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  Today Online 29 Nov 06
Genting's IR bid gets a DNA boost

Today Online 29 Nov 06
Atlantis, complete with fish and (micro)chips
Tech wizards behind Free Willy promise life-like robots, personalised experiences in Kerzner Sentosa IR
Tor Ching Li

Channel NewsAsia 29 Nov 06
Walt Conti to create animatronics for Kerzner's proposed Sentosa IR project
By Loh Kim Chin

Channel NewsAsia 29 Nov 06
Genting to include biomed research centre in its Sentosa IR bid
By Ng Shing Yi

The Business Times (Singapore) 29 Nov 06
Kerzner, Genting delve deeper into their IR plans
All three bidders wrap up final presentations to govt officials
By DANIEL BUENAS

(SINGAPORE) The end of the bidding battle for the Sentosa integrated resort is in sight, and as the contenders wrap up their final presentations to the government, all three have started to spell out the details of their concepts.

After an apparent media blitz by Eighth Wonder - the company has been holding daily press events since Sunday - Kerzner International and Genting International yesterday revealed more details of their resort plans.

Kerzner, which has teamed up with CapitaLand in its bid, held a lunchtime press conference to elaborate on its concept of having robotic plants and fish nestled among real marine creatures and vegetation. It said it intends to use RFID (radio frequency identification) technology which will allow visitors to its resort, called Atlantis Sentosa, to interact with robotic fish, plants and imaginary creatures just by walking past them.

Kerzner's international division president Tobin Prior said the robots could, for example, greet visitors in their native language, even wishing them happy birthday on the appropriate day. They could also sense a visitor's movement, and respond accordingly, he said.

To build and design these robots, the consortium has tied up with Walt Conti, the founder of Edge Innovations, a company which has created hyper-realistic aquatic-based robotic characters for Hollywood movies such as Free Willy, Anaconda and Deep Blue Sea.

The consortium is also working with experts from the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Robotics Research Centre at Nanyang Technological University.

'It will be the biggest collection of robotic creatures and robots in the world,' Mr Prior said, although he declined to reveal the exact number of robots or how much the consortium would spend on them.

Yesterday evening, Genting International - which has partnered with Universal Studios and Star Cruises - met the media after its final presentation to government officials in Sentosa.

During the press briefing, Genting International chairman Lim Kok Thay told reporters that its Malaysian resort is set for a record year in terms of revenue and visitor figures. He said the total number of tourists that visited Universal Studios, Genting Highlands, Star Cruises and Stanley Leisure amounted to some 71 million over the last 12 months.

'So if tourists are what Singapore wants for the integrated resort, we believe our submission will be able to more than satisfy what Singapore wants,' Mr Lim said.

Genting also unveiled details of the discovery and learning elements of its Maritime Xperiential Museum, a major attraction at its proposed Resorts World at Sentosa resort.

The museum will be home to the Marine Environmental Genomics Research and Learning Centre, which will be set up by the J Craig Venter Institute. The institute was founded by Dr J Craig Venter, who has been credited as the chief architect of the team to sequence the first genome in 1995, and the human genome in 2000.

Dr Venter, who was present at the briefing, said that if Genting wins the bid, his institute would base its research sailing vessel - the Sorcerer II - at the museum as both an exhibit and a research vessel.

The vessel is currently involved in a global expedition to analyse ocean water samples for new life forms and to study their genetic makeup. Dr Venter says visitors would be able to do actual sampling and analysis of life in the waters that surround Singapore and South-east Asia.

'Visitors at the museum will learn more about this monumental project and see live picture feeds of the actual gene sequencing work taking place at the Venter Institute in Maryland, USA,' Genting said in a statement. 'Children from Asia will have the opportunity to learn current genomics and bioscience concepts through hands-on, inquiry-based programmes.'

Today Online 29 Nov 06
Atlantis, complete with fish and (micro)chips
Tech wizards behind Free Willy promise life-like robots, personalised experiences in Kerzner Sentosa IR
Tor Ching Li chingli@mediacorp.com.sg

SO REALISTIC was the robotic killer whale used in the 1993 movie Free Willy that the real whale star reportedly grew attracted to it. And did you know that the killer whales used in its sequel and third instalment were not blood and blubber, but pure animatronic magic?

Some 15 years on and nearly US$40 million ($62 million) dollars' worth of research and development later, Mr Walt Conti and his design-cum-engineering firm--Edge Innovation--hope to bring that emotive technology to Kerzner-CapitaLand's Atlantis Sentosa.

Said Mr Conti: "Like live animals, the robotic animals will have different moods and personalities. It's about enriching, not supplanting, sea life. "We're here to create things that you will never see anywhere else, that are able to emote and connect with people as characters."

