Fingerprint and face scans to enter Singapore by 2025

SINGAPORE: Security clearance at all immigration checkpoints in Singapore will be fully automated with fingerprint, facial and iris scans by 2025, as part of the nation’s plan to harness artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to deliver social and economic benefits.

Border security is one of five key national AI projects announced yesterday. The projects are part of Singapore’s new national AI strategy unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat on the same day.

Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology conference, Heng said: “Countries will need to keep pace with technology, and harness it to tackle common challenges and national priorities.”

Apart from border security, the other AI four projects announced are in logistics, healthcare, education and estate management, said the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office.

The five projects were chosen as they can deliver quick results, and have high social and economic impact.

Using AI at the borders, for instance, will mean a faster and more seamless experience for travellers to clear immigration checks. The process will also reduce human error and allow immigration officers working at manned counters to focus on higher value work, such as focusing on visitors who may require closer scrutiny.

The fully automated system at Changi Airport Terminal 4, for example, which uses a facial recognition system that captures a passenger’s photo at different stations, was reported to achieve manpower and efficiency savings of up to 20 per cent.

For the healthcare project, an AI system, dubbed Selena+ will be deployed across Singapore by 2022 to help detect eye conditions, including diabetic eye disease, more quickly and accurately.

Speaking about the healthcare project, Heng said that there is “great potential for AI to be applied to the prediction, detection and management of chronic diseases” as many senior citizens may be unaware of their medical conditions.

For estate management, AI can help to predict problems so that housing estate maintenance can be better optimised, such as using AI to analyse data to help predict the next lift breakdown in a building.

As for education, AI can be tapped to automate marking procedures for certain English language assignments, so that teachers can be freed up to focus on other tasks.

A new National AI Office has also been created under the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office to set priorities and help to build a pipeline of AI talent.

Countries will need to keep pace with technology, and harness it to tackle common challenges. Heng Swee Keat