One exciting project that HTX is working on is the Common Robotics Dashboard. When it is ready, it will give the Home Team a single platform to control all the robots owned by the different Home Team departments, including the Multi-purpose All-Terrain Autonomous Robots (Matar) and the Rover-X quadruped robot.
Due to the complex requirements of this project, innovative thinking is essential. Chin Zhihao, Head (Ground Systems) of the Robotics, Automation & Unmanned Systems (RAUS) Centre of Expertise, explained that his team faced the challenge of building a single platform that could not only control the different types of robots, but could also “allow officers to deploy and control unmanned systems across multiple locations and missions.” An added complexity was that the project was based on a new operations concept and it was challenging to define the end state requirements at the onset of development.
How did Zhihao’s team build a Common Robotics Dashboard that could meet all these complex requirements? He explained that they used a design innovation approach which helped them to understand the complexities of what the different Home Team departments needed.
During this phase of the building of the dashboard, the team asked themselves a series of “How might we?” questions which helped them think of new solutions for the Singapore Police Force’s and Singapore Civil Defence Force’s requirements. The questions also helped them identify new requirements that hadn’t been identified earlier.
Innovation comes from a deep understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve.
The team continued with the design innovation approach when they started testing and refining prototypes of the dashboard: “We experimented with new ideas and garnered valuable insights from the end-users to continually improve the designs.”
In addition, the user trials “helped end-users to shorten their learning curve and become proficient in using the technology quickly.” The usability of the dashboard is especially important since the common platform is intended to help the Home Team avoid having to expand the number of human operators each time the robot fleet is expanded.
Instead, the dashboard is expected to allow the Home Team’s existing pool of robot operators to seamlessly take control of new robots whenever they are added to the fleet: “This means that when the Home Team does scale up the numbers of bots, they need not have a corresponding increase in manpower.”
How may we similarly add innovation to our own projects? Zhihao has some suggestions. First, he recommends that we “stay curious and keep learning, even in the face of failure.” Continuous learning is essential because “innovation comes from a deep understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve.”
Second, he observes that “assumptions and biases can prevent us from seeking solutions that are rather apparent.” To avoid this pitfall, “it’s crucial to challenge assumptions and see problems from different angles.”
Finally, even if you and your team are not able to think of a way to break through a problem, the breakthrough idea might still come from someone else. Hence, you should recognise that “great ideas can emerge from anywhere.” Instead of focusing on the ideas generated by yourself and your team, “collaboration with colleagues from diverse disciplines and backgrounds is critical.”