Insights + interviews
11 Singapore companies to showcase their products at the 2019 IFA
The Active Age attended a media event that gathered all 11 companies participating at IFA this year. Organised by the Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce and IFA, the Singapore-based companies sell products ranging from lifestyle, to health and to fintech.
The Active Age spoke with four of the companies heading to Berlin for the 2019 IFA this year.
myFirst: myFirst reinvents learning by embracing technology as a gateway to your child’s cognitive development in the smart world we now live in.
the Active Age (AA): What’s the inspiration behind My First and creating products that adults use, but instead for kids?
G-Jay Yong (GJY): We are all young parents ourselves and through simple observation (found) that there is a huge gap in the market for smart educational technology. We have a long track record of identifying needs in the market and fulfilling these needs. We just want what prepares our kids (for) the best in life and there was nothing out there. Existing brands almost always targeted 1-month to 2 year olds and are often limited to physical backdated toys.
We recognized the need for kids to engage with technological advancements which helps in their cognitive development.
AA: Why do you think kids will enjoy such products?
GJY: Technology is all around us and it’s not going to go away. We take technology for granted in our everyday lives as adults, but as kids, technology can enchant, intrigue and bring out the best in learning development.
We right-size the product to fit the kids, like how our cameras fit nicely in their hands and the interface is simple yet catered to functions that kids enjoy. Contrast that to a kid using a normal DSLR which would be too big, too heavy and too complicated for them.
You see a face of pure joy when a kid plays with our products, because it just fits.
AA: How did you pick your product mix i.e. watch, camera, drone etc?
GJY: People often mistakenly correlate technology to screen time on a smart phone (which (we agree) too much is not good for kids), but technology is so much more than just a smart phone.
The main driver is a real-world need. For example, connectivity with your child, by not giving them their own phone, but yet staying connected through a MyFirst Fone which is a phone in a watch. Parents can access their kids GPS location, make phone calls, text/voice message or even live video calls.
Another real-world need is confidence building. We have also designed a Bluetooth Microphone speaker that’s fun for the kids to practice singing with feedback and build up their public speaking and performance skills and hence confidence.
Behind every product, there is always a real-world need to combine technology with learning, connectivity or security. For example:
- myFirst Voice – Improve their confidence and singing skill
- myFirst 3dPen – Improve creativity and imagination to create 3d object
- myFirst Sketch – Improve the sketching and writing skill without wasting the paper
- myFirst Camera – To Cultivate their photography skill, art sense and composition of image with Safety aspect like lightweight, handy etc
AA: What do you hope to achieve at IFA?
GJY: We do hope to introduce this exciting concept of myFirst to retailers and hope to duplicate what we have done successfully in the Singapore, South East Asia and Japan market to the European market.
uHoo: uHoo has developed the most advanced indoor air sensor that detects 9 air quality parameters in one device the size of a coffee mug. All the data, alerts, insights and recommendations are available to users via a mobile app, and to enterprises also a web dashboard, to help create healthier and safer homes and workplaces
AA: How did you come up with the concept?
Dustin Jefferson Onghanseng (DJO): Both founders (Dustin and Brian) have had respiratory conditions since childhood. Dustin has hay fever (allergic rhinitis) while Brian has asthma. During our MBA program in Hong Kong, our allergies would often surface in the dormitories and the school building. We eventually discovered it was due to the air we were breathing in indoors. We dove deep into research and found out that people around the world are suffering the same fate. We knew we had to find a way to solve the problem, not just to help ourselves with their own allergies, but to help improve the lives of people from around the world. We eventually dropped our classes and incorporated uHoo with the goal of providing people with the means to understand the air they breathe.
AA: Who was it built for?
DJO: We cater to three different markets – home, business and government. Home users utilise uHoo to prevent asthma and allergies and ensure they have a clean and healthy environment. Parents particularly use it to have peace of mind that they’re children are safe. Businesses utilise uHoo to improve employee health and productivity, reduce complaints, obtain sustainability certifications, and be greener. Governments, on the other hand, utilise our data to develop better environmental and health policies.
AA: How does it work?
DJO: You just need to plug in uHoo to a power source (micro-USB powered) and connect it to a WiFi network. You will get all the data, insights, alerts and tips on the app. You can integrate uHoo with Alexa and Google Home and other devices via IFTTT. Business and government customers can integrate uHoo directly into their building management system and automate building control.
AA: What do you hope to achieve at IFA?
DJO: We aim to secure distributors in different countries and also secure more corporate clients across Europe.
