Singapore, 16 June 2009 – Imagine this: A day when you could pre-programme a slate of television programmes beyond the traditional television sets and watch them on virtual space together with your friends from different parts of the world. Or watching an entire movie seamlessly, beginning with the cinema, continuing on your handphone while on the train and then finishing it on your TV set when you reach home.

These are some examples of the innovative services that could come true under the FutureTV initiative. In response to changing consumers’ lifestyles and media consumption, several leading industry companies, with the support of the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), have come together to form a FutureTV partner network to leverage on the capabilities of one another, to shape a new generation of media experiences.

Leading the FutureTV network are local flagship companies such as MediaCorp, StarHub, PGK Media, ServTouch-ETI, Glocal Media Networks, SingTel, EON Reality, and Ufinity. Rounding off the founding members are MNCs like Motorola and Microsoft.

Together with MDA, the partner network is jointly calling for proposals from Singapore media companies and start-ups to submit ideas, technologies and approaches. Through the Call, the partner network hopes to seed ideas and collaborations on innovative services that incorporate greater interactivity and personalisation in the consumption of visual media.

The launch of the FutureTV initiative comes amid the unveiling of the Singapore Media Fusion Plan (SMFP) at this year’s BroadcastAsia. “The FutureTV initiative is one of the key efforts under the SMFP aimed at galvanizing the industry to secure a foothold in niche sub-sectors of the emerging new media arena. It will be one of the supporting pillars to attain Singapore’s vision of being a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media,” said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer of MDA.

For a start, the partner network will offer greater interactivity and personalization in the experience of the consumption of visual media. They aim to go beyond the traditional TV screen in the living room to enable the seamless consumption of rich visual media on multiple screens over the internet, mobile devices and large format out-of-home displays. Eventually, the partner network intends to make Singapore a visual media hub by building the capability to aggregate content from around the region, and re-distribute this content globally. New ways of monetizing content, for example through inserting of digital advertising will be explored.

FutureTV Partner Network and MDA

Anchored by two co-chairmen, Mediacorp and StarHub, the partner network will collectively offer access to global markets, to advertisers and partners for promotion needs, payment and infrastructural support. In terms of access to customer base, MediaCorp and StarHub combined reaches almost every Singaporean consumer. The partner network aims to cluster up to 100 companies, ranging from start-ups, small and medium enterprises and flagship companies and is encouraging the industry to be part of this network. Refer to Annex A for the companies under the partner network.

Mr Shaun Seow, MediaCorp’s Deputy CEO, said: “I am personally very excited about the possibilities that the Future TV partner network brings. It holds out the promise of a new television viewing experience that’s more engaging and interactive, delivered either online or via the Next Generation Broadband Network that’s being built. As co-chair of the partner network, MediaCorp hopes to partner local companies in developing applications such as advanced video search, contextual advertising and user interface personalization. We have a range of media assets and original content for deploying such technologies. Through our media, we also hope to raise awareness of some of these Future TV initiatives, and assist industry players to break into regional markets via another association, called SMART Alliance, formed between MediaCorp and other major Asean broadcasters.”

Mr Tan Tong Hai, Chief Operating Officer of StarHub and Co-Chairman of the FutureTV Partner Network, said, “I would encourage companies with the relevant expertise to step forward to join us in this collaboration to position Singapore as the international hub for aggregating and distributing innovative new media TV content and services worldwide. StarHub will contribute its experience and knowledge in the TV, Mobile and Online platforms and serve as a test-bed for partner companies to try out 3D programmes, preference-detecting technology and the personalisation of TV across multiple platforms anytime, anywhere.”

“In this global market, there is compelling need for industry to collaborate and leverage on one another’s capabilities. We are heartened that the major players of TV sector have come together to provide combined offerings to help support start-up innovation,” said Michael Yap, Deputy CEO and Executive Director of Interactive Digital Media Program Office hosted by MDA.

“Through this partner network, MDA is better able to marshal its resources to support the collective aspiration of the industry. Singapore consumers can also look forward to more innovative services and enjoy a whole new world of the latest interactive visual media offerings to empower digital work-styles and lifestyles,” added Mr Yap.

