamil, the young Mayor of Bandung, gave a rousing keynote speech on the design and management of Bandung. He advocated, as a counterpoint to the top-down smart city infrastructure, a series of “open government” initiatives to empower citizens. He explained that “empowerment and citizen activism was built into the system.” Free Wi-Fi access points and open data access encourage citizens to use the data; they have already built more than 300 apps.
Evolution
Urban manufacturing in New York City: US company Normal designs, manufactures, and sells personalised headphones from their trendy Manhattan store/factory, where customers can view their own headphones being manufactured by 3D printing. Photo: James Ewing/OTTO
Fast forward, and we see a third wave in the Smart City Saga, characterised by the shift from the digital to the physical, from the ‘cerebral informing’ to the ‘tangible making’.
This coincides with the evolution of manufacturing over the last 50 years. Manufacturing went through a process of transformation: from manual to skilled labour, to technology based, and now is on the precipice of an innovation-based manufacturing paradigm.
This includes big ideas in next-generation manufacturing based on highly-instrumented processes acquiring data in real time from machines, people and materials across the manufacturing enterprise. Examples include Industrie 4.0 in Germany and the Industrial Internet in the USA.
Basically, this move is enabling the manufacturing process to be more flexible and agile. The ultimate result is the ability to offer design differentiated higher-value products to market demands that are increasingly fragmented and customised.
While the industrial city of 1900s is likely gone forever, urban manufacturing is a logical convergence of the evolution of manufacturing and the smart city. It not only drives advancement, job creation and innovation but also the renewal and transformation of the city.
For example, post-industrial factories, warehouses and logistics facilities are being rejuvenated through contemporary urban manufacturing.
Maker movement
A particularly visible intersection of the urban and manufacturing trajectories is the maker movement that started in Silicon Valley. It has evolved worldwide with maker-spaces and fab labs popping up weekly that open previously inaccessible and often expensive tools of production to citizens.
Here, digital fabrication technologies like 3D printing, laser machining and robotics are integrated with design software that is often available in an open-source form. There is also an abundance of digital libraries of freely-available design files to provide a low entry barrier for makers to express their creative visions and turn them into new business opportunities.
While some may dismiss the maker movement as limited to do-it-yourself (DIY) hobbyists, there are growing signs that this is instead an important signal in a transformation in the way things are made. In the US, President Barack Obama went as far as to note that “Today’s DIY is tomorrow’s ‘Made in America’”.
His Advanced Manufacturing Initiative is creating new research institutes. This includes additive manufacturing, digital design and manufacturing, composites, photonics and advanced textiles.
In March 2014, President Obama inaugurated the Digital Design and Manufacturing Innovation Institute in Chicago, an example of an early urban manufacturing initiative. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proclaimed this “a game changer for the City of Chicago”. Governor Pat Quinn noted that “advanced manufacturing is a great way to grow jobs, retain jobs and to literally bring back jobs that have gone to foreign shores. If you want Made-in-America, this is the heart of that initiative because advanced manufacturing makes it much more feasible to do that manufacturing in your own backyard.”
Examples are emerging worldwide, driven in part by consumers who desire design-differentiated high-quality goods produced locally ranging from craft beers to apparel to creative tech. Local character is resulting in valuable branding both for the products and the city, and is attracting artisans, small and medium-sized companies. Even big companies are looking to new manufacturing technologies to build and share shorter and sustainable supply chains, and enable design-oriented mass customisation.
Hubs
Governments and developers see the economic and social values of urban manufacturing hubs that bring together design, creative technology and business talent. And they are placing bets. In cities around the world, areas that were once populated by decaying warehouses and factories are re-emerging as hip and trendy hubs anchored by local manufacturers. For example, Brooklyn NY is transforming through recent investments in excess of US$1 billion in manufacturing and technology infrastructure. Areas like the Tech Triangle, Industry City, Liberty View Industrial Plaza and the Brooklyn Navy Yard are hotbeds of local designers and manufacturers who are exploiting new design and fabrication technologies to innovate and grow the “Brooklyn brand”.
In San Francisco, space has been set aside for local manufacturers in places such as Pier 70 and the SF Giants baseball complex, and ground floors of apartment buildings, to accelerate the maker movement while increasing the value of real estate and making neighbourhoods more hip.
Particularly interesting is the emerging phenomenon of micro factories, like the innovative Local Motors in the USA.
The company boldly seeks to produce automobiles at a fraction of the cost and time required in the traditionally large capital-intensive industry. It is creating designs by crowd-sourcing and producing automobiles in small local factories based on local needs.
Recently, it has partnered General Electric to explore these innovative approaches for product design and manufacture broadly.
Interestingly, many emerging urban manufacturing hubs strive to achieve creativity, supply-chain agility and fast transition from design to production. In this regard, the manufacturing ecosystem of Prato, Italy, is an outstanding example, making it a powerhouse in high-value fashion and textile markets.
Singapore
In Singapore, urban manufacturing is especially promising and potentially impactful. The country already has the ideal ingredients: a rich knowledge base; cultural diversity with social harmony; sophisticated smart nation infrastructure; excellent logistics and supply chain, precision engineering and creative and technical design capabilities. These can help to shift manufacturing into innovation-based high value production; and help to maintain manufacturing at a healthy 20-25 percent of GDP, and build the ‘Made in Singapore’ brand.
The Singapore University of Technology and Design has launched the SUTD Digital Manufacturing and Design (DManD) Centre to contribute to such a vision. DManD is bringing together creative, technical, and business ideas in new ways to create innovation-driven advanced manufacturing paradigms and possibilities.
These will play a transformative role in the long-term evolution of manufacturing and provide the human capital that will help establish Singapore as a world leader in high-value digital manufacturing. DManD is pursuing innovations in design software, 3D and 4D printing and robotics to impact industry sectors that relate to the smart city of tomorrow. These include smart products ranging from wearable technology for fashion to healthcare, and design and fabrication approaches for building and construction.
It is an exciting time as urban manufacturing emerges in various forms as a central actor in the Smart City movement around the world. Such developments will be further enabled by smart city infrastructures and will ultimately impact the economic and social fabric of these cities.
In turn, it will influence the future of production and the citizens involved in production. Indeed this dynamic is a pathway to one aspect of self-building and renewal of cities – an imperative put forth by Jane Jacobs in her 1961 plea for what makes a city work.
Professor Martin L Dunn is the Associate Provost, Research SUTD and Professor Jeffrey Huang is the Head of Pillar, Architecture and Sustainable Design SUTD.
This is the fourth of a six-part series brought to you by Hitachi, in collaboration with the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKY CIC), SUTD. The next part of this series, Smart design on an aging population, will be published on Nov 17, 2015.