Public Sector / Vertical Transport
HDB Smart Lift Intelligence
Singapore has one of the world's highest-density vertical living environments. HDB alone operates 26,000+ lifts serving millions of residents daily. For decades, lift maintenance has been reactive — breakdowns trigger dispatches, inspections run on fixed schedules, and aging monitoring hardware runs on closed, 1-to-1 architectures that can't scale, can't update, and can't defend against modern cyber threats.
Recognized at the National Stage
Recognition
On 5–6 February 2026, the HDB Smart Lift project was featured at the Urban Solutions & Sustainability R&I Congress 2026 — MND and MSE's flagship national platform for urban innovation, convening 2,000+ stakeholders across government, industry, and academia under the theme “Re-inventing Cities of Tomorrow.”
SoftGrid and HDB jointly presented the project to Mr Chee Hong Tat, Minister for National Development, as a showcase example of research-to-market translation in Singapore's built environment sector.
The Congress also marked MND's announcement of a Built Environment AI Centre of Excellence and a USS Translation Fund — a clear national signal that AI-driven facility intelligence is core infrastructure for Singapore's urban future.
Photo highlights from Day 1 of the USS R&I Congress 2026.
Full programme report and key announcements from the Congress.
Official media release on the Built Environment AI initiatives.
Congress 2026
What We Built
The Solution
An integrated hardware + AI system, deployed as two tightly coupled layers.
Enhanced LMD (The Edge Layer)
Rebuilding the nervous system of 10,000+ lifts.
- 2-way Communication — Live telemetry between every lift, the Tele-monitoring System, and HDB Smart Hub.
- 1-to-10 Multi-lift Connectivity — One LMD now supports up to 10 lifts, replacing the legacy 1-to-1 architecture. A 10x reduction in hardware footprint.
- OTA Firmware Updates — Every device in the field, upgradable remotely. No truck rolls. No downtime.
- Open & Secure Comms — Non-proprietary interface with end-to-end encryption and authentication. Built for a decade of cybersecurity evolution.
Remote Monitoring & Predictive Diagnosis (The Intelligence Layer)
Turning vibration, sound, and motion into foresight.
- Multi-modal Sensing — Vibration patterns, acoustic signatures, operational data — captured continuously.
- Early Fault Signature Detection — AI models trained to recognize the whisper of failure weeks before the breakdown.
- Proactive Maintenance Orchestration — Alerts routed to the right technician with the right diagnosis, not just a fault code.
- Real-time Operational Dashboard — Every lift, every state, one pane of glass.
What Changed
The Results
Results from validated field trials and post-deployment operational data.
Fault Response Time
Predictive alerts replace reactive dispatch. Technicians arrive before residents call.
Inspection Efficiency
AI triages which lifts need human eyes. Manpower goes where it matters.
Overall Lift Availability
Fewer breakdowns. Faster recovery. Millions of uninterrupted rides.
From Research Grant to National Infrastructure
The Journey
In Singapore's built environment sector, dozens of projects receive R&D funding every year. Very few complete the full journey from research grant to national deployment. This is one of them.