The partner network will use Singapore as a hub in its test-bedding of applications which would be rolled out beyond Singapore shores. In addition, the partner network will foster grassroots innovation among start-ups and media companies in Singapore. This will be done through various calls for proposals to seek participation from the industry.

One such company under the partner network PGK Media is offering its immersive out-of-home media network and its digital TV broadcasting network for other members as open platforms for experimentation and test bedding.

Even as the partner network is calling for participation from industry in the FutureTV initiative, PGK and Glocal Media Network have already come together to kick-off innovation.

“PGK has signed a number of MOUs and partnerships with local and international operators and providers. The highlight is the MOU with Glocal to launch the first digital terrestrial Pay-TV ethnic channel in Singapore,” said Giulio Dorrucci, Chairman and CEO of PGK Media Pte Ltd.

Said Mr Tom Navasero, Managing Director and Founder of Glocal Media Networks Pte Ltd: “We are dedicated to making Singapore the NEW MEDIA DIGITAL HUB of ASIA. We are building a new media platform to enable the music artists, content producers and media stakeholders to publish, manage, secure, distribute and monetize their media.

“We have recently signed a Joint Venture agreement with Out There Media to establish Out There Media Asia-Pacific. With this arrangement, we add another 120 million users in the European Union, and target to have up to 200 million users in Asia-Pacific.”

Calls for Proposals

The joint call for proposals by the FutureTV partner network and MDA seeks ideas for creating, aggregating, managing, distributing and monetizing visual media to anticipate and shape future patterns in the consumption of visual media. The FutureTV partner network expects that this will result in technologies, applications and services that would leverage the core offerings of network’s anchor companies.

MDA will support the partner network by providing support in the form of industry contacts and collaboration including match-making with government agencies and demand drivers. It offers foundation built through R&D support, help in matchmaking companies and bringing in demand drivers as well as co-funding of proposals.

Under the Call, the FutureTV Partner Network hopes to solicit exciting ideas to enhance consumers’ experience of visual media, innovate with tools and devices to allow content to be delivered to a variety of access devices, and create a variety of value added services such as media (rather than text-based) search, advertising engines, interactive video, customizable interfaces, and next generation advertising engines. In particular, the Call also offers Singapore start-ups a jumpstart by collaborating with established players to access bigger markets globally, leveraging on the network of user base, marketing channels, promotion tie-ups and sharing of market intelligence offered by the FutureTV Partner Network.

The proposals submitted will be evaluated by a joint MDA and FutureTV Partner Network Evaluation Panel based on criteria such as innovativeness and market potential. More details of the Call can be found at www.idm.sg

For more information, please contact:

Ms Serene Tan
Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 97263155
Email : Serene_Tan@mda.gov.sg

Media Development Authority of (MDA)
Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote industry growth in film, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.

Singapore, 16 June 2009 – Singapore’s national media blueprint, the Singapore Media Fusion Plan (SMFP), was officially launched today at BroadcastAsia 2009, along with initiatives to strengthen the media ecosystem; fuel the creation of innovative content and services with global appeal; and, develop world-class talents to support a thriving industry.

Building on the previous Media 21 blueprint, the SMFP supports the country’s transition to a creative economy by laying the directions to transform Singapore into a trusted global capital for New Asia Media.

“The media sector is in the midst of dynamic change, driven by convergence and the rise of Asia as a content powerhouse and one of the most influential markets in the world. The Singapore Media Fusion Plan is our response to the altered global landscape. It gears up Singapore companies to respond to the fresh opportunities in today’s new world order by enabling the creation of New Asia Media, be it content, services or applications, that resonate with the world, whilst leveraging on Singapore’s strengths and strategic location as an East-West gateway,” said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).

SMFP sets out three strategies to propel the media sector forward. The first aims to provide the best environment for media business. The second leverages R&D to help the media sector exploit new opportunities in the digital media value chain. The final strategy calls for Singapore to remain connected to the world to enhance the international appeal of Singapore-made content, applications and services. Funds of S$230 million have been allocated to drive the initiatives under the Plan, representing a 40% increase from Media 21 and coming on top of S$500 million already committed to interactive digital media research and development.

