iFuture, a brand new exhibition that aims to give Singaporeans a glimpse at just what is possible with the power of infocomm was unveiled by the Guest-of-Honour, the President of Singapore, Mr S R Nathan at the Singapore Science Centre on 11 December 2006.
iFuture, together with its sister exhibition i-Space, host countless technology applications built within a diverse range of interactive exhibits in five specialty areas. iFuture, which contains four of these areas, will be on show for three months (till 18 March 2007) while i-Space will be a permanent feature at the Science Centre for the next five years.
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| Unveiling of iFuture and i-Space at the Singapore Science Centre on 11 December 2006 |
The Singapore Science Centre and the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) collaborated to set up the exhibits. Both agencies will work on ensuring that i-Space is kept current with the latest innovations and emerging technologies.
According to Dr Chew Tuan Chiong, Chief Executive of the Singapore Science Centre, the importance of such exhibitions rest in their abilities to fire the imagination of the young. "We hope to show the young the power that infocomm brings and hopefully lead them on the path to choose infocomm as a career by creating excitement and awareness of the possibilities," he said.
Divided into five main categories – Gizmo Dome, Mechanical Cabaret Theatre, The Singapore IT Story, Virtual World and i-Space – visitors can have a hands-on experience and interact with many of the exhibits. Some attractions of interest will be the office and home of the future, the chance to ride on the latest personal transport device and a 3D tour of the planet Mars.
Many of the exhibits were specially flown in from countries like the Germany, Japan, UK, and the US. They feature the best in technologies from the past and the future. For example, the Mechanical Cabaret Theatre features 30 different and original automata from the UK while the Carnegie Mellon University brought over Quasi, a fully interactive robot that can ask and even respond to questions and stimuli.
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| Guest-of-Honour, the President of Singapore Mr S R Nathan, viewing a demonstration of what the playground of the future would be like |
IDA's Deputy Chief Executive & Director-General (Telecoms), Mr Leong Keng Thai, said that exhibitions like these are in line with IDA's 10-year masterplan - Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) - to grow the infocomm sector by charting the use of technology for work, life and leisure. "Through iFuture and i-Space, we hope to intrigue and excite students about the power of infocomm to better lives, and to encourage the youth to ultimately consider infocomm as a career choice. iFuture is the playground of the future. IDA is pleased to collaborate with the Singapore Science Centre to make infocomm alive and exciting for all," he added.
For more information on iFuture and i-Space, please visit:
The Future is Infocomm. Be a Player.
- If you wish to find out more on how IDA's programmes can help you become a part of Singapore's infocomm talent, please visit our 'Manpower' programmes section at the IDA website.