To nurture up-and-coming start-ups to transform ideas for a smart city into reality, The Community Lab by the Technology Parks (“HKSTP”) and a private entity and Hong Kong Science opened at Lee Garden Five recently. The Community Lab connects start-ups with the resources and business networks to provide more opportunities for start-ups to succeed and to support the Smart City Blueprint.
The Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, and the Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary from the investment company; together with the Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP and Chief Corporate Development Officer of HKSTP; officiated at the activation ceremony of The Community Lab this afternoon, joined by 40 guests from across the technology, investment, commercial sectors and governmental bodies.
Adhering to the core values of Smart Living, Smart Economy, Smart Mobility and Smart Sustainability, this partnership, between the leading property group and HKSTP, the city’s largest Innovation & Technology (I&T) flagship, aims to build a solid foundation for the I&T ecosystem to manifest start-up potential and business opportunities and empower the Smart City Blueprint of Hong Kong.
As a business incubator in one of Asia’s largest technology innovation ecosystems, HKSTP functions as an innovation powerhouse with its tremendous pool of start-ups; whilst the property firm, with its extensive real estate and retail assets in the Lee Gardens Area, provides an unparalleled testing ground and wide-ranging audience for HKSTP’s tech ventures to test-drive their concepts authentically in the heart of Hong Kong.
The Last-mile Testing Programme (“LMTP”) is the backbone of The Community Lab that offers tech ventures with the ideal real-world environment to put innovations to the test. Potential start-ups for the programme will undergo a well-thought-out selection procedure. The Community Lab provides steadfast support at every stage of their development journey – from examining the proof of concept to launching the pioneering solutions in A fully operational testing ground.
The Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of the property investment, management and development company stated that they are committed to being one step ahead of others and becoming the testbed for any relevant innovative solutions from HKSTP.
The firm aims to help the start-ups become successful businesses by sharing its own business experiences and its environment for those start-ups to place their application and business cases. After all, their shared vision is to create a smarter living environment for their community, the CEO added.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP noted that the partnership with the property firm is another exciting demonstration of HKSTP’s ongoing mission to collaborate with industry leaders to accelerate impactful innovation from local and global start-ups.
He noted that the partnering company, as a committed leader in the innovation landscape, adds industry expertise and domain knowledge to the Park’s growing I&T ecosystem. The newly established Community Lab initiative provides an ideal platform to help start-ups succeed, from proof of concept into pioneering solutions fully tested in a real-world environment and uncover a new wave of smart city innovations.
In the future, the Community Lab will host a diverse programme of tech talks, sharing sessions, workshops, proof-of-concept demonstrations and the pitching stage.
Technology can revamp age-old solutions and the app-based “invisible fence” made by a team of Taiwan university researchers is the latest proof of that. A team from National Dong Hwa University (NDHU) has developed a solar-powered infrared “invisible” fencing system that helps farmers in Hualian County prevent the theft of their crops.
Initiated as a project by NDHU’s Energy Technology Center, the infrared system sets up a detection fence that is blind to the naked eye, making it less conspicuous than traditional fencing but also visually pleasing to farmers.
The system works by blazing a siren when trespassers are detected. Plus, a mobile application for the program developed by NDHU engineers also alerts farmers to trespassers. Even better, the app notifies local police of possible theft. Moreover, it uses green energy. It is also designed to use renewable energy, making it cost-effective for farmers since all they need is solar power.
Pai Yi-hao, an associate professor at NDHU and the Director of the Technology Center, said the team began working on the project earlier this year. The team, which consisted of professors and students brought together by the NDHU Energy Technology Center, engineered the infrared sensors and the electronic transmitters of the system, as well as the waterproof shell to house all the intricate electronics. The team also ensured that the solar power design was stable and made sure that farmers could use the popular mobile application Line to receive alerts and notifications, Pai said.
However, the project has not been without setbacks. As it was being installed in watermelon fields in Hualien, the team discovered that transmission of the signal was notably unstable because of geographical constraints. The problem was then fixed with the assistance of one of the country’s telecoms companies, which helped boost the signal strength of the technology, Pai said.
