A new public housing estate in Singapore, launching next year, will install sensors to monitor residents’ waste disposal, it has been announced. The housing authority will then analyse the data collected to deploy resources for waste collection.

The Punggol Northshore district, with an estimated 6000 new units, is the first test bed for smart technologies in public housing. The trial, if successful, will be expanded in other estates. “This will enhance the planning, design and maintenance of HDB estates to bring about a more liveable, efficient, sustainable and safe living environment,” announced the Housing Development Board.

The sensors will be complemented by a smart pneumatic waste conveyance system - a network of vacuum pipes - which will also be implemented in the two other new housing estates - Bidadari and Tampines North.

The Punggol Northshore district will also feature other smart technologies such as intelligent car parks and smart lighting.

Every car park will be installed with intelligent parking demand monitoring system. During the day when residents with season parking ticket are out, the system will automatically increase the number of available lots for visitors. The ratio will change again nearer the end of the day when residents are returning home.

The flats will also feature sensors to track human traffic patterns and automatically reduce lighting to 30% in common areas when there is little or no human traffic. The Singapore government expects energy usage to reduce as much as 40%.

The estate is designed to be “a smart and sustainable district”. The design focuses on “enhancing the living environment for residents through the use of new technologies and connecting residents to greenery,” according to the Housing Development Board.