Press Release

Youngsters and senior citizens alike, a huge mass of science enthusiasts and general public lined up every day at ASTRI’s pavilion in InnoCarnival 2017 from 21 to 29 October 2017. ASTRI’s pavilion covered core technologies in smart city development, including FinTech, Smart City, Industry 4.0 and Next Generation Network. The pavilion was backed by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of the HKSAR Government as the funding organisation.

The major attractions in the pavilion included a simulation ‘Drive Safe’ game that showcased ASTRI’s Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology for connected cars. In addition, a matching game on Internet-of-Things, demonstrations on smart navigation and smart parking applications, FinTech solutions, and an innovative ‘Smart Water Meter’ were in the pavilion’s display manifest. In the nine days of the Carnival, over 8,000 people stepped into ASTRI’s pavilion. They learned about the latest developments in ASTRI’s smart city R&D, and spoke to the Institute’s technology experts.

In addition, three R&D experts from ASTRI presented in the InnoTalk event on 26 October 2017 on the topic “Smart Technologies for Smart City”. Over 80 participants, representing mostly the young generation, listened to the ASTRI experts and witnessed presentations on three topics:

1. Cellular V2X (C-V2X) Technologies for Smart Mobility

2. Real Case System Solutions for Hong Kong Smart City

3. Deep Learning – Handwritten Chinese Recognition – Automated Document Processing

InnoCarnival took place as part of the month-long InnoTech campaign organised by ITC. The Carnival aimed to enhance public understanding of, and interest in, innovation and technology, particularly amongst the young generation. The Carnival officially kicked off on 21 October through a ceremony officiated by, among others, Hon Mr Nicholas W Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government; Hon Mrs Fanny Law, GBS, JP, Executive Councillor of the HKSAR Government and Chairperson of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, JP, Permanent Secretary for Innovation and Technology; and Mr Allen Yeung, JP, Government Chief Information Officer.

Dignitaries who visited the ASTRI pavilion included Hon Mr Nicholas W Yang, GBS, JP, Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government; Ms Annie Choi, JP, Commissioner for Innovation and Technology; Mr Liu Zhi-ming, Associate Counsel of the Central Government’s Liaison Office in HKSAR; Hon Ir Dr Lo Wai-kwok, SBS, MH, JP, Legislative Councillor for the Engineering constituency; and Hon Charles Peter Mok, JP, Legislative Councillor for the Information Technology constituency.

A number of journalists from print, broadcast and online media organisations also visited the ASTRI pavilion. They covered the R&D projects showcased by ASTRI and interviewed the Institute’s technology experts about latest technological developments. Notably, Ming Pao Daily and Sky Post published feature articles after visiting the ASTRI pavilion. Ming Pao Daily featured ASTRI’s R&D in the area of smart mobility. Sky Post, on the other hand, highlighted ASTRI’s efforts to promote Smart City development through a number of innovative technologies, including C-V2X, Smart Finance, Smart Indoor Navigation and Smart Parking.

ASTRI’s pavilion in the InnoCarnival carried the theme “Power of Technology ‧Spirit of Hong Kong” – fully supporting the event’s overall theme – “Live Smart‧Be Innovative”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASTRI partnered with InvestHK, organiser of the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2017, and contributed with in-depth, insightful sessions on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) or Blockchain. In addition to two mainstage sessions and a workshop on Blockchain, ASTRI also presented a workshop on cybersecurity. The mainstage sessions on DLT covered ‘Cutting-edge Blockchain Applications’ across industries such as luxury retail and financial services, and ‘Legal, Regulatory and Control Principles of DLT’ respectively. Meanwhile, the workshop discussed ‘Technological Aspects of DLT’.

On the opening day, Dr MeiKei Ieong, Chief Technology Officer of ASTRI, moderated a panel discussion on ‘Cutting-edge Blockchain Applications’. The panel included senior executives from two unique industries – luxury retail (represented by Pritesh Patel – SVP and Chief Operating Officer of Gemological Institute of America Inc, and Jade Lee – Deputy General Manager or Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group) and financial services (represented by Harry Wong – Governing Committee Member and Chairman FinTech Taskforce of The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, and Zhi Yong-wang – Head of Product Development and Management of ICBC Asia Limited). The panellists discussed opportunities as well as constraints in rolling out Blockchain applications across various industries. The experience from the luxury jewellery sector highlighted how Blockchain can be useful in a wide range of applications like product authentication, supply chain tracking as well as customer data management.