As part of the SMFP launch, several new initiatives were introduced:

1. A partnership between MDA and SingTel to strengthen the distribution capabilities of Mediapolis@one-north
2. New manpower upgrading and training programmes supported under MDA’s META initiative
3. Formation of FutureTV alliance and Call for Proposals

Strengthening Singapore’s distribution capabilities
To boost the distribution capabilities of Singapore, MDA and SingTel have established a strategic partnership that will see SingTel’s Broadcast Innovation Centre (BIC), located at SingTel’s Satellite Earth Station in Bukit Timah, seamlessly linked to Mediapolis@one-north, the self-contained 19-hectare media park incorporating a soundstage complex, digital post-production studios, work lofts as well as retail, recreation and accommodation facilities, via high-speed connectivity of 100Mbps.

This state-of-the-art facility serves as a powerful communications gateway that connects companies at Mediapolis@one-north to over 40 major media centres in the world via satellite and terrestrial fibre networks. With this distribution capability in place, media players will be able to cost-effectively and efficiently send their locally-produced content directly to their counterparts or broadcast stations overseas, eliminating the need for additional third party intervention. This initiative will serve to extend the reach of local media companies and facilitate worldwide access for Asian content.

Companies with innovative applications or technologies can also utilise BIC, which is equipped with multi-platform capabilities, for proof-of-concept testing and evaluation. By lowering the cost of product development through this laboratory, technology entrepreneurs will have the resources they need to bring their innovations to market, at a fraction of the cost.

Nurturing Singapore’s talents
A key plank of the SMFP is talent development, with MDA embarking on a new programme called Media Training & Attachment (META) to give work exposure and training opportunities in Singapore and overseas, to local talents and media professionals. Through META, SingTel will take on the role of training partner to provide on-the-job training in broadcast engineering and technology. SingTel is concurrently working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic to develop new broadcast engineering courses and to offer students practical experience in live broadcasting environments at the BIC to complement their course work. In addition, the students will also have access to the BIC facilities for research and development purposes.

Another key initiative supported by META is a five-year tie-up between MDA and the NUS-Digital Hollywood Lab, established by the National University of Singapore’s Interactive and Digital Media Institute (IDMI), which will see up to 40 media talents matched each year with major television and motion picture companies such as The Walt Disney Company, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), ESPN and The Jim Henson Company in the US for up to six-month training stints. These work attachments will provide Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents advanced technical and specialised training, covering skill sets from serious game design and development to TV documentary filming and production, music technologies as well as interactive control for computer animation and animatronics.

Innovations in digital media
Major players of the interactive digital media industry have joined forces to form a FutureTV partner network that will see its members leverage on each other’s capabilities and resources to fuel industry innovation. The goal: To use Singapore as a test-bed for innovative services that will shape a new generation of visual media experiences, resulting in greater interactivity and personalisation in the consumption of content.

To draw participation from the broader industry to be part of FutureTV, the partner network, together with MDA, are launching the first call for proposals to Singapore technology and media companies to submit ideas for creating, aggregating, managing, distributing and monetizing visual media to anticipate and shape future patterns in the consumption of visual media.

Targeting start-ups as well as established media companies in Singapore, the Call hopes to solicit exciting ideas to enhance consumers’ experience of visual media, innovate with tools and devices to allow content to be delivered to a variety of access devices, and create a variety of value-added services such as media (rather than text-based) search, advertising engines, interactive video, customizable interfaces, and next generation advertising engines. In particular, the Call offers Singapore start-ups a headstart by enabling collaborations with established players to access bigger markets globally, marketing and promotional tie-ups, and sharing of market intelligence.

The submitted proposals will be evaluated by a joint MDA and FutureTV Partner Network Evaluation Panel based on criteria such as innovativeness and market potential. More details of the Call can be found at www.idm.sg.