NDHU’s University Social Responsibility Office, which is in charge of the university’s social outreach program in Hualien, selected several watermelon farms covering around 40 hectares in eastern Taiwan county for the technology. Those fields were chosen because they were open and exposed to sunlight, the office said, explaining that the fields are optimal sites for the solar-powered infrared fencing system to harness the energy.
Local farmers who were given the tech were grateful, stating that they would no longer need to be out in the fields at night to worry about theft. They have their fields protected even when they are not physically present.
Digital transformation can bring out out-of-the-box solutions. Taiwan’s aggressive pursuit of digitalisation has allowed its citizens to enjoy the benefits of technology. For instance, thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI), critical patients in the ICU can be taken care of hours before they go into a state of shock. The AI device finds patterns and triggers an alarm for medical personnel to come to the rescue.
Many of Taiwan’s industries are looking for a balance between technology and sustainability and circular design is gaining ground in the country. Such initiatives are sound all-around and ensure sustainability – allowing the whole country to meet its Net Zero 2050 goals.
UCSI University and the digital technology and intelligence arm of a Chinese multinational technology company recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to introduce the cloud computing curriculum at UCSI University for its students and staff. The collaboration aims to further support the nation’s digital economy by empowering digital talents and tech professionals through professional cloud computing education.
Representatives from the tech company’s digital technology and intelligence arm together with representatives as well as the Director of the Institute of Computer Science and Digital Innovation (ICSDI) attended the Memorandum Exchange Ceremony at UCSI University.
As UCSI University has implemented IR 4.0 into all of its courses, it is critical for students and professors to stay current on industry trends and be prepared for the future working environment. As a result, the university has always strengthened its collaborations with prominent multinational firms, foreign institutions, and research institutes, UCSI University Vice-Chancellor said. He added that he is confident that by working with this industry partner, they will be able to prepare our students and lecturers for the digital cloud transition.
By leveraging the tech firm’s expertise in cloud technology and UCSI’s rich education resources, the collaboration aims to provide advanced knowledge and skillsets in cloud computing to university students and lecturers. Furthermore, as part of its Academic Empowerment Program (AAEP), the firm will guide, engage, and empower them as the next generation of IT and cloud professionals for a minimal cost.
The firm has been dedicated to providing the best-in-class cloud services to its customers, and they aim to deliver exactly these experiences to UCSI to help students and staff get the best learning resources in the industry so they can better seize the opportunities provided by the digital era.
In the future, the company hopes to work with its local partners to play a pivotal role in creating a sustainable pool of digital talent which would contribute to the digitalisation of the nation, the General Manager of Malaysia of the tech company’s cloud arm said.
Students and lecturers will also be able to get certifications after finishing the cloud computing programme as a result of this collaboration. They will have free access to the computing and e-learning resources on the firm’s cloud platform. As a result, not only students but also lecturers, will have extensive knowledge and will be able to help students through the digital transition, stated the UCSI University Vice-Chancellor.
UCSI University will also include the cloud arm’s Academy courses in its Institute of Computer Science and Digital Innovation programmes such as the Bachelor of Business Information Systems, Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) Mobile Computing and Networking, Master of Technopreneurship, Master of Science in Computer Science, and more. In addition to the programmes, the two will co-organise seminars, workshops and training activities on cloud computing, security, and databases, among other topics.
MyDIGITAL is a national initiative which symbolises the aspirations of the Government to successfully transform Malaysia into a digitally-driven, high-income nation and a regional leader in the digital economy. The Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint spells out the efforts and initiatives to deliver the aspirations of MyDIGITAL. The Blueprint charts the trajectory of the digital economy’s contribution to the Malaysian economy and builds the foundation to drive digitalisation across Malaysia including bridging the digital divide.
Information is key to making the right decisions and as in other industries, in banking, the available data could become overwhelming. To overcome such a potential pitfall, the Philippines’ central bank is exploring Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (ML) to enhance its operations in the process.
