How Singapore is turning to technology to control its trees
For a city known the world over as a bustling commercial and commercial hub, one of the most striking things about Singapore is how green it is.
As important as open spaces are, nature is a vital part of the island nation’s psyche, with citizens flocking to the parks, beaches and gardens in their spare time, and in a city where the future Constantly reinventing itself, what better way to make sure your vegetation persists than through smart technology?
Tech Radar Pro You’ve already taken a look at how IoT technology keeps city lawns looking good, but it seems the natural reach extends to the trees themselves, too.
Be Green
Despite its crowded streets and office blocks, Singapore is proud to call itself a garden city, and nowhere is this clearer than in its Botanic Gardens.
Established in 1859, the gardens are a UNESCO world heritage site and are a popular destination for citizens and tourists alike to relax, exercise, or simply sit and gaze at the thousands of plant species on display.
The gardens are run by the government’s National Parks Board (NParks), which manages and oversees a host of different tasks as it seeks to transition from a garden city to what Tan Chong Lee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer says. Tech Radar Pro it will be “a city in a garden”.
NParks has fully embraced Singapore’s affinity for technology, and Lee noted that it has around 150 research and digitization projects currently underway as it seeks to take a science-based approach to its future work.
One of its largest projects involves the care and management of around two million urban trees throughout the island. With Singapore boasting a total of around seven million trees, they offer a welcome respite from the concrete jungle of the city’s commercial districts, helping to clean up pollution and cooler temperatures.
But to ensure this vital resource remains protected, NParks, in partnership with Govtech, the technology arm of the Singapore government, has now brought the two million trees it cares for online. Using Lidar and machine learning technology, each tree is scanned to create a digital twin of itself that is uploaded to a virtual map that presents the city.
In addition to providing a location of the tree, this digital twin offers information such as height and girth, which can be compared to the average rates for its species to identify how it will grow and when it will need to be pruned.
As any gardener knows, pruning is vital to encouraging new growth, but for urban trees, it can also be an important safety protocol, as overgrowing branches can block traffic signs or speed warnings. The data produced by the digital twin can be modeled to detect when urgent jobs are needed, reducing wasted resources and manpower while maintaining a high level of security.
However, the information can also be used to benefit the trees themselves. Satellite images can be used to detect trees with a lower chlorophyll rate, showing up yellow or brown, alerting them that they need immediate attention. The board has also attached wireless tilt sensors to trees that might be at risk of falling, offering data on how far they may be leaning.
All of these technologies have so far helped reduce the annual number of what Lee calls “tree incidents” from 3,000 in the year 2000 to less than 500 so far in 2022.
To create further connection, all two million trees are also listed online on the TreesSG Online Database (opens in a new tab). Users can access the database to find trees near them, report any problems they’ve detected, and even email trees to thank them for the natural benefits they provide.
So it seems that when it comes to staying on top of your health, it might as well be the trees that do it, it certainly has for Singapore.
