RSN-DSTA TEAM TESTS SMARTER WAY TO ACCESS BASES

In the not-too-distant future, authorised personnel will be able to enter Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) camps with just a mobile application. Named "Smart Base Access", the app conceptualised by a team of Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) personnel and defence scientists from the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) will put an end to long waits for clearances to be approved and long queues at pass offices.

The team was awarded funding at the first Public Service Innovation Challenge, held at *SCAPE on 24 Oct, to work on a prototype for their idea which showed promise to be implemented in SAF camps and may even be transferable across the public sector.

Themed "#DareToTry", the Challenge aimed to encourage public service officers to dream up bold and innovative ideas. It also sought to foster cross-ministry or cross-statutory board knowledge-sharing and collaborations by providing funds for winning projects to be further developed.

Speaking about the idea, the project lead, Military Expert (ME) 6 Joses Yau highlighted the increasingly complex and time-consuming security screening processes in place designed to defend against terrorists.

"Every visitor has to be screened thoroughly and they will have to fill in their personal information before waiting in line to exchange (identity cards) for their (camp) passes. Such lengthy administrative processes have resulted in precious time being wasted, and we believe that this system will be inefficient in the long run as more security measures are put in place."

With this problem statement in mind, the team began work on the Smart Base Access project. Through this system, authorised visitors can download a simple mobile app where he will submit his visiting details, personal particulars and a photo of himself for facial recognition purposes.

An electronic token, which serves as an electronic camp pass, will then be sent to the visitor's smartphone immediately after the system has done an automated background security check and the host has approved the visitor's request. When the visitor reaches the guardhouse, system will automatically authenticate the user with his issued electronic token and facial recognition to scan his face (Two Factor Authentication: "what you have" and "who you are").

Touching on the benefits of such a system, ME6 Yau said: "This system can bring about many benefits in terms of manpower savings. For example, security troopers that are responsible for performing such security checks can be redeployed to other areas to bolster security in those places.

"Visitors are also able to get into camps more conveniently and wastage of time will be reduced."

The Head of the Smart Futures Innovation Office and the rest of the team hope to put their system to the test in January 2018 by installing a prototype in RSS Singapura - Changi Naval Base. He added: "RSS Singapura receives hundreds of visitors daily, thus it provides the perfect testing ground for our system."

Team member ME3 Cathsy Chue was heartened to see her efforts come to fruition as the Programme Manager of the Formidable-class Frigate Branch 1 finds it challenging to keep up with technologies because it involved changing the mindsets of many.

ME3 Chue added: "The project team is very diverse as it consisted of members from various units of the RSN and personnel from the DSTA with different work and personal commitments. This made it difficult to set dates when all members are available for project meetings. In addition, many of today's new products employ new technologies and it is hard for us to choose which technologies work best or be the most successful one."

However, despite the challenges faced, she was delighted to be part of the project. She said: "Being part of this project team has opened my eyes to the kind of innovative measures that we can come up with to make certain processes more efficient. It has made me believe that even an individual can change the lives of hundreds."

Agreeing with ME3 Chue is ME2 Gerald Thong, who felt that he, too, has learnt a lot from his other project mates. The Forward Engineering System Supervisor of Archer-class submarines elaborated: "I have learnt how to see things from other people's perspective and dissect a problem from different angles. Now, I also try to keep an open mind to new ways of doing things and to be open to everyone's ideas."

ME2 Thong hopes that his team's award-winning feat in the Challenge will inspire future innovative minds in the SAF to step up to the plate and come up with revolutionary ideas to enhance the capabilities of the SAF.

"I hope to see future batches of servicemen embody the theme of this year's Challenge - #DareToTry - and throw out bold and refreshing projects that can benefit the SAF, or even the whole of Singapore."