Dr Ieong moderated another session the next day, on the technological aspects of rolling out DLT. The panel included Mr Jehan Chu, Founder of Ethereum HK Meetup; Dr Arafet Ben Makhlouf, FinTech and Blockchain Consultant at Deloitte; Ms Connie Leung, Senior Director at Microsoft; and Mr Carl Wegner, Managing Director at R3. The panellists shared their experience in moving from Blockchain prototyping to production and deployment of DLT applications. While discussing the challenges and roadmap ahead, the panellists emphasised the importance of professional trainings on DLT, and enabling technology professionals to design and create smart contracts and end-user applications.

25 October was the ‘HKMA FinTech Day’ in the FinTech Week. At the event, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) unveiled the “Whitepaper 2.0 on Distributed Ledger Technology”. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Norman Chan, Chief Executive of HKMA, said “The findings and recommendations in the whitepaper will help devise practical guidelines for the use of DLT in the banking sector in the future.” He acknowledged that “Hong Kong has made important progress in cross-border collaboration and the research on DLT applications. The collaborative efforts and enhanced research and talent development are the essential building blocks to facilitate financial innovation and prepare Hong Kong to advance to the new Smart Banking Era.”

Mr Alan Cheung Wei-lun, Director of Advanced Digital Systems at ASTRI, was a panellist in a discussion on ‘Whitepaper on the legal, regulatory and control principles of DLT’. The session was moderated by Mr Nelson Chow, Chief FinTech Officer of HKMA. Mr Cheung explained the role played by ASTRI in the development of the DLT Whitepaper 2.0. ASTRI provided unbiased and the most up-to-date technological information and insights on DLT, including references of application implementation. Working as part of a Digital Identity Management working group that also includes HKMA and five leading banks, ASTRI had performed a Proof-of-Concept-based feasibility study on using DLT-based Know Your Customers (KYC) processes in the sector. “We provided updates of DLT platforms including public as well as permissioned applications”. Mr Cheung added.

In the workshop session on Cybersecurity, Dr Andrew Wat Yiu-wing, Director of Data Analytics and Cybersecurity at ASTRI, co-presented along with Dr Lucas Hui Chi-kwong, Founder and Honorary Director of the Centre for Information Security and Cryptography at the University of Hong Kong. The session’s topics included building a cyber-risk-aware culture in businesses, grooming a cyber-defence-ready workforce, and deploying the right tools and systems to deter vicious cyber-attacks. Cybersecurity is a key focus in ASTRI’s FinTech R&D. ASTRI’s initiatives in that area include cyber-intelligence sharing, training of cybersecurity professionals and advanced cybersecurity research.

Over 5,000 financial services professionals, FinTech entrepreneurs, investors, inventors, researchers and executives from around the world discussed and debated the future of financial technologies at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2017. Senior officials and dignitaries who addressed the event included Hon James Henry Lau Jr, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury; and Mr Edward Yau Tang-wah, GBS, JP, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development; of the HKSAR Government.

Mr Lau spoke on behalf of the Hong Kong Government and its regulators saying, “We want to embrace Fintech innovators, and welcome them to the transformation of Hong Kong’s financial centre and its financial services.”

Pointing out to the fact that over 100 countries have signed up in the ‘Belt and Road’ programme, Mr Yau said that “Hong Kong can play a central role with financial and technical support” for all these economies, and encouraged Fintech companies to “make Hong Kong the launchpad for their businesses”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, a high-profile symposium on Innovation and Technology was organised in the 37^th HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair along with the 21^st electronicAsia on 13 October, 2017. The event was attended by a number of senior leaders from Government, Legislature, Technology and Business domains, including Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor – Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Government. One of the flagship events at the Fairs was the Symposium on Innovation & Technology under the theme “Connected Living”. ASTRI was a supporting organisation in the programme.

 

The Symposium opened with the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government Carrie Lam as the officiating guest. She said that innovation and technology create quality jobs for young people, opportunities for young entrepreneurs, improve people’s livelihood and help power Hong Kong’s future economy. “The Government would adopt the right policies, invest the necessary resources and connect with talents and renowned research institutions”, she added. The Chief Executive also said that in a highly competitive global environment with rapid advancements in the Mainland, Hong Kong needs to promote innovation and technology (I&T) “with the right vision and the right policies”. Mrs Lam told the audience, “Hong Kong is entering a period when opportunities and challenges co-exist. This also applies to I&T development.” She referred to the development taking place across the industrial sector in the South China Greater Bay Area, and how Hong Kong stands to gain from it.

 

The Symposium featured speakers from technology giants such as Microsoft and Tencent sharing the latest technology developments. Ms Cally Chan, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong Limited, who is also a Board Director of ASTRI, spoke about how mixed reality and intelligent cloud are helping to drive the digital transformation. She explained how Internet of Things – complimented by virtual, augmented and mixed reality – are empowering businesses, engaging customers, transforming products and boosting efficiencies.

