Corporate News

A delegation led by Mr Sun Hai-dong, Director of the Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology recently visited ASTRI’s Shenzhen Office. The delegation members held in-depth discussions on ASTRI’s Integrated Circuits R&D, Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) platform and third generation of semiconductors. They also discussed strategies to groom and nurture the next generation of technology talents. It was a useful platform for the delegation and ASTRI’s executives to share ideas and insights for mutual benefit.

 

A delegation from the China Merchants Group led by its Chairman Mr Li Jian-hong, visited ASTRI on 14 June 2018. They were welcomed to ASTRI by its Chief Executive Officer Mr Hugh Chow, and Chief Technology Officer Dr Meikei Ieong. During the visit, the delegation was briefed on ASTRI’s many R&D accomplishments displayed at the Smart City Innovation Centre. ASTRI’s executives and R&D experts discussed and exchanged insights with the delegation members about some of most topical areas of technological development such as integrated circuits.

ASTRI took part in the ‘Hong Kong 5G Industry Forum 2018’ organised by the Communications Association of Hong Kong (CAHK) on 12 June 2018. The Forum addressed Hong Kong’s 5G development roadmap and the crucial roles to be played by different ecosystem players to support the Government’s Smart City and 5G development plans. Dr MeiKei Ieong, ASTRI’s Chief Technology Officer, presented a use-case keynote on 5G Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology at the Forum.

Mr Chaucer Leung, Deputy Director General (Telecommunications) of the HKSAR Government’s Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) presented a keynote titled ‘Gearing up for ushering in the 5G era’. Mr Leung covered key issues including 5G spectrum availability, the proposed auction for spectrum allocation, utilisation of various spectrum bands, and measures to ensure a smooth and non-disruptive introduction of 5G services. He spoke about the utilisation of the C-band 3.4~4.2 GHz spectrum that are used by other services such as Satellite-based television broadcasting as well as Hong Kong’s two Telemetry, Tracking and Control Stations for the SAR’s 12 satellites which orbit the Earth. It is worth mentioning that ASTRI, in partnership with Rohde & Schwarz, recently completed a consultancy study for OFCA on mitigating measures to enable satellite-based television and 5G services to co-exist on the 3.5 GHz band spectrum.

In his presentation, Dr Ieong focused on the latest developments in the ‘Connected Vehicles’ ecosystem and shared some perspectives from industry bodies like the global 5G Automotive Association. Explaining the software and hardware architecture of the Smart Mobility solution developed by ASTRI in collaboration with other industry players, he told the audience that ATSRI’s C-V2X Networking System has already been demonstrated to support the 3GPP Release 14 (LTE based V2X). It will also comply with the upcoming Release 15 supporting the 5G standards evolution.

The event included a Panel Discussion on ‘How the mobile industry is enabling 5G and Smart City Innovation in HK’. The panellists and other keynote speakers at the event represented leading industry players from Asia-Pacific and beyond including, SK Telecom of Korea, Huawei, Hong Kong Smart City Consortium, China Mobile, HKT, SmarTone, Hutchison and GSM Association.

 

Three of ASTRI’s Smart City innovations have been honoured at the Smart City Awards 2018 organised by ET Net. The R&D projects recognised in this programme are: Outstanding Internet of Vehicles (IoV) Management System (Smart Mobility), Outstanding Internet of Things (IoT) for Smart Water Management (Smart Environment), and Outstanding Text Correction System on Mobile Devices (Smart Economy). Chosen by an esteemed jury panel headed by Honourable Charles Peter Mok, JP, Member of HKSAR Legislative Council, the awards were announced on 11 June 2018 in six categories – Smart Economy, Smart Environment, Smart Living, Smart Mobility, Smart Government and Smart Government.

Ir Allen Yeung, JP, HKSAR Government Chief Information Officer, officiated the ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, he explained the Government’s roadmap for Smart City development including the Smart City blueprint’s vision and specific goals. Keynote papers presented at the event covered a wide range of topics such as smart and green energy, smart airport and smart transportation, and enabling disrupting technologies to reshape Hong Kong’s future.

The six categories in Hong Kong Smart City Awards 2018 were aligned with the six pillars under the Hong Kong Smart City blueprint announced by the SAR Government. The awards sought to honour and recognise pioneering efforts from public, private and R&D sectors that created innovative and integrated urban solutions for a more sustainable future.

Themed ‘Smarter Innovations for a Better Hong Kong’, the Awards programme was organised by ET Net alongside the Hong Kong Smart City Summit 2018. The event explored how our city can be more liveable and resilient through better governance and planning, technological and social innovation, as well as through the collaboration between various stakeholders within the ecosystem.

 

 

ASTRI, in partnership with two other HKSAR Government-subvented R&D centres, developed a tracking and monitoring system that protects vulnerable groups like the elderly. The system, which has been applied in 11 elderly day care centres of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGH), has been chosen as the “Best Smart Care Technology Solution” at the 6th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards. The award ceremony was recently held in Singapore.

TWGH, the end-user of the system, had nominated this “Installation of anti-wandering system for Day Care Centre for the Elderly” solution for this award. The system which works simultaneously through built-in RFID, GPS and BLE trackers. It greatly reduces the risk of vulnerable senior citizens being missing from elderly homes or other care centres. In addition to making life less stressful for the caregivers, the system also facilitates the improvement of elderly-caregiver ratio and overall service quality. Most importantly, it allows the elderly to be more involved in outdoor activities without the risk of getting lost.