Popsical (Charaku Pte Ltd): Popsical is the world’s smallest and smartest karaoke system with an ever growing library of songs. We were incepted on October 2015 in Singapore as a start-up on kick starter.
AA: How does Popsical change the way karaoke is done at home?
Firdaus Fami (FF): Popsical revolutionises home karaoke through versatility and simplicity via the hardware and software approach. It enables end users to setup the hardware system easily via a HDMI cable to the TV and AUX/RCA to any speaker. The software, Popsical app makes the interface easy to use in terms of song selection, sound settings etc. It is also more inclusive by enabling anyone who has the app to control the system using their phones, tablets, iPad.
AA: What is the current model, and how does Popsical hope to disrupt this?
FF: Conventionally karaoke systems are bulky, difficult to setup and utilises song delivery via a hard disk approach or CD Player. The current models also require separate mixers, amplifiers, microphone and receivers to have a full karaoke experience.
Popsical is the world’s smallest and smartest, all in one karaoke device. It leverages on cloud streaming platform for karaoke delivery meaning it does not have the same limitation in terms of song library size of conventional system which has a fixed storage space.
Cloud based systems are online, requiring internet connection which also means that updates are real time. Popsical updates its song library on a daily basis, ensuring an ever-growing library. The Popsical app also removes the requirement to purchase an additional touch screen interface such as the current systems in the market to control the system.
We have designed Popsical to be versatile and easy to use whereby all an end user needs is just a HDMI compatible TV and any sound bar with an AUX/RCA connection as opposed to Karaoke sound systems that require speakers, mixers, amplifiers.
AA: Who is Popsical made for?
FF: Popsical is made for the masses, regardless of age (and is) for everyone to enjoy Karaoke as a step up entertainment at the comfort of their own homes.
AA: Why would customers set up their own karaoke system vs. going to a karaoke bar, booth or shop?
FF: Popsical provides an alternative and (enhanced) form of entertainment for homes. This is definitely a crowd puller and fun activity to have during social gatherings. Popsical is also a great investment because it saves cost in the long term as compared to going to a karaoke, users save on transport, paying for the karaoke experience which is limited to a few hours and the food and beverages.
AA: What do you hope to achieve at IFA?
FF: We hope to introduce our brand to global consumers (and this will help us) to scale and expand our business.
We would also like to get feedback for us to improve and enhance our system capability, user requirements to ensure we meet the demands and expectation of consumers for the various markets.
Actxa: Actxa is the leading brand and company in Singapore for preventive health and fitness wearables. Headquartered in Singapore, the Actxa family shares a passion for inspiring and enabling positive change in the world, beginning with every person’s health and well-being – across every stage in life. What we seek to create are not merely smart products and services, but holistic experiences that facilitate fuller, richer living.
AA: How did Actxa come up with the concept?
Heylee Yeow (HY): Inspired by our partnership with the National Steps Challenge in 2015, we saw an opportunity to further empower the masses so that they can take even more steps towards improving their health and well-being. With each new product and service released, we added more impactful features.
Our latest flagship product is the Actxa Spur+, an all-day activity tracker with continuous heart rate monitoring that features VO2 Max and Fitness Age measurements. It has seen good uptake among our target demographics, and that gives us the confidence to keep building on the relative success we’ve achieved thus far.
AA: What is preventive health in the context of your product?
HY: We believe that preventive health begins with understanding and being aware of the factors that keep us healthy, knowing how to set the right goals, and then forming the right habits to achieve those goals, whether it is to maintain or improve on an individual’s state of health.
Finding the right balance between an active yet balanced lifestyle is the key, and Actxa’s products and services are designed to do just that: measure, trend, analyse and present information (fitness, physique, physical activity, sleep, stress and recovery balance, amongst others) to individuals and groups that is easy to understand and actionable towards their goals.
AA: How should a customer best use your product for optimal results?
HY: Individual customers will get the best results when they use a combination of our body composition smart scale and fitness tracker. Once a baseline has been established, these individuals will have gained insights on their current body composition and physical activity levels, and are empowered to set the right goals and monitor their progress towards achieving those goals.
Groups such as communities, organisations and corporations will get the best results by educating, engaging and motivating their members towards forming balanced and healthy lifestyle habits that are aligned with the group’s goals, through a platform like Actxa’s Group and Corporate Challenges.
AA: What are you hoping to achieve at IFA?
HY: At IFA 2019, we hope to increase global exposure of Actxa’s brand, mission and vision, and our products and services.
We believe that being at IFA will also allow us to better understand the preventive health market and competitive landscape to strengthen our product development and market strategies.
All images are provided by the respective companies featured in this article.