###

For more information, please contact:

Ms Mala Devi Padmanathan
Assistant Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel:+ (65) 9728 9872
Email : Mala_Devi_PADMANATHAN@mda.gov.sg

Media Development Authority of (MDA)
Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote industry growth in film, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.

NUS-Digital Hollywood Lab
The Digital Hollywood Lab, established in 2006, facilitates overseas training opportunities for graduating students and media professionals. Located in Los Angeles, California, the Digital Hollywood Lab will manage the training and attachment programmes for these media professionals and those joining the industry.

While the local expansion of foreign multinationals such as Electronic Arts and Lucasfilm tend to hog the headlines, a new market study shows thecountry’s nascent interactive digital media (IDM) sector is in fact rife with local talent.

According to Deloitte Consulting, local firms make up 79 per cent of the local IDM industry and foreign companies accounted for the remaining 21 per cent.

This study, which polled 130 companies across the sector on their performance from 2007 to 2008, is one of the first few attempts to take a snapshot of a fledging industry which only came under the government spotlight in the last fewyears.

The Deloitte report revealed that there are around 585 IDM-related companies in Singapore and they added 1,500 jobs in 2008 to bring their combined employment tally to nearly 7,400.

Start-ups make up 19 per cent of IDM companieshere while small and mid-sized enterprises account for the lion’s share at 67 per cent. Large companies accounted for the rest, the survey showed.

The sector’s headcount boost is in line with its sizzling growth during the year, with itsvalue-add growing at a rate of 25 per cent to $798 million at the end of 2008. The IDM industry’s revenue also grew at a similar pace from an estimated $1 billion in 2007 to $1.3 billion in 2008.

‘This strong growth can be explained by intenseinvestments, R&D (research and development) and localisation in Singapore over the 2007 to 2008 period,’ according to the Deloitte report.

‘Such high growth suggests that Singapore is heading in the right direction,’ the firm said.

During the year, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), which manages a $500 million war chest from the National Research Foundation, invested heavily to boost R&D in the IDM space.

These included allocating $40 million in seedfunding to support digital media start-ups as well as introducing a scheme to co-finance the creation of new computer games.

MDA also roped in partners such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to set up gaming labs and rallied investorsand distributors to set aside more money to fund local productions.

Sister agencies such as the Economic Development Board weighed in by wooing foreign media giants to plant their development operations here.

Last year, the governmentwent a step further to zone out a piece of land in Buona Vista to play host to media and gaming companies.

Called Mediapolis, the 19-hectare premises could eventually house dozens of new buildings for accommodating production houses, gamedevelopers and post- production companies when fully-completed in 2020.

‘In order to further monetise R&D-based innovation, Singapore should seek to promote greater technical standardisation, further collaboration within the IDM ecosystem andprovide customised funding to meet innovative companies’ needs based on their life cycle,’ Deloitte said.

Source : The Business Times
Author : Winston Chai

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SINGAPORE’S next generation of digital media whizzes are being grown with money from a $500 million fund that has gone into building digital classrooms, as well as promising commercial ventures by start-up companies and MNCs.

And now, funding will also go to research projects by companies in digital media, the Media Development Authority (MDA) said yesterday.

In the last two years, money from the Interactive Digital Media Programme Office (IDMPO) has helped 120 start-ups, and provided seed money for 68 other companies.

Funds have also gone to 64 schools and educational institutions to help them enhance teaching through digital media.

Among them was a project by the National Institute of Education to develop a multi-player game on mobile phones that would facilitate learning.

Started in 2006, the IDMPO aims to fuel the growth of interactive digital media and its research and development (R&D). To be disbursed over five years, it has more than six funding schemes now.

MDA revealed where the money had gone at yesterday’s Computer Games, Multimedia & Allied Technology (CGAT) conference but would not say how much had been given.

It hopes to fuel the growth of the media sector from $4.7 billion in 2005 to $10 billion by 2015, and add 10,000 jobs.

‘Singapore has a chance to create the next breakthrough in media,’ said Mr Michael Yap, deputy CEO and programme director of IDMPO, at the event.

Interactive digital media can encompass the areas of gaming, next generation Web and mobile technology, to name a few.