The country’s central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), is exploring applications of machine learning (ML) techniques, particularly in the areas of natural language processing, nowcasting, and banking supervision.
Central banks’ interest in ML has been increasing over the years, mainly due to its potential to enhance the existing tools used for regular monitoring as well as its ability to uncover underlying relationships between data to better understand the economy and the financial system.
– Benjamin Diokno, Governor, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
ML is very useful in extracting patterns in sets of data. In that sense, it can extract knowledge from raw data. At its core, machine learning is a subfield of AI that involves algorithms that deliver output based on patterns learned from data. Natural language processing at the BSP is used to convert text into data to produce a quantitative summary. A good example of this is the news sentiment index and economic policy uncertainty index that is currently being developed.
The BSP also employs ML approaches to generate nowcasts of regional inflation and domestic liquidity. These models supplement the BSP’s existing suite of models for macroeconomic forecasting.
Nowcasting may sound foreign to non-bankers but the word, one borrowed from weather forecasters, means the prediction of possible events from raw data. These events could be in the present, the very near future, and the very recent past state of an economic indicator.
In banking supervision, the BSP aims to utilise ML techniques to enhance its data validation processes and better identify atypical data. Diokno said ML offers diverse opportunities in central banking, especially when combined with techniques from other disciplines, such as econometrics and network science.
He also highlighted several challenges associated with ML processes. The most often-cited limitation is the black-box approach to ML, which could result in difficulties in interpreting the causal relationships in ML models. Like traditional econometric techniques, ML algorithms may also encounter some challenges in accurately predicting tail risk or low likelihood events. The adoption of ML models would also necessitate investments in Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and capacity building, as well as a change in the organisational mindset.
As the country builds a stronger and more technologically advanced Philippine economy, the BSP will continue to explore ML applications that can be useful in the conduct of its key functions, while carefully taking note of the associated challenges.
The country, an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, is looking at space technology to enhance people’s ability to connect to the internet. Recently, all space-related assets were turned over to the national space agency.
Indeed, it is important that the country invest heavily in its digitalisation. As one industry expert noted, technology is key for the country to become a high-income nation as reported on OpenGov Asia.
Fogs are causing delays in New Zealand’s airports. Recently, flights at the Wellington airport had to be cancelled due to them. The good news is a spot-on technology using drones could provide just the answer.
The newly founded enterprise has the solution to Aotearoa’s fog problem and it’s getting the attention it needs. The start-up company offering a method to clear fog at airports has received government backing. The company was set up by aviators and has carried out more than 200 tests in New Zealand and Australia so far.
The Christchurch-based company has developed a spray that can absorb moisture from the air quickly, clearing fog. Specifically, it aims to ease flight disruptions such as the three-day backlog in flights at Wellington Airport recently, when the fog rolled in and disrupted more than 200 flights.
The team is being assisted by the Government’s Airspace Integration Trials Programme, which aims to support the adoption of new aviation technology safely into the existing transport system. Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said the spray could help make fog delays a thing of the past.
Fog delays at airports cost exporters, airlines and airports significantly, and result in more carbon emissions because of extra fuel spent on diverted flights, as well as causing significant frustration and inconvenience to travellers.
The company is developing a solution that disperses a safe water-absorbing environmentally-friendly product via drone … so that pilots and air traffic controllers can operate safely. A critical area of the sky can be cleared in as little as 10 minutes. It’s a simple idea that could solve a multi-billion dollar problem.
– Megan Woods, Minister, Research, Science and Innovation
Fog accounts for nearly 30% of weather delays at airports. Worse, it is difficult to plan for, making a way to clear it invaluable. It’s a universal problem that affects countries all over the world. The results could be tragic for people who need medical attention but can’t fly as the flights are delayed. In the recent fog problem in Wellington, emotions were high as people missed their scheduled flights.
