Press Release

[29 October 2014, Hong Kong] Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) and Hong Kong CPV Green Energy Co. Ltd. (HKCPV) have recently held an agreement signing ceremony to officially announce their long-term strategic collaboration on research and development in and applications of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology. Dr Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, and Mr Li Han, Director of HKCPV, signed the agreement on behalf of the respective companies. Close to 100 participants from the governments and the industry of Hong Kong, Qinghai, Shenzhen and Huizhou witnessed the signing.

According to the agreement, ASTRI will render long-term technical support to HKCPV in the areas related to CPV technology. CPV is a type of solar energy technologies using optics such as lenses or curved mirrors to concentrate a large amount of sunlight onto a small area of solar photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. By this the conversion efficiency of light to electricity can significantly be increased. HKCPV has already set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in the Qinghai province, preparing for power generation by CPV starting August 2015.

With the support of the Hong Kong SAR Government, ASTRI began its research in new solar photovoltaic as early as in 2009 with R&D focusing on photovoltaic battery packaging, optical receivers and reflective mirror glasses, which are regarded as indispensable by photovoltaic power plants. Granted a number of US and China patents, ASTRI’s research outputs in CPV were successfully field-tested in Hong Kong Science Park and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of Hong Kong SAR Government.

In addressing the ceremony, Mr Wong Ming-yam, Chairman of the ASTRI Board, said, “ASTRI’s world-class solar photovoltaic technology is backed by a number of unique, patent-protected designs, which not only will greatly enhance the overall efficiency of photovoltaic systems but also will reduce cost to facilitate their commercialization. I am pleased this outstanding technology of ASTRI is recognized and supported by HKCPV and will be applied to assist the development of Qinghai’s CPV industry, leveraging the province’s geographic and other advantages to build a world-class photovoltaic power plant.”

HKCPV is a high-tech company focusing on the research and development, production and marketing of new energy. Headquartered in Hong Kong, HKCPV targets its market globally to become the world’s largest manufacturer of high-power CPV battery modules and operator of power stations. Honghu Capital Co. Limited is the major shareholder of HKCPV.

(Hong Kong, 20 October 2014) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has recently won the Gold Award (Winning Internet-of-Things Technology Category) in the Hong Kong Internet-of-Things (IoT) Awards and the Best IoT Product Award in the Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards with its self-developed Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System.

The winning technology is a low-power wireless electrocardiography (ECG) device in a miniature module which allows anyone with a smartphone, tablet or PC to monitor their heart health anytime anywhere with ease. The user’s ECG data can be viewed in real-time or uploaded to a centralized data server where physicians and nurses can gain access for diagnosis purposes. The system supports multi-platform ECG software, providing a total solution for easy, convenient and effective heart health monitoring.

Mr David Kwong, Vice President and R&D Director, IC Design Group of ASTRI said, “It is very encouraging to see that the value of this healthcare technology developed by ASTRI is well recognized not only in Hong Kong but also in the region. With this mobile low-power wireless ECG device, we target to reduce patients’ healthcare costs, help prevent death related to heart diseases and enable healthy living by facilitating the deployment of Virtual Hospital.”

ASTRI’s Mobile Heart Health Monitoring System allows patients under stable condition and yet requiring constant heart monitoring to be discharged from the hospital and be monitored remotely through the System.

Readily available for commercialization, the System is planned to go through a clinical trial for exploring various user scenarios for telemedicine and e-health monitoring through active feedback from doctors and patients.

Hong Kong Internet of Things (IoT) Awards evolves from “Hong Kong RFID Awards”, an annual industry awards established by GS1 Hong Kong in 2008. The awards programme aims to showcase innovation in the field and recognize pioneering enterprises. All the winners will be honoured at GS1 Hong Kong’s 25th anniversary Gala Dinner to be held in December 2014.

Guangdong-Hong Kong IoT Awards is jointly organized by GS1 Hong Kong and Guangdong RFID Technology Service Centre. The Awards Presentation Ceremony was held in Guangzhou on 13 October 2014.

[30 September 2014, Hong Kong] Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) held the “Technologies And Healthy Ageing Symposium” today (30 September 2014) at Hong Kong Science Park, drawing about 400 participants from various sectors of the community to address the many issues connected with a rapidly ageing population and the needs for effective use of innovative technologies to support the elderly.

The full-day Symposium was opened by Mr Stephen Sui, Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare; Mr Wong Ming-yam, Chairman of the Board, ASTRI; Mr Leong Cheung, Executive Director, Charities and Community, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; and Prof. Fanny M.C. Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

In welcoming the guests, Mr Wong Ming-yam said, “It is essential for Hong Kong to establish a network that can connect the government, the elderly care service providers, industry, charitable organizations, technology experts as well as users to further promote the use of technologies for the benefit of the ageing population.”

He added that with this vision in mind, ASTRI joins force with Cadenza: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors and The CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing in organizing this Symposium, with the hope of bringing together and combining the efforts of those concerned organizations and individuals in transforming Hong Kong into an age-friendly society.

The Symposium featured nine presentations given by local and overseas experts, with President of International Society for Gerontechnology Professor Alain Franco and CEO of Singapore’s Integrated Health Information Systems Pte Ltd Dr Chong Yoke-sin delivering the keynote speeches on the topics “Ethics and Paradigms at the Intersection of Health, Care, and Economy” and “Connected Health for an Ageing Population” respectively. Other presentations covered topics related to the government’s elderly policy, the existing ecosystem and the latest technologies developed to facilitate healthy ageing.

Comprising technologists, researchers, elderly care service providers, medical device manufacturers, university professors and students, amongst others, the participants were also absorbed by two panel discussions and a number of live demonstrations of ASTRI’s advanced and elderly-friendly healthcare technologies.