First Meta, a virtual credit card company in virtual worlds like Second Life, received funding in 2007 for R&D and manpower. Founder Aileen Sim said it saved her a lot of the heartache that most start-ups face.

‘The money allowed us to do up prototypes and other costly research. It also opened doors to investors, who saw us as more credible,’ said Ms Sim, who added that her company’s monthly revenue has hit the mid six-figures now.

With funding from IDMPO, it is currently working on converting virtual game currency into money that can be used in real life.

Mr Yap also announced that firms can start applying for new, additional funding for its latest initiative, Future of Media.

The money is to encourage companies to innovate and conduct research on next-generation media applications in television, mobile phones, virtual worlds or three-dimensional Web, books and games. MDA will accept and fund 50 to 100 companies to work on each ‘future’ field.

It wants to work these future services and applications into its massive virtual city, Co-Space, first launched about a year ago as its answer to Second Life.

IDMPO is a testament to how funding can water growth.

Between September 2007 and September last year, applications from start-ups applying for seed money of up to $50,000 leapt threefold.

The first black and white TV sets in Singapore transformed the way people consumed entertainment. Fast forward half a century and the TV is as complicated as rocket science, with more evolution on the way.

MediaCorp is calling on technology and media companies to share ideas and work together to achieve what is being dubbed as Future TV. It is still a concept at the moment, but some of the ideas already exist in their infant stages.

One idea is having virtual viewing rooms so social groups can interact and watch videos together.

Another is searching for a scene in a film based on one’s memory – for example, the colour of the dress an actress was wearing.

Other media companies envision further changes in video podcast technology.

Giulio Dorrucci, CEO, PGK Media, said: “Try to imagine you have access to a global library of free available content, even movies and films. Then you can just line them up altogether plus you do your show, and then you can become a video DJ and do whatever you want.”

Media companies here involved with Future TV are working out how to resolve the various legal issues such as copyright ownership and licensing involved in such a system.

But that is not all. Future TV also means radical changes in the way advertising works. The vision is for the right ad to go out to the right viewer at the right time.

Steven Chan, Senior Vice President, Interactive Media Division, MediaCorp, said: “If that is the case, then it gives the opportunity for e-commerce to happen.

“If you’re watching a particular video and it brings to mind certain things and the ad can come up that is appropriate to that particular scene, then it is emotionally more engaging for the viewer at that time to make a purchase.”

MediaCorp said some elements of the exciting changes can be seen over the next 12 to 18 months. The push for this is also coming from Singapore’s Media Development Authority.

Michael Yap, executive director, Interactive & Digital Media, Media Development Authority, said: “There’s an opportunity for Singapore to take a leading position in this new form of TV.

“So one of the best ways is to marshal the creativity of the start-ups (and) the strengths of established flagships like MediaCorp to come together and push the boundary of what we think TV would be.”

MDA is currently working with three companies that deal with aspects of Future TV and when new applications are created, MDA can track in which country, and which user is actually using the applications.

This helps in finding out what applications are popular and determining the channel Future TV will take.

Source: Channel News Asia

Related News
The Future is Interactive by TODAY Paper

Four years since establishing a studio in the city-state, Koei is hoping to add up to 60 staff over the next two years.

“The company has achieved its business objectives,” says Keiko Erikawa, founder and chairman emeritus of Koei.

“But we want to move ahead. I will not be satisfied until we further strengthen the development capabilities of the studio, both in quantity and in quality.

“Our objective is to groom a pool of talented and passionate developers who want to do Singapore proud and work relentlessly towards creating best-selling titles targeted at the global audience.”

The company is on a recruitment drive, welcoming even fresh graduates and will be sending recruits to Japan for specialised training.

Like Koei, several other leading media companies are ramping up their operations in the city-state. Ubisoft of France, which employs 70 people in Singapore, expects to increase its staff to 300 in the near term.

The company is reported to be looking for talented programmers, graphic artists, animators and game designers.

In terms of private sector training, many organisations are offering a wide range of opportunities to hone skills.

