ST Engineering Unveils $250M AI Programme To Advance Human-Machine Teamwork

When buildings collapse or floods strike, every second counts. Robots working in sync can help guide rescuers with real-time insights, prioritise victims based on risk, and keep communications intact in chaotic environments.

That vision has already moved from theory to practice through ST Engineering’s Manned-Unmanned Teaming Operating System (MUMTOS), a cyber-secured agentic artificial intelligence (AI) command and control platform that unifies physical AI with sensors, comms connectivity, and unmanned assets at scale.

Acting as the “brain” of human-machine collaboration, MUMTOS synchronises drones, robots and autonomous vehicles to deliver life-risk scoring, from oxygen levels to structural stability and the number of people detected. It can also notify hospitals and dispatch ambulances, enabling faster medical response and seamless patient handovers.

MUMTOS forms the centrepiece of a five-year, 0 million AI Research Translation programme for Physical AI, which ST Engineering will fund and lead with academic and research partners. The programme aims to move robotics, swarm and humanoid solutions from concept to application, with its initial focus on strengthening teamwork between humans and unmanned systems.

AI In The Real World

To be sure, MUMTOS is derived from ST Engineering’s experiences in defence and public security (DPS) requirements. It had previously introduced an AI and machine learning-driven unmanned aircraft system (UAS) decoder that can detect drones that do not operate on commonly used bands of communication.

This was unveiled at the IMDEX 2025 naval and defence exhibition in Singapore, held from May 6 to May 8. ST Engineering also developed the RF Drone Decoder 1000, which utilises AI and ML to detect the existence of communication protocols and signals that may be generated by a UAS and its operator.

Beyond defence-oriented innovations, the group launched its AI-enabled threat elimination and response (AETHER) service for organisations and users at the group’s fourth Cybersecurity Summit on July 4.  AETHER works in three stages to provide SMEs what the group calls “comprehensive protection”, providing end-to-end and real-time 24/7 monitoring of threats.

MUMTOS is another solution launched by ST Engineering, adapted for commercial problems. This is demonstrated by a trial where it was used to enable autonomous harvesting in an oil palm plantation, shares Low Jin Phang, ST Engineering’s president of Digital Systems, at the company’s InnoTech conference today.

The trial orchestrated drones, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors through a private 5G network beneath dense palm canopies. “Validated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, our MUMTOS achieved impressive bandwidths in 5G connectivity in open roads and under canopy, doubling the operational range of the UGVs. The setup is currently planned for proliferation across other plantations with our partners,” says Low.

MUMTOS, adds Low, is an open platform that can continuously incorporate new innovations. For example, it now features eNose sensors, which enable robots to detect and identify more than 23 types of gases in the open.

Building Bilingual AI Talent

ST Engineering is also preparing its workforce for the shift, arguing that “humans are [still] needed to interpret insights, make nuanced choices and guide AI towards meaningful outcomes,” says Low.

The company has already trained 10,000 staff in AI foundations. It aims to build a pool of 5,000 AI engineers over the next few years, including 1,000 AI specialists focusing on the development of AI modules, cybersecurity for AI, and agentic AI systems.

Singapore's Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo lauds ST Engineering’s move to build “bilingual AI talents.” She describes them as people whose “mother tongues” are their domain expertise, now learning the language of their AI teammate to transform their work and improve outcomes.

She notes that ST Engineering’s space engineers, for example, are already using AI to optimise structural layouts of satellites and efficiently test thousands of design permutations.

“These bilingual AI talents and their AI teammate are a formidable team. They will be pathfinders and pacesetters for meaningful AI adoption not just in ST Engineering but everywhere,” she says at the same event.