 

Mr Wong Ming-yam, Chairman of ASTRI, moderated a panel discussion on ‘Smartly – We Connect’. Mr Wong facilitated a lively discussion on the roles for start-up ventures, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and technology experts in enabling innovation and fostering positive change. The discussion centred around catalysing a culture of innovation in Hong Kong to fast-track Smart City development. The panel featured two members of the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council: The Hon Ir Dr Lo Wai-kwok who represents the Engineering functional constituency and The Hon Mr Charles P Mok who represents the Information Technology functional constituency; as well as Mr Chan Yam-ki, Head of Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google Hong Kong; Mr Zane Moi, Head of Business Development for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, Amazon Web Services; and Mr Alex Wong Ka-hang, Director of Solution Sales, Huawei International. The panellists were unanimous in urging the Government to take up a more active role in boosting innovation and technology. The Hon Mr Mok said it was a good sign that the new Policy Address acknowledged that resistance towards technological advancement came partly from within the Government. He hoped that the Government would continue to listen to the industry and build a world of “Connected Living” together.

 

The day-long symposium covered a series of other topics: smart city, cloud technology, autonomous driving, machine learning, IoT, cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, and artificial intelligence.

 

ASTRI, as the largest applied R&D institution in Hong Kong, actively pursues sophisticated IoT and communications technologies as well as Smart City applications. ASTRI is well placed to support the industrial sector to leverage the innovative manufacturing technologies while gearing up for ‘Industry 4.0’ and ‘Made in China 2025’.

 

 

 

 

 

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR, delivered her maiden policy speech today at the Legislative Council. In her speech, the Chief Executive (CE) said in order to sustain the favourable trends for our economy, diversification is the only solution. The current-term Government considers that both innovation and technology (I&T) and creative industries have the competitive edge and much potential, not only to bolster economic growth, but also to create quality employment opportunities for our young people.

The CE also highlighted the need to catch up in the global I&T race to turn Hong Kong into a global I&T hub. In the 2017 Policy Address, she announced a series of new, major policy initiatives to boost the SAR’s I&T endeavours. She said the Government has set a goal to double the Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product from the current 0.73% to 1.5% within its five‑year tenure. The Government will also step up its efforts in eight key areas in that regard: investing more resources into R&D, nurturing a talent pool, promoting venture capital, strengthening scientific research infrastructure, carrying out legislation review, opening up data, streamlining government procurement, and boosting STEM education.

Encouraging significantly greater investment in R&D, the Chief Executive announced HK$10 billion funding for R&D in universities, and major tax deductions for R&D expenditure incurred by businesses enterprises. The Education Bureau is going to offer scholarships worth HK$3 billion to local students admitted to postgraduate research programmes. The Innovation and Technology Bureau will launch a HK$500 million ‘Technology Talent Scheme’, including the establishment of a ‘Postdoctoral Hub’. At the same time, the Government will strive to attract the best overseas talents and scientific research institutions to Hong Kong.

Announcing an additional HK$700 million investment to “immediately take forward several projects to develop Hong Kong into a smart city”, Mrs Lam said she will personally lead a high-level, inter-departmental Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology to scrutinise and steer measures under the eight areas of I&T and smart city development. The Committee will offer advice to the Government on I&T development to maintain Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the global arena and enhance Hong Kong’s alignment with the development of our country.

The Chief Executive promised to streamline Government institutions and operations, fostering innovation and collaboration, and embracing smart technologies across all levels of the administration. She put her faith in people – it is the enterprising spirit of the “brilliant Hong Kong people” that has made the city so successful over the past half-century.

ASTRI welcomes the strong emphasis put in by the HKSAR Government on Innovation and Technology development in Hong Kong. As ever, ASTRI will remain steadfast in our mission to fully align with Government initiatives in I&T, gearing up for cutting-edge R&D efforts to support local economic growth.

 

Read the full speech here.

The award ceremony of 2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 20 (TF20) and Rising Star Programs in Hong Kong was held at the Exchange Auditorium of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 27 September 2017. ASTRI is proud to be the advisory partner in the Deloitte TF20 Hong Kong program. Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President, Next Generation Network of ASTRI attended the ceremony as one of the keynote speakers. “We live in a world where technology impacts the lives of 7.5 billion people, and over 1 billion connected ‘devices’ add value to the human civilisation. Technology talents and innovators around the world make a difference every day, every moment. These awards celebrate the innovative, enterprising spirits of Hong Kong-based technology companies and recognise their efforts to improve lives. At ASTRI, we share the same values – as the largest applied R&D institution in Hong Kong, our relentless pursuit is to enhance business competitiveness, enrich people’s lives, and inspire the next generation technology talents,” Dr Chuang said.

The winners came