The company’s next steps include more testing at airports throughout New Zealand, with the hopes of later marketing the technology internationally. Woods said New Zealand’s emerging aerospace sector is “highly innovative and research and development intensive”.
Drones have become a household word in today’s world. At its core, however, they are Information Communication Technology (ICT) on the fly. Technically, drones are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). They are flown autonomously either by onboard computers or via remote control by a human pilot.
Digital technology is changing New Zealand for the better. Not only does it allow processes to be better, but also saves on costs. An example here is the recent project of the island nation to digitalise its forest management systems.
Another way digital adoption is creating a huge dent in the fight for a brighter future for New Zealand is via the Internet of Things (IoT). Wellington, the country’s capital has developed a Digital Twin that allows it to plan its city ahead in light of climate changes. With the technology, city planners can see possible results and check how a particular climate-related plan would turn out even before the plan is implemented.
Robotic technology has been trialled at Murdoch’s Building 360 construction site in a world-first project, in conjunction with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and an industry partner.
Building 360 will be a technology-rich, Mass Engineered Timber (MET) building which will accommodate up to 60% of the University’s teaching requirements. It will be the largest MET building in Western Australia and a demonstration of Murdoch’s commitment to sustainability, aiming for a 6 Star Green Star rating. Once complete, Building 360 will transform the student and staff experience by offering new, digitally enabled teaching and learning spaces in an environmentally friendly design.
Given the innovation involved at all levels of the project, an opportunity arose to embed a research project in Building 360’s construction. This involved the use of prototype robots that can help deliver cumbersome screw fixings – an important albeit labour-intensive task that’s essential on MET projects.
More about Building 360
Building 360 will open in Semester 1, 2023. Designed with students at its heart, the new infrastructure will enhance students’ study experience and provide them with a fresh space to learn, collaborate and socialise. Up to 60% of classes will be taught in the new building.
Building 360 combines modern, sustainable design and digital technology to bring students the best possible experience. Students in 2023 will be the first to experience and benefit from the future of learning right here at Murdoch. With a fresh space on campus and native gardens, Building 360 will provide improved connectivity to the rest of the University and Bush Court – the heart of Murdoch.
Building 360 uses AR and AI technology making in-person learning more fun and interactive with both teachers and peers.
Technology features at a glance:
The Construction Robot Market was valued at US$44.63 million in 2020 and is projected to reach US$95.10 million by 2026, registering a CAGR of approximately 13.6% during the forecast period (2021–2026).
The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the construction industry, with construction work coming to a standstill in the initial months of lockdown. However, the demand for 3D printing resulted in increased interest by the industry in adopting the technology owing to the safety benefits offered.
Moreover, the market for construction robots is anticipated to benefit from the increase in construction activities. The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have a slight dampening effect on the market over the forecast period, more prominently over the later period as economies might experience a slowdown. Construction robots’ demand, however, might increase due to safety needs, such as social distancing.
The increasing focus of the construction organisations on reducing the resource and material waste of the building materials during construction is expected to drive the adoption of the construction robots market. Construction is one of the sectors where a significant amount of material is wasted due to the traditional construction process.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Vu Duc Dam, recently signed a directive regarding e-government development towards digital governance and transformation nationwide. Despite encouraging results, major bottlenecks remain in the implementation of the work, specifically data sharing. The government has yet to ensure higher levels of cybersecurity and human resources and outline budgets for information technology applications and e-government building.
To address this, several relevant agencies have been tasked to prepare infrastructure and fulfil cyber security conditions to connect national databases. According to reports, they have been instructed to use data for the implementation of online public services by December. Ministries and agencies must work to improve the capacity and quality of services and expand connectivity, surveillance, and access control over data transmission networks by September. Agencies have also been asked to increase efforts for IPv6 adoption, work on information systems, and establish a communal digital technology network. The evaluation of digital government operations and digital transformation progress at agencies and organisations will be conducted annually in December.
