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HP Labs officially opens its HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab in Singapore

By Simon Firth, HP Labs Correspondent

January 27, 2020

NTU Senior Vice President (Research) Professor Lam Khin Yong, and HP CTO Shane Wall unveil a plaque commemorating the lab’s opening

NTU Senior Vice President (Research) Professor Lam Khin Yong, and HP CTO Shane Wall unveil a plaque commemorating the lab’s opening

In a ceremony held January 21st on the campus of Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), HP Inc. and NTU Singapore officially opened the HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab. The research facility – a joint venture between HP Labs, NTU Singapore, and Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF) – is HP’s fifth major research laboratory, its first headquartered in Asia, and represents HP’s largest research collaboration with any university worldwide.

The HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab focuses on advancing the innovation, technologies, and skills required to support a new era of digital manufacturing, also known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or Industry 4.0. It builds on HP’s long presence in Singapore and NTU’s strength as a global leader in manufacturing, engineering, and artificial intelligence research.

The January 21st opening, held in the lab’s new facility within the NTU School of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace, was attended by senior leaders from HP, the NRF, NTU Singapore, and regional business and civic institutions. After remarks from NTU Singapore Senior Vice President (Research), Professor Lam Khin Yong and Shane Wall, HP Chief Technology Officer and Global Head of HP Labs, lab researchers showcased a variety new digital manufacturing technologies set to make manufacturing and supply chain operations more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable. These included intelligent design software tools that automate advanced customization and supply chain models that enable faster time-to-market while lowering carbon footprints.

“HP’s passion for innovation, together with NTU’s world-class research capabilities, allow us to achieve new breakthroughs and unlock new solutions for both business and society,” noted HP CTO Wall at the event. “Our joint work in 3D printing, AI, machine learning, security, and sustainability will produce disruptive technologies that define the future of manufacturing.”

“The HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab is about finding solutions for today’s and upcoming technology challenges, and it’s great to see the collective enthusiasm as our team looks toward the future.”

Mike Regan, HP Director of the HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab.

Representatives from HP, NTU Singapore, and the Singapore's National Science Foundation mark the lab’s official opening.

Representatives from HP, NTU Singapore, and the Singapore's National Science Foundation mark the lab’s official opening.

The advanced technologies and automation solutions jointly developed by NTU and HP will  impact businesses in Singapore and beyond, added Professor Lam. “We are already seeing the first fruits of the collaboration, which combines NTU’s deep capabilities in machine learning, data science, AI, and additive manufacturing with HP’s expertise in innovation and technology solutions,” he said.

The occasion also marked HP’s 50th anniversary in Singapore. Starting with a small factory in the southern Redhill district in 1970, HP’s presence has grown to include multiple manufacturing facilities, the company’s regional headquarters, and its Smart Manufacturing Application and Research Center (SMARC).

Plans to create the new lab were announced in October 2018 and it already accommodates over 60 research scientists and engineers, many drawn from NTU’s distinguished faculty.

The HP-NTU collaboration also aims to help ready students and working professionals to thrive in the new digital manufacturing economy. To that end, HP and NTU Singapore announced an initiative to develop new educational opportunities in additive manufacturing and digital design. Established first as a series of short courses offered by NTU’s Centre for Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE), these opportunities will provide students with an end-to-end view of the digital manufacturing pipeline, from the fundamentals of additive manufacturing and digital product designs, to manufacturing data management, automation, and security at the factory scale.

HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab researchers showcase new technologies being developed at the lab

HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Lab researchers showcase new technologies being developed at the lab

Put together, the new research facility and plans for workforce development can make a significant impact on the development of digital manufacturing both in Singapore and beyond, suggested Mike Regan, HP Director of the HP-NTU lab.  

“Benefiting from the Fourth Industrial Revolution requires that we both grow and strengthen a wider digital manufacturing ecosystem – not just in Singapore and Asia, but across the globe,” Regan said. “We’re excited to be collaborating with partners who share our vision for innovative and sustainable economic development and to be embarking on a collaboration that we think can be a model for the rest of the world.”

“We at NTU are very excited with this research partnership with HP Inc.,” added Professor Tan Ming Jen, NTU Director of the Lab. “It lends relevance to our work and focus. We hope to see some of the technologies we jointly develop being incorporated into products with useful solutions in sustainability and productivity.”

Both agree that this is an exciting time for digital manufacturing. “The HP-NTU lab is about finding solutions for today’s and upcoming technology challenges, and it’s great to see the collective enthusiasm as our team looks toward the future,” Regan said. “I can’t help but feel some of the same excitement and entrepreneurial spirit that Bill and Dave must have felt as they opened up the HP Garage to work on their projects.”