For instance, Lucasfilm’s animation studio in Singapore – its first venture outside the US – has been running apprenticeship programmes to train artists and engineers.

The new media industries, which include game developers, animators and other related digital specialists, are projected to generate 10,000 jobs and more than S$10bn in value by 2015.

These developments bode well for Singapore, as they provide a silver lining to an otherwise grim job market, which has seen lay-offs and hiring freezes as a result of the global slowdown.

Lee Boon Yang, minister of information, communications and the arts (MICA) made the case at a recent media event.

“Despite the recession and retrenchments, demand for creative talent remains robust, with companies still on the lookout for good staff,” he said

Policymakers say there are plenty of opportunities for those seeking a career in the media. In the near term, 300 skilled jobs and more than 400 apprenticeships are on offer within the creative industries.

Another 450 jobs will come over the next one to two years for start-ups within the interactive and digital media sector.

Moreover, up to 6,000 individuals are expected to receive media training this year.

Christopher Chia, chief executive of the Media Development Authority (MDA), says: “The whole idea is really a continuum of skills, from very experienced people who need to upgrade to people thinking of moving into the sector.

“So it’s a matter of conversion skills as well.”

In spite of the promising opportunities in the media, the tough economic climate has put a damper on business ventures. Increasingly risk-averse investors, for instance, have become less willing to finance media projects.

This has prompted policymakers to intervene to stimulate the market. The government announced last month that it would provide an unprecedented S$250m to help promising local media companies, such as documentary producers, music groups and video game developers, fund their projects.

The amount, which is much larger than the S$180m injected last year, underscores the commitment by the authorities to sustain the media sector amid the economic downturn, explains the MDA.

The authorities hope the cash injection will offset the expected dip in revenue faced over the next year or two.

The money would be used to co-fund 200 to 300 new projects over the course of the year, with the aim of creating 2,000 jobs and strengthening the industry.

Under the scheme, smaller high-risk research and development ideas could receive outright grants. For large-scale productions such as feature films, the government will co-invest and share in the receipts if the production makes money.

Financing aside, the MDA is also facilitating efforts to help the media industry in other ways, from holding training workshops to matchmaking film producers with suitable foreign film distributors.

Unlike other export-oriented industries, such as manufacturing and retail, whose fortunes are closely tied to the volatility and fluctuations of the global economy, Singapore’s media sector has been a source of steady growth. The sector has expanded from S$3.8bn in 2002 to an estimated S$5.28bn in 2008.

Compound annual growth from 1996 to 2006 was 8 per cent, against 5.2 per cent for the overall economy, according to the MDA. The sector employs almost 60,000 people.

Perhaps more importantly, the government initiatives are reflective of Singapore’s aim to rely less on conventional sectors. Developing new engines of growth bolsters against downturns.

In these difficult times, the media sector is a bright spot in a gloomy job market.

Source: Financial Times

Singapore, April 8, 2009 – Red Herring announced that the company Metaversum has been elected a Red Herring 100 Europe Winner for its 3D online world Twinity. This award is given annually to the top 100 private technology enterprises headquartered in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.

“We feel honored to receive the Red Herring 100 Europe award. This clearly confirms our vision of a 3D world based on real cities, allowing real people to interact and communicate with each other.” says Metaversum CEO Jochen Hummel. “Twinity is coming alive through our partners, including Cinestar, Berlin.de, Zitty, Be.Berlin, Bigpoint, Sony Pictures, the city of Singapore, Geek Terminal Singapore, The Digital Movement (TDM) and many others. Together with our users, they are filling our vision of a real 3D world with life.”

This nomination as one of the top 100 ground-breaking technology companies proves that, with its innovative concept of real 3D cities inhabited by a real 3D community, Metaversum offers a trend-setting contribution towards the three-dimensional web: Twinity’s realistic 3D replicas of international metropolises enable internet user from all over the world to communicate and interact with each other in a whole new way. It’s a place for real people to share experiences online in a familiar environment.

Red Herring’s list of top private businesses is an important guide to identifying new and innovative technology companies. In their early years, enterprises such as Google, eBay, and Skype were recognized by Red Herring editors as significant concepts, likely to alter the way we live and work.

