Prehistory:
The spear and bow are devised as mechanical tools to hunt, and defend early settlements from predators.
Over millennia, mankind has engineered systems, infrastructure and technologies to safeguard societies from multifarious threats.
AD 6:
Rome establishes the Vigiles, firefighting brigades that doused flames using double-action force pumps known as siphons.
1930s:
Two-way police radios are introduced to patrol cars, transforming policing from isolated beats into a coordinated network.
1970s:
High tonnage hydraulic rescue tools slash vehicle extrication times, saving countless trauma victims globally.
2020s and beyond:
Embodied AI is poised to support public safety operations, enhancing officer safety in high-risk missions.
While the earliest known instances of engineering addressed existential threats, the discipline has – for all intents and purposes – become firmly embedded as a backbone of society, inventing solutions in response to
humanity’s shifting realities.
Few places embody this spirit of progress quite like Singapore, where engineering feats – from an extensive MRT rail network that facilitates islandwide connectivity, to advanced water-reclamation technologies
that tackle water scarcity – have transformed the way we live.
(Video: Freepik)
Underpinning its well-greased systems, is Singapore’s reputation as one of the world’s safest countries – an appellation owed in part to the prioritisation of leading-edge public safety technology.
Singapore harnesses cutting-edge technology to enhance public safety.
(Gif: HTX)
Transforming policing operations
PolCam provides real-time camera footage to police officers
(Photo: HTX)
Among the Lion City’s most ubiquitous public safety technologies is the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF’s) extensive Police Camera (PolCam) network, which is deployed across the island to enhance its crime detection, prevention and solving capabilities.
Through a close partnership with HTX, SPF embarked on a project featuring cameras with AI-driven video analytics, which enable faster police response. The system can also cull footage archives for suspects based on details entered by police investigators.
The PolCam network has helped to reduce crime in Singapore.
(Infographic: HTX/Nicole Lim)
Behind this tightly integrated system is a team that has logged countless hours to ensure it works reliably in real-world operating conditions. The project remains a work in progress as HTX continues to scale the accuracy of its video analytics as well as refresh its technology to drive improvements such as sharper camera resolution.
In priming the system to better handle variables such as environmental factors, HTX’s Sensors & Sensemaking (S&S) Centre of Expertise (CoE) performs continuous benchmarking, tuning and validation – hallmarks of robust iterative engineering.
Accelerating emergency response
The EPL, the world’s first fully electric Pump Ladder,
facilitates the speedy deployment of firefighters to fire incidents.
(Photo: HTX)
Reliability is certainly the bedrock of any public safety apparatus, especially one that revolves around saving lives.
Supercharging Singapore’s emergency response capabilities is its first Electric Pump Ladder (EPL), launched in 2024 as part of the Home Team’s fleet electrification drive.
Given the time crunch of high-stakes frontline operations, the EPL boasts rapid acceleration as well as enhanced manoeuvrability capabilities to swiftly dispatch firefighters to incidents – making haste when every second counts.
Electric Pump Ladder: Smart Firefighting
The fully digitised EPL is optimised for more effective firefighting
operations. (Gifographic: HTX/Nicole Lim)
At the core of the EPL is its digital architecture that enables real-time diagnostics, remote monitoring and seamless integration with command-and-control systems – translating to more precise firefighting operations.
The fully digitised vehicle certainly packs a punch, and developing it was a joint effort led by HTX’s Vehicle & Weapon Systems (VWS) CoE. Besides managing its testing and evaluation process, VWS also
integrated specialised communication systems into the cabin and helped to customise the EPL to accommodate Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF)-specific equipment and systems.
For example, the team engineered a bespoke solution incorporating a platform that can be off-ramped to rapidly deploy SCDF’s fire-fighting robot – a win for human-machine collaboration.
And that’s not the full extent of its remote firefighting ambitions. Springboarding the Home Team into the future of smart emergency response, VWS is collaborating with the Robotics, Automation & Unmanned
Systems (RAUS) CoE to integrate and test drone capabilities on the EPL.
Hassle-free border security becomes a reality
Smooth and seamless immigration is possible thanks to the New
Clearance Concept. (Gif: HTX)
Returning to a safe and resilient country brings Singaporeans a sense of relief, which is palpable from the moment they breeze through immigration without a hitch. Singapore’s border infrastructure sits at the forefront of public safety, and is increasingly strained by surging traveller volumes. In response, HTX and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) developed the trail-blazing New Clearance Concept (NCC) – an automated, token-less immigration clearance system designed for greater efficiency and security.
Powered by multi-modal biometric gates that combine long-range iris scanning with facial recognition, the NCC enables fast, contactless acquisition and processing of travellers’ biometric data without the need to present their passports. Visitors simply stop, scan and go.
While most travellers at Singapore’s land, sea and air checkpoints now perform these motions reflexively, this simplicity belies the NCC’s technical complexity.
Changi Airport’s Automated Border Control System (ABCS).
(Photo: HTX)
As Singapore was among the first to deploy such a system at scale, HTX had to anticipate risks with limited real-world data, fine-tune the system with incoming checkpoint data and redesign workflows for officers.
Overseeing the deployment was HTX’s Immigration & Checkpoints Programme Management Centre (ICPMC) and Biometrics & Profiling (B&P) CoE, which also tackled issues such as inconsistent biometric scans caused by lighting or environmental conditions and discrepancies in video analytics accuracy across different checkpoint settings.
Through rigorous testing under different lighting conditions, machine learning refinements and data-sharing with airline partners, HTX helped sharpen the system’s reliability.
The New Clearance Concept (NCC) has driven greater efficiency
in immigration clearance. (Infographic: Nicole Lim/HTX)
But securing our borders is an ever-evolving task that entails constant vigilance and agility. ICPMC and B&P continue to monitor performance, adjust settings and validate defences against emerging threats, including attempts to spoof the system with fake or manipulated biometrics.
In expanding the NCC’s reach, ICA is teed up to launch the Automated Passenger Clearance System (APCS), which clears multiple travellers at land checkpoints without the need to disembark from vehicles.
The Identification-on-the-move is a gateless immigration concept co-created by B&P CoE and ICA. (Gif: HTX)
Next stop? Gateless immigration clearance, an innovation co-created by B&P CoE and ICA.The next-generation prototype called Identification-on-the-Move (IOTM) – which is being developed in collaboration with ICPMC – scans travellers’ iris with long-range, high-resolution technology while they’re walking. This “walk-look-clear” experience could be the next gamechanger.
HTX engineers cutting-edge solutions to solve public safety challenges. (Gif: HTX)
The epochal astronaut and engineer Neil Armstrong once mused: “The entire existence of engineers is dedicated to doing things better and more efficiently.”
Likewise, HTX’s engineers plug away at solving public safety challenges through relentless experimentation, bold innovation and a shared mission to keep Singapore safe. If you’re fired up by the chance to make a positive impact and have the audacity to dream up moonshot ideas for force multiplying the Home Team, join us today!