The agencies are required to devise measures to encourage the use of digital signatures for administrative procedures. The government will organise training for at least 100,000 civil servants by December to meet personnel demands. Agencies have also been ordered to promote the development and use of ‘Made-in-Vietnam’ digital products and services, with the deadline for assessment set in December each year.
Earlier, the government launched the national data exchange platform (NDXP) to help connect, integrate, and share data among ministries, sectors, and localities nationwide. All 22 ministries, ministry-level agencies, and 63 provinces and cities are now connected with the NDXP. In the first quarter of 2022, more than 134.5 million transactions were made on the NDXP, surging 24-fold from a year earlier.
Under a plan by the National Committee on Digital Transformation, the goals for the digital government this year are to increase the rate of online public services to 80%, the rate of administrative procedures dossiers processed online to 50%, and the rate of digitisation of dossiers and results of administrative procedures to 100%. Also, the rate of reports made online by state administrative agencies to 50% as well as the rate of state agencies providing full open data by category to 50%.
Vietnam aims to have over 90% of its population use electronic health records for medical examinations, treatment, and health monitoring activities by the end of 2022. The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and localities will cooperate to build an electronic identification and authentication system based on the national population and citizen identification databases. About 15-20% of the population is expected to use e-identification applications by late this year, OpenGov Asia reported.
Recently, MIC issued electronic identification (eID) codes for its agencies and units. The ministry gets the eID Level 1 code and the advisory units (the office, inspectorate, and authorities of the ministry) are issued Level 2 codes. Level 3 is for its departments and their subordinate centres, and Level 4 is for the Institute of Post and Telecommunications Technology and its subordinate units.
The Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay (IIT-Bombay) is collaborating with the India Meteorological Department (IMD), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), to develop tech-enabled climate solutions for the stakeholders at the village, city, and district levels. The solutions include sensors and drone-based smart monitoring systems, climate-smart agriculture technology for water and food security, and intelligent and automated early warning systems.
The agreement will also develop smart power grind management, explore climate and health, and generate wind energy and heatwave forecasts. According to a government press release, the partnership is expected to yield:
Climate change is an urgent challenge that needs significant strategic attention to develop solutions that are immediate, scalable, and cost-effective, the release stated. IIT-Bombay’s initiative with IMD is part of India’s efforts to have net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. The institute also aims to establish a centre of excellence (CoE) in climate services and solutions within the Interdisciplinary Programme in Climate Studies (IDPCS). It will leverage the expertise of its students and faculty members to conduct solution-oriented research that can help mitigate climate change, the release added. IDPCS at IIT-Bombay was set up in 2012 and receives major financial support from the Department of Science and Technology.
A recent report by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water said that India needs cumulative investments of US$ 10 trillion to attain net-zero by 2070. This is in line with global assessments that the world needs more than US$100 trillion to address climate change. This is possible only through partnerships between governments and the private sector as well as international cooperation.
India is working with several countries to develop and speed up innovation in environmentally-friendly technologies. Earlier this year, India and Finland agreed to work together on carbon-neutral technology. Indian officials believed that Finland’s leading role in clean and green technologies will help India’s drive towards sustainable development.
India is also working with Australia and in February, the two sides signed a letter of intent (LoI) to drive down the cost of new and renewable energy technologies and scale up the manufacturing of ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen. As OpenGov Asia reported, under the agreement, the two sides will work on energy efficiency technologies, grid management, and research and development collaboration on flue gas desulphurisation, biomass or hydrogen co-firing, water cycle optimisation, renewables integration, batteries, and electric mobility.
Officials stated that the partnership reflected each country’s respective strengths and the government’s commitment to working with like-minded partners on low emissions technologies. More than 90% of solar cells globally use Australian technology. Over the next ten years, India will be one of the largest adopters of solar technology in the world and Australian innovators are well-placed to tap into this market. Ultra-low-cost solar and clean hydrogen technologies are priorities under Australia’s Technology Investment Roadmap. The roadmap is expected to inform around $18 billion of government investment in the decade to 2030 and produce $70 billion of new investment in low emissions technologies.
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