To pick the winners, Red Herring’s editorial staff evaluated several hundred enterprises according to strict standards, including thorough analysis of financial data and subjective criteria such as management quality, implementation of strategies, and effort in the area of research and development.

The virtual world of Twinity is currently in the open Beta phase. At www.twinity.com, you can register for free and explore the 3D world.

About Red Herring:
Red Herring is a global media enterprise that provides a network for the world’s foremost developers, investors and economic decision makers through various platforms: a market-leading magazine presenting new developments, daily online news from the hi-tech sector, newsletters, and major events for executive managers from all over the world. Red Herring offers insider knowledge regarding the global innovation economy, with a unique outlook on up-and-coming technologies. For further information, please visit www.redherring.com.

About Metaversum and Twinity:
Metaversum develops and operates the 3D online world of Twinity, pursuing the vision of closely connecting the real world with the virtual one. The most exciting metropolises of our planet, starting with Berlin, are being replicated to scale and made virtually accessible. Other cities will follow soon. With their personal avatar, Twinity members get to virtually explore real cities, move into their own 3D homes, communicate, work, and get creative with friends, or simply have fun!

Twinity offers enterprises innovative opportunities for market presence in virtual real cities with genuine people. Direct and emotional digital dialog with target groups will be possible through virtual shops, real 3D representation, in-world advertising campaigns, or product placement at virtual events. Twinity is currently in the open Beta phase. Metaversum, founded in July 2006, and financed by leading VCs, has offices in Berlin, Kiev, and Singapore. For more information, please visit www.metaversum.com and www.twinity.com.

For a digital press kit with logos and screenshots, please visit:

http://press.twinity.com/press_kit/

Researchers from the Mixed Reality Lab (MXR) of National University of Singapore have developed a revolutionary invention that will bring you into a completely new relationship with red cabbage and the environment. Yes, red cabbage as in the vegetable! They have built a system, which captures information on the environmental pollution and then couples that information into the color changing properties of a red cabbage. Just as we humans feel happier upon receiving a real flower rather than an artificial flower, these researchers take this closely knit bond between humans and the nature into inventing new media that is “living” to present important ecological information. In this case, the living media is the live red cabbage. The environmental health is becoming a great concern to the world today and there are plenty of media that report to us of information on the environment which are necessarily one way. The researchers at MXR argue that the use of a smaller entity of the environment to represent the state of the environment, i.e. a living plant to represent environmental pollution, creates an ‘impedance match’ between the user and the environmental issues allowing the user to readily empathize with the system. This impedance match adds semantics to the manifestation, since as environmental health flourish and worsen, so would the live red cabbage creating a bi-directional link between the user and the media. 

Babbage Cabbage is comprised of a mechatronic control system, which controls the flow of household (and edible) liquids such as lemon juice and lime water to control the pH of the solution that cabbage absorbs. The pH level of the solution causes the color change in the cabbage. The control system is then kept constantly aware of the environmental issues assigned by the human user and therefore, the color of the cabbage changes to reflect the issues in the real world. It is targeted at the serious aspect of raising awareness to important environmental issues and related world matters through a new symbiotic relationship with a naturally beautiful plant-based ambient media. 

The overall system works as follows: you log into your computer, open the Babbage Cabbage software application, and then map the information flows from the world to the garden of cabbages in which each pixel changes color according to the changes in the information assigned to it.

Babbage Cabbage, named after Charles Babbage who was a computer scientist who made many advances in the world of technology, “is the first human-vegetable interaction system ever developed” according to Prof. Cheok. The system developed by Prof. Adrian David Cheok, the Director of Mixed Reality Lab, and his researchers Dr. Owen Noel Newton Fernando, Roshan Lalintha Peiris, Charith Fernando, Nimesha Ranasinghe, Kasun Karunanayake and others has been under development in the laboratory for nearly two years, and has recently been one of the Winners at Laval Revolution 2009, and will be demonstrated at the event in Laval, France. Laval Virtual ReVolution is an annual conference held to honor the world’s finest VR project, by Laval Virtual. This is a hall of fame award that decides the best Virtual Reality demonstration and/or application from all over the world. However, this is not the only prestigious award that has been awarded to Babbage Cabbage. In 2008, this research was awarded a top prize in the prestigious international conference “Mindtrek” as well.

