On 13 September 2021, HTX’s DCE (Development) Ng Yeow Boon, and Human Factors & Simulation (HF&S) Centre of Expertise Deputy Director Dr Saravana Kumarasamy, joined the 7th roundtable session of the inaugural French Ministry of Interior (MOI) Beauvau de la sécurité, as specially invited international guests through virtual participation.
Themed “Working Conditions of the Police and Support for the Police”, the session focused on understanding the needs of frontline police officers and how equipment and technologies can be adapted for their use through specific design and development.
Snapshots of HF&S equipment and technologies supporting police officers (Photo: HTX)
DCE(D) kicked off the session by introducing HTX and speaking about HTX’s priorities to be the Home Team’s force multiplier and exponentially impact Singapore’s safety and security. He highlighted how transformative applied research was conducted, how HTX brought together capabilities, knowledge, and resources in the Ministry of Home Affairs under one roof; and how HTX was building partnerships and collaborations, and leveraging deep expertise and capabilities in digital technology, science and engineering.
DCE(D) introducing HTX’s cutting-edge technology capabilities (Photo: HTX)
Dr Saravana highlighted HF&S’ expertise and capabilities to boost the preparedness, performance, effectiveness, and safety in all frontline operations. This included optimising the Home Team officers’ innate cognitive and physical performance, through:
- Body-worn technology, performance monitoring, robotics and AI systems
- Immersive and experiential training
- Ergonomics for the purpose of human-centric designs
- Front-end planning through simulation
He also gave a sneak peek into the Emergency Responders Fitness, Conditioning & Enhancement Lab (EXCEL), which would be commissioned at the end of 2021.
Please click HERE to see HTX’s presentation.
Dr Saravana presenting on human factors and simulation solutions (Photo: HTX)
The presentation was overall well-received with the attendees lauding Singapore’s use of advanced technologies in deepening homeland safety and security capabilities. Singapore was also cited as a strong model for well-developed public and private partnerships.
Commenting on the event, Dr Saravana said, “It is a great privilege for me to share HTX’s motivation and focus in setting up human factors and simulation laboratories as well as the pivotal role they play in supporting HT training and operations. I am enthused that this may spark future collaborations between the two countries in this area.”
The Beauvau de la sécurité, first launched on 1 February 2021, was a fortnightly roundtable on public security policy chaired by French Minister of Interior Gérald Darmanin and attended by the French police, gendarmes, French and international experts, mayors, parliamentarians, industry leaders and officials.