COVID-19

Robots filling gaps in Singapore's workforce after COVID-19 disruptions

Discover how businesses in Singapore are turning to robots to fill workforce gaps caused by COVID-19 disruptions. From surveying construction sites to scanning library bookcases and even customer-facing duties at metro stations, autonomous solutions like the four-legged robot Spot by Boston Dynamics are reducing the need for on-site staff. Find out how technology adoption and automation have accelerated in response to the decline in foreign workers, pushing Singapore towards a more robot-reliant future.

Medriva Newsroom

24 Dec 2022 03:07 EST

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During the epidemic, it was difficult to recruit people, which is why businesses in Singapore have started using robots to do a range of jobs, including surveying construction sites and scanning library bookcases. More than 30 metro stations now employ them for customer-facing duties.The city-state is heavily reliant on foreign employees, but the number of these workers declined by 235,700 between December 2019 and September 2021, according to the personnel ministry, which notes that COVID-19 limits have pushed up "the speed of technology adoption and automation" by firms.

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Using a four-legged robot called Spot, manufactured by US company Boston Dynamics, construction company Gammon monitors the progress of work on a Singapore building site, receiving data from the robot's sensors.

Spot, according to Gammon's general manager Michael O'Connell, reduced the number of employees needed to one from two earlier.

"Autonomous solutions are getting significant traction" in replacing the requirement for on-site staff, according to Mr. O'Connell.

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