About Mixed Reality Lab, NUS – Mixed Reality Lab is a research centre in National University of Singapore led by Professor Adrian David Cheok. The research output has included numerous high quality academic journal papers, research awards, keynote speeches, international exhibitions, numerous government demonstrations including to the President and Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, broadcast television worldwide broadcasts on his research (such as CNN/CNBC/ABC/Discovery/National Geographic etc.), and hundreds of international press media articles. More details can be found at the website at http://www.mixedrealitylab.org.
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For more information, contact:

Dr. Adrian David Cheok
Mixed Reality Lab
National University of Singapore
Tel: +65 6516 7514
Email: enquiry@mixedrealitylab.org
Website: http://www.mixedrealitylab.org

KooBits, as it is called, has caught on like wildfire in schools here and overseas. Three years ago, only four schools here used it; that number has now grown to 80. About 80,000 budding writers in Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and China are users.

The program’s appeal lies in its host of easy-to-use multimedia features, said teachers and students.

Students write stories and illustrate these by picking from a gallery of licensed clip-art images. A patented technology enables them to animate the images by keying in commands, so they do not need to know how to use the more-complex Adobe Flash animation software.

KooBits came about as a by-product of an unrelated project in 2004 among then electrical engineering undergraduate Stanley Han, computer engineering researcher Chen Xiangdong, and robotics professor Sam Ge.

They were then creating a computer program to teach people how to dance. The project did not pan out, said Mr Han, 28, who graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2005, but it did leave the trio with one takeaway – that many people were deterred from creating digital content because it was too difficult.

The idea for KooBits came to them when they were introduced in 2005 to a group of teachers in charge of information and communications technology (ICT) in their respective primary schools.

One of them, Mr Melvin Yeoh, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary’s ICT head of department, said: ‘I believe we can encourage weaker pupils to like writing if they can create e-books with pictures and animation.

‘But the software available cost thousands of dollars and were complicated to use. It was very disheartening.’

The teachers were looking for a ‘one-stop’ program that would enable pupils to create multimedia content easily, said Mr Han, a Chinese national and Singapore permanent resident. ‘We thought, ‘Hey, we could do that.”

The rest is history.

KooBits’ founders put $30,000 into their new baby, which has since grown into a $5 million company, Personal e-Motion, which owns KooBits.

Plans are afoot to introduce the program – which costs $50 for the basic version and $100 for the premium one – to more schools in China this year, and to the United States next year.

The program has also received a nod from the Media Development Authority, which came this year in the form of a grant to offset its development and marketing costs. KooBits and four other new media projects got a total of $7.6 million.

KooBits is now used in schools not only to teach English, but also science, mother tongue and mathematics.

An inter-school contest for students’ KooBits-created e-books, organised by the NUS and Hwa Chong Institution, is already in its second year.

The versatility of the program and the pride of becoming published authors keep users coming back for more.

Primary 6 pupil Bani Muhamad Iyad from Eunos Primary School has written about 10 books since he started using KooBits two years ago.

The 12-year-old said: ‘It is fun writing the stories. There are many pictures to choose from and I can shoot my own videos. I want to write as many stories as possible and share them with all my friends.’

Bani Muhamad Iyad, Eunos Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=bani_author

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=367

Ryan Noel Bangras, De La Salle School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=books&search=rnbang

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=487 (That’s his only book, and many more chapters to come!)

Lorraine Ge, Nan Hua Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=books&search=lollygirl

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=476

Abdul Qadir Juilani,Eunos Primary School
http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=qadir
http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=488

Tommy Tan, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School

http://www.koobits.com/library/category.aspx?type=Books&search=tommy%20tan

http://www.koobits.com/library/detail.aspx?Type=Books&ID=462

This article was first published in The Straits Times.