Visitors can expect to find "hundreds of thousands" of animatronic creatures of varying sophistication, from tiny plants in the Gardens of Robotanica to curious and interactive sea creatures in the coral lagoon or Aquasphere zone.

For instance, a proposed robotic dolphin will be able to mimic the facial gestures of a curious onlooker. But Mr Tobin Prior, president of Kerzner's international division, said that there will be "thousands more real fish than robotic fish".

Said Mr Prior: "It's not about robots. It's about celebrating the sea and using technology to enrich that experience."

According to Mr Conti, tests have shown that the robotic sea creatures will coexist peacefully with their real counterparts. The robotic fish have no negative impact on the behaviour of real fish, and the materials they are built with--mainly fibreglass, titanium and silicone skin--are not harmful to the fish either.

A team of around 20 staff will be needed to take care of the robotic fish, with the manufacturing process split between the United States and Singapore.

Mr Prior foresees teaming up with local partners for the implementation and development of the technology required. One such area will be the use of RFID--radio frequency identification--technology, in the form of ID tags for each visitor, to make for a unique experience. This will allow the visitor's profile and preferences to be stored in a database and carried about with him or her on an ID tag that will grant admittance to various zones that have been pre-paid for.

In the casino, chips will be equip-ped with RFID too, allowing Kerzner to track a game while preventing fraud. The robotic creatures will also be able to recognise the RFID-tagged visitor--taking in such details as a guest's nationality--and then interact with him or her using the appropriate language, said Mr Prior.

What visitors will probably not see are robotic "characters" in the mould of cartoon icons. "We're not trying to create a theme park here," said Mr Prior, "We're not trying to create another Donald Duck."

Channel NewsAsia 29 Nov 06
Walt Conti to create animatronics for Kerzner's proposed Sentosa IR project
By Loh Kim Chin

The Kerzner-CapitaLand consortium has introduced the latest member of its team for the Sentosa integrated resort bid. He is Walt Conti, the man who is instrumental in the success of such Hollywood blockbusters as Anaconda, Flipper and Deep Blue Sea.

His company, Edge Innovations, was also nominated for an Academy Award for its work on The Perfect Storm. Mr Conti will create the animatronics for Kerzner's proposed Atlantis Sentosa project.

Animatronics are life-like computer animations seen commonly in videogames and movies. And the man behind the animatronics says visitors to the Sentosa resort will be able to get up close and interact with robotic characters as well as real live fish.

Walt Conti, Founder, Edge Innovations, said: "There's not going to be a division between the robotic characters and the real fish. They have to be compatible, so it's very important that they don't traumatise the fish and we find the fish accept them readily. The materials are very important. They have to be materials that don't pollute the water or affect the fish." -
CNA/ch

Channel NewsAsia 29 Nov 06
Genting to include biomed research centre in its Sentosa IR bid
By Ng Shing Yi

SINGAPORE : The Genting International-Star Cruises consortium has roped in leading genomics scientist, Dr J Craig Venter, to boost its bid for the Sentosa Integrated Resort (IR). Dr Venter will set up a research and learning centre on Sentosa, if the consortium wins the IR bid.

Lim Kok Thay, Chairman, Genting International, said: "As you know, Singapore is also aiming to be a biomed hub in the region. I believe the Craig Venter institute will be able to assist, not only to develop an education programme for young visitors to the Integrated Resort, but also attract other serious scientists and therefore also establish this as a learning centre."

The research centre will be located within the Maritime Museum, another one of Genting's proposed attractions for Sentosa. Dr Venter plans to research the rich micro-organism diversity in the oceans at the Sentosa facility.

The museum will also feature 6 floating replicas of ships used along the Asian maritime silk route up to the 16th century. The Genting consortium is one of three bidders for the IR. The winner is expected to be announced early next month. - CNA/ch

Today Online 29 Nov 06
Genting's IR bid gets a DNA boost

THE Genting International-Star Cruises consortium has roped in leading genomics scientist, Dr J Craig Venter, to boost its bid for the Sentosa integrated resort.

Dr Venter has been credited as a chief architect of the team that in 1995 sequenced the first genome--a complete DNA sequence. He will set up a research and learning centre on Sentosa, to be located within the Maritime Xperiential Museum.

Dr Ventor plans to conduct research for the rich micro-organism diversity in the Earth's oceans.

According to Genting, the Maritime Xperiential Museum will be the only museum in the world dedicated to the celebration of Asia's maritime heritage. Another major feature of the museum will be replicas of six period tall ships commonly used along the Asian maritime Silk Route up to the 16th century.

This will be overseen by Dr Ray Ashley, executive director of San Diego Maritime Museum. He is already building a replica of San Salvador, the ship used by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on his uncompleted voyage from North America to China in 1542, now--in time for it to sail to Sentosa in 2010, should Genting win.
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