The project has been a collaborative effort of three Government-subvented institutions: Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), Hong Kong Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) and Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA). These quangos, bringing together their collective strength and expertise, developed a tracking system to improve elderly-care. While LSCM contributed the RFID and GPS tracking system, HKRITA designed a special vest which houses the RFID tracker, GPS tracker and the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) device hardware. ASTRI provided the proximity monitoring system through BLE, responsible for the whole system integration, hosting the main server. ASTRI also conducted the system’s trial at TWGH facilities and Wong Chung Tong Day Care Centre for the Elderly.

The ‘6th Asia Pacific Eldercare Innovation Awards’ is widely revered as the ‘Oscar for the Eldercare sector’ in the Asia-Pacific region. This year, the award nominees and participants represented 19 countries and territories from across the region.

 

Mr. Andrey Belozerov, Advisor of Smart City Development of Moscow City visited ASTRI on 7 June 2018. He met with Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President of Next Generation Network to exchange views and insights on the development of smart city . Mr Belozerov was shown a series of ASTRI’s smart city technologies such as the V2X and 5G solutions.

Organised by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST)’s Fok Ying Tung Research Institute, a group of 40 senior executives from Guangzhou’s major enterprises visited ASTRI on 31 May 2018. The training program focused heavily on Innovation Technology and Big Data business, so we invited Dr Yu Tao, Director of Big Data Analytics to share ASTRI’s technology research in big data analytics. Dr Yu also shared some real-life examples of data analytics applications in Hong Kong. In addition, we also had Dr Kangheng Wu, Principal Engineer to talk about ASTRI’s Blockchain solutions and some other Fintech business cases. The participants found the sharing interesting and practical.

 

A group of 15 students and teaching staff from the Department of Electronical & Electronic Engineering of the University of Hong Kong visited ASTRI on 31 May, 2018. The aim of this visit is to showcase the latest technological solutions of ASTRI and help the students understand the latest development trends in I&T as well as the career prospect in I&T research.

During the visit, they were shown a series of new technologies at ASTRI’s “Smart City Innovation Centre” including V2X and 5 G solutions. ASTRI’s experts also shared with them their work experience.  Both the teachers and students found the visit very fruitful and inspiring.

 

 

 

Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of HKSAR, hosted a reception today for Hong Kong’s winners at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2018. With a total of 14 awards, ASTRI has been the most awarded institution from Hong Kong at this global showcase of technological innovation. Mrs Lam urged Hong Kong’s I&T community to leverage their collective strength – from the academia to R&D centres and I&T quangos to the industry – and seize existing and emerging opportunities. She stressed the importance of grooming technology talents and delivering value-added innovations to secure a bright future for Hong Kong in the local, national and global stage.

Over a hundred people – including a few professors and scholars, university students, and ASTRI’s own R&D professionals – attended a Tech-Talk session organised by ASTRI on Friday, 18 May 2018. Professor Jospeh Y Hui, a globally famous MIT alumnus, delivered two intriguing lectures on “How Should Hong Kong Cool Itself in Global Warming?” and “Can Hong Kong be a Smart Aeronautical and Aerospace Hub?”

The Tech-Talk session followed a small celebration event to mark ASTRI’s grand success at the recent International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva. With 14 awards won at the event – three of them accompanied by Congratulations from the Jury – ASTRI has been one of the most awarded organisations among Hong Kong participants in the event. Mr Hugh Chow – ASTRI’s CEO, congratulated the winning teams for their remarkable achievement, and reiterated ASTRI’s commitment to keep innovating to help institutions, strengthen businesses and improve people’s lives. After the celebration, Professor Hui took the stage to share his incredible insights through two powerful talks lasting over two hours.

Growing up in Hong Kong, the Professor is all too familiar with the city’s hot and humid climate. He also took note of the amount of electricity we consume and the annoying level of “social nuisance caused by water dripping from air-conditioning units.” He has invented air-conditioners that run on “jet engines” instead of conventional compression systems. From portable air-conditioners to units large enough for residential or commercial use, Professor Hui’s invention can keep the ambience cool and comfortable, at a tiny fraction of the global warming caused by conventional cooling systems, and with significantly better energy efficiency.

Professor Hui’s second lecture focused on rocket-powered aircrafts that can transport small shipments to passengers to large volumes of goods. He shared the design of an innovative turbine engine which can lift aircrafts with much less fuel to burn. His design could be used for unmanned aviation vehicles or automated air taxis – rockets that are cheaper to build and easier to fly. These engines allow vertical take-off and landing just like helicopters, and the booster rockets can return to the launch site for reuse.

The audience was captivated with the passionate enthusiasm in Professor Hui’s lectures, drawing lots of curious questions from the audience. Other topics discussed in the session included the importance of a strong technology talent pipeline in Hong Kong, and inspiring the city’s youth into studying and embracing science. Professor Hui revealed to the audience that he is already in discussions with institutions like the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hong Kong Science Park and ASTRI to explore setting up an R&D hub that will materialise his ideas.

Professor Joseph Y Hui grew up in Hong Kong, and completed his BS, MS and PhD degrees from MIT. He has worked in major technology enterprises like Bell Labs, Comsat, Bellcore, and IBM, and has taught in leading international universities  all-over the world. He holds many patents; wrote several books including the latest series ‘What’s the Matter with Energy’; and is a serial entrepreneur whose goal is to help people live a comfortable and sustainable life.