Enhancing Innovation in the RSAF with Singapore Polytechnic

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Enhancing Innovation in the RSAF with Singapore Polytechnic

Our RSAF trainees can expect more innovative and high-tech training methods in the years ahead. A five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the RSAF and Singapore Polytechnic (SP) to collaborate in innovative initiatives and projects using Extended Reality technologies was signed on 9 Jan 19.

Commander Air Force Training Command, COL Kevin Goh, and SP’s Senior Director (Engineering Cluster), Mr Loh Yew Chiong, signed the MoU at a signing ceremony held at SP. 

Commenting on the MoU, Chief of Air Force, MG Mervyn Tan said, “Innovation is critical for the RSAF to maintain our edge. We are continuously leveraging technology and innovation to build the next generation RSAF. This collaboration provides an additional platform for our RSAF airmen and women to accelerate our innovation journey in order to increase our operational readiness, enhance training, and prepare our people for the future. It also complements our internal RSAF innovation efforts, and will help permeate the culture of innovation across the organisation.”

This mutually beneficial collaboration provides the RSAF with additional opportunities to develop and test new and upcoming technologies to meet operational and training needs, while creating opportunities for SP staff and students to gain experiences beyond the academics. 

“The Air Force has transformed quite a bit in terms of innovation. Now, every young person in the Air Force, not just young in terms of age, but in terms of spirit and curiosity as well, wants to find problems to solve… They want to see whether technology can change and open up new opportunities for how they do things. I think this MoU will benefit both sides, the Air Force and SP students, because having that curiosity requires you to have exposure to the real world,” said BG Gaurav Keerthi, Commander Air Defence and Operations Command, and Chief Innovation Officer, speaking at the MoU signing ceremony. 
 

A group shot with RSAF Commanders, SP leaders, and participants of the projects.

Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality are three Extended Reality technologies that SP students from the Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering, Diploma in Information Technology, and Diploma in Game Design & Development will be applying their expertise in. As part of the collaboration, SP students on their six-month internship will work with the RSAF to explore training enhancements for aircraft maintenance and aircraft recognition using these Extended Reality technologies.

“Singapore Polytechnic is one of the institutes of higher learning at the forefront in using the latest technologies to enhance teaching and learning. This collaboration not only supports the RSAF’s innovation journey, it also provides a unique learning opportunity for our students to apply their skill-sets to create solutions for real-life challenges,” said SP’s Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Soh Wai Wah.
 

BG Gaurav Keerthi and COL Kevin Goh viewing a demonstration of the Augmented Reality Voice-Activated Head-Mounted Micro Tablet project.

One of the two projects featured at the ceremony was the Augmented Reality Voice-Activated Head-Mounted Micro Tablet (HMT). The HMT allows users to retrieve information easily, reducing the need for hardcopy manuals. The voice-activated feature enables hands-free operations, allowing trainees to focus on performing the maintenance tasks without the need to refer to hardcopy manuals. In addition to the Augmented Reality function, the HMT also has a Remote Mentoring feature, which allows the user to transmit his/her field of view to a separate display wirelessly. This allows instructors to remotely view their trainee’s actions, and is especially useful in tight spaces such as during aircraft maintenance tasks. The instructor can also closely monitor a trainee’s action without visual obstruction and provide advice or instructions when necessary.

BG Gaurav Keerthi giving a go at the Virtual Reality Aircraft Recognition project.

The other collaborative initiative between the RSAF personnel and SP students was the Virtual Reality Aircraft Recognition project. The use of modern Virtual Reality technology provides enhanced visuals for more realistic training of Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) operators. Aircraft recognition is a fundamental skill required of GBAD operators in order to ensure the robustness of the air defence capabilities. The enhanced visuals will increase training realism through the simulation of varying environmental conditions and aircraft flight profiles. The software also integrates assessment modules and automated result compilation to enhance training efficiency.