Grab and NUS set up AI lab in Singapore to make cities smarter

Technology company Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab to help develop smarter cities in South-east Asia. The partnership intends to solve challenges such as congestion and the liveability of cities in the region. The Grab-NUS AI Lab, part of an initial joint investment of S$6m (£3.3m), will utilise data from the Grab platform to provide insights into how citizens move across cities. It will also be used to map out traffic patterns and ident
July 20, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Technology company Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab to help develop smarter cities in South-east Asia. The partnership intends to solve challenges such as congestion and the liveability of cities in the region.


The Grab-NUS AI Lab, part of an initial joint investment of S$6m (£3.3m), will utilise data from the Grab platform to provide insights into how citizens move across cities. It will also be used to map out traffic patterns and identify ways to impact mobility directly.

Initially, the companies will work together to improve the efficiency and reliability of transport on the Grab platform. Researchers at the laboratory will create an AI platform for machine learning and visual analytics to help develop applications from Grab’s data set.

Additionally, the team will develop algorithms to provide passengers with smart services based on insights into their needs and to improve accuracy when mapping pick-up points. The technology is also expected to detect traffic events and anomalies in real time and improve urban traffic flow.

Anthony Tan, Grab co-founder, says data from the platform shows how travel time from the region of Newton to the Tanjong Pagar district can be improved.

“If this route would be better served by more shared transport solutions, such as buses, trains, GrabShuttle, GrabShare or GrabHitch, we could bring travel time during peak hour down by one third or from 40 to 28 minutes,” Tan adds.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Peak-hour commutes of less than 45 minutes by 2040, says panel
    February 19, 2019
    Nine out of ten peak-hour commutes in Singapore should take less than 45 minutes by 2040, saving the average person around 15 minutes every weekday. This is one of the recommendations that the Land Transport Master Plan’s (LTMP) advisory panel submitted to the government to make public transport more connected, safer and inclusive. The recommendations are based on more than 7,400 responses taken from a public engagement exercise conducted by the Land Transport Authority. The study included feedback fr
    Read More
  • Multimodal simulation helps to improve the airport experience
    December 15, 2022
    The vision of the IMHOTEP project is a multimodal European transport system, where different modes of travel are seamlessly integrated to give passengers a great door-to-gate and gate-to-door experience. Marcel Sala, scientific researcher at Aimsun, explains how this works at airports
    Read More
  • Central Florida Expressway Authority sets up toll road lane closure alerts
    October 30, 2023
    Nine-month pilot scheme uses One.network software to give traffic engineers overview
    Read More
  • Dynniq’s FlowSense gives green light for city mobility
    March 19, 2019
    Putting an end to traffic jams – including those involving freight - and improving the air people breathe are major goals for city authorities everywhere. With FlowSense, Dynniq thinks it may have some answers. Adam Hill asks how Sitting in traffic is top of the list of many commuters’ pet hates: a necessary evil, perhaps. But at least it doesn’t kill you - the same can’t be said of toxins in the air. Indeed, the World Health Organisation estimates that 4.2 million deaths worldwide are due to outdoor pol
    Read More

Highlighted Content