AsianScientist (Jul. 26, 2018) – Urban mobility platform Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have launched an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory to develop solutions to transform urban transportation and pave the way for smarter cities in Southeast Asia. The Grab-NUS AI Lab, which was established with a joint initial investment of S$6 million (~US$4.5 million), is Grab’s first major AI laboratory and NUS’ first AI laboratory with a commercial partner.
Anchored at the NUS Institute of Data Science, the Grab-NUS AI Lab will leverage data from the Grab platform to solve complex, real-world challenges in Southeast Asia. Having facilitated more than two billion rides, Grab’s data could provide deeper insights into mobility in cities across Southeast Asia.
By combining the data with NUS’ research expertise in the field of AI, the Grab-NUS AI Lab will map out traffic patterns and identify ways to directly impact mobility and liveability of cities across Southeast Asia. Researchers at the Grab-NUS AI Lab will also create a robust AI platform for large-scale machine learning and visual analytics that can be used to develop novel applications from Grab’s dataset. The results of such analyses could assist transport authorities in optimizing traffic flow.
Better algorithms to provide passengers with smarter and more personalized services will be developed, and methods to improve the matching of drivers to the jobs they prefer will be explored. In addition, strategies to improve driving safety through better understanding of driver behavior will be investigated. Finally, technologies will be created to detect traffic anomalies in real-time and improve urban traffic flow.
“NUS is very excited to be a partner of Grab’s first major AI Lab. The Grab-NUS AI Lab is an excellent collaborative effort where NUS researchers will work closely with Grab data scientists to create unique AI innovations based on insights relevant to Asia and the world,” said NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye.
He added that the collaboration is also a great opportunity for NUS researchers and students to make a real-world impact through research in data science and AI. Over time, NUS hopes to build a healthy pipeline of well-trained and experienced data scientists and AI researchers for Singapore and beyond.
“Grab has a bold mission to solve Southeast Asia’s most complex challenges, especially the congestion that stifles our cities. We have come a long way and are now improving lives with an unmatched reach and depth of data on millions of routes, journeys and points of interest,” said Grab co-founder and group CEO Mr. Anthony Tan said.
“The AI Lab will harness the power of Grab’s data and machine learning with research and talent from a world leading institution to become a valuable tool for governments who are bringing smarter transport to their cities in Southeast Asia.”
The Grab-NUS AI Lab is located in the innovation 4.0 building situated on the NUS Kent Ridge campus and will be home to 28 researchers working on various AI projects.
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Source: National University of Singapore; Photo: Pexels.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