Among the demonstrations are Arterial Stiffness Index Measurement Device, Reflective Pulse Oximeter and Telehealth Tablet for Vital Sign Monitoring. Being the largest Government-funded R&D centre in Hong Kong, ASTRI has devoted considerable efforts on developing healthcare technologies and some of these solutions have been successfully adopted by manufacturers in their products.

The Symposium was co-organized by Cadenza: A Jockey Club Initiative for Seniors and The CUHK Jockey Club Institute of Ageing, and was supported by Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies, Lingnan University; Communications Association of Hong Kong; eHealth Consortium; Elderly Commission; The Hong Kong Council of Social Service; Hong Kong Medical and Healthcare Device Industries Association; Innovation and Technology Commission; Institute of Active Ageing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing; and Sau Po Centre on Ageing, The University of Hong Kong.

Some of the presentations of the Symposium is available for downloading. Please click here for further information.

(Hong Kong, 19 September 2014) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) successfully performed a live demonstration of an End-to-End LTE Small Cell Network Solution at  “Mobile Broadband Development Summit Forum and LTE TDD/FDD Product Exhibition” held in Hsinchu, Taiwan from 16 to 18 September 2014. The event was organized by Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI), together with Taiwan’s Industry and Technology Research Institute (ITRI).

ASTRI’s End-to-End Small Cell Network system demonstrated at the event consists of a TD-LTE small cell jointly developed with Sunnada and an x86 general server based Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solution. Both the TD-LTE small cell and EPC, which are commercially ready for deployment, have been extensively tested. One of the tests was Interoperability Test with equipment from multiple vendors. The overall system provides a high performance and cost effective solution, which is suitable for small and medium sized LTE network deployments.

GTI is a global TD-LTE international industry organization, which leads the development of global TD-LTE technical specifications for building competitive global TDD industry and joint promotion of TD-LTE maturation and global deployment. Members of GTI include major international carriers as well as manufactures in the LTE eco-system etc.

A member of GTI, ASTRI has been developing LTE technologies since 2008. ASTRI’s LTE technologies include LTE small cell baseband, EPC, small cell gateway Internet Protocol (IP) security gateway, and high-performance multi-core packet processing protocol stacks (FastGate).

(Chinese release. Please refer to the Chinese site for details.)

[17 September 2014, Hong Kong/Shenzhen] Today (17 September) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute held its annual event Industry and University Consultation Forum (IUCF) at Grand Hyatt Shenzhen introducing about 120 technical projects to around 250 participants from different sectors.

The Forum was kicked off by (from left) Mr Wong Ming-yam, Prof. Tony Chan,  Mr Vincent Tang and Dr Frank Tong

Prof. Tony F. Chan addressing the audiences of ASTRI’s Forum

At the Forum’s panel discussion themed “Advancing I&T through collaboration among Academia, R&D Centres and Industry”, Prof. Tony F. Chan; Prof. Roland Chin, Deputy Chancellor and Provost, The University of Hong Kong; Prof. Alex Wai, Vice President (Research Development), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Dr Samson Tam, Chairman, Technology Development Committee, Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Ms Cally Chan, Managing Director, HP Hong Kong; and Dr Frank Tong ignited insightful discussion about the development of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology industries from  various perspectives.

From left: Mr Wong Ming-yam, Ms Cally Chan, Prof. Tony F. Chan, Prof. Roland Chin, Dr Samson Tam, Prof. Alex Wai and Dr Frank Tong

In welcoming the participants, Mr Wong Ming-yam said, “As ASTRI strives forward, it must further strengthen its collaboration with the Government, academia, industry as well as research counterparts so that all parties could jointly promote and advance the development of innovation and technology.”

Through the one-day Forum, ASTRI introduced to the audiences more than 120 technical projects undertaken by its Communications Technologies Group, Integrated Circuit Design Group, Sensing and Integration Group, Software and Systems Group, and Exploratory Research Laboratory. The many innovative projects included: LTE-Advanced RF transceiver chip, Internet-of-Things management and application platform with broadband wireless, 5G radio access technologies, nanometer SOC design technology, micro-inverters for renewable energy generation, visually enhanced ultra HD, advanced augmented reality technologies, smart 3D machine vision system, healthcare electronics, 3D and interactive projection system, intelligent cloud security computation for big data application, smart classroom, and big data management and analytics.

Since 2007 ASTRI has organized IUCF annually to inform potential partners of the institute’s latest technical developments, solicit suggestions for future R&D projects and cultivate opportunities to establish collaborations. The Forum this year will also be held at in Shenzhen on 17 September.

2014 IUCF was supported by Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government, CEO Club, The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, Federation of Hong Kong Industries, The Hong Kong Electronic Industries Association, Hong Kong Electronics & Technologies Association, Hong Kong Federation of Innovative Technologies and Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers – Electronics Division, Hong Kong Productivity Council, and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

(From left) Dr Samson Tam, Chairman, Technology Development Committee, Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Ir Victor Ng, Chairman, Hong Kong Electronics & Technologies Association; Mr K. C. Leung, Chairman of Industry & technology Committee, Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce; Dr Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer, ASTRI; Mr Wong Ming-yam, Chairman of the Board ASTRI; Prof. Tony F. Chan, President of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Mr Vincent Tang, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Innovation and Technology; Ir Henry Cheung, Chairman, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers – Electronics Division; Mr Allen Ma, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; and Mr Marvin Hsu, Vice President, The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong

 Mr Wong Ming-yam (right) exchanging views with Prof. Tony Chan (centre) and Dr Frank Tong

Ms Cally Chan flanked by Mr Wong Ming-yam (right) and Dr Frank Tong