Case Study

Tech Scouting for Changi Airport Group

Category: Highlight, Corporate InnovationIndustry: AI, Transportation, Robotics, Facility Management

Background

Singapore Changi Airport, consistently ranked as the “World’s Best Airport,” is reinforcing its technological leadership through the 2025 Terminal 5 development. To address Singapore’s labor shortage and aging workforce challenges, the airport group is prioritizing robotic solutions across four key operational areas: facility management, F&B retail, airside operations, and equipment maintenance. Partnering with XNode as its China strategic partner, Changi is establishing systematic connections with China’s robotics innovation ecosystem.

Challenge

  • China Market Knowledge Gap: As an overseas operator, Changi Airport lacks systematic understanding of China’s fragmented robotics supply chain and technology evolution paths, making it difficult to accurately assess vendor capabilities.
  • Cross-Border Collaboration Challenges: Differences in language, business culture, and working styles (e.g., customization timelines, real-time feedback expectations) create initial coordination friction, requiring cross-cultural technical alignment.
  • High Trust-Building Costs: International clients must invest significant resources to verify Chinese companies’ technical reliability without local teams for market validation.
  • Stringent Technical Requirements: Airport operations demand extreme robot stability/safety (e.g., non-disruptive operation in crowded areas, 30-second floor drying), necessitating joint innovation with vendors to adapt products beyond conventional applications.

Value Delivered

  • Localization Bridge: Delivered comprehensive analysis of China’s robotics ecosystem, enabling clients to identify vendors’ technical strengths versus mass-production limitations.
  • Precision Matching: Translated operational requirements into technical evaluation criteria, shortlisting 20+ high-potential Chinese robotics firms. Leveraged XNode’s proprietary assessment framework to accelerate due diligence and solution evaluation.
  • Bidirectional Alignment: Facilitated pre-engagement discussions to ensure mutual understanding of Changi’s operational needs and collaboration models, laying groundwork for commercial negotiations.
  • Collaboration Framework: Pioneered a cross-border innovation process featuring “scenario access → co-development → phased testing”. Using Changi as a benchmark, guided Chinese cleaning robot companies through “transport hub + retail complex” hybrid scenarios as overseas beachheads.

Results

  • Ecosystem Immersion: Facilitated Changi Airport’s delegation visits to China’s tech hubs (Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing), conducting in-depth sessions with 13 shortlisted vendors to align technical capabilities with operational requirements through:
    • On-site requirement mapping
    • Product iteration workshops
    • Technology gap analysis
  • Implementation Roadmap: Currently advancing pilot negotiations, with scheduled operational testing at Changi Airport to validate:
    • Scenario adaptation capabilities
    • Cross-border compliance performance
    • ROI measurement frameworks

Corporate Services

  • Innovation Intelligence and Analysis
  • Ecosystem Engagement
  • Tech Scouting
  • Innovation Acceleration Program
  • Investment and Commercialization
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