The HP-NTU Digital Manufacturing Corporate Lab (Phase 1), which commenced on 1 November 2018, was a collaboration between NRF, HP Inc. and NTU. It was the 13th corporate lab supported by NRF and HP’s largest university research collaboration worldwide. The lab supported Singapore’s push toward industry transformation – in the areas of digital manufacturing and 3D printing technologies. Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering is one of four technology domains under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2020 Plan, which is Singapore’s national strategy to develop a knowledge-based innovation-driven economy and society.

The Corporate Lab’s main research themes (Phase 1) focused on advancing 3D Printing, specifically around artificial intelligence, machine learning, new materials and applications, cybersecurity and customisation.  The lab had 3 major programmes:

- 3D Printing

- Digital Systems and Artificial Intelligence

- Cybersecurity

The multidisciplinary Corporate Lab in Phase 1 involved more than 20 NTU PIs across different schools and colleges, as well as from HP, and has trained more than 70 researchers. In addition to specific research milestones within each projects, the Corp Lab supported innovation and research through creating technical disclosures, patents, papers and new products. The areas covered closed the loop on all the necessary requirements to bring innovative products to market in the digital age; incorporating both hardware & software (including data analytics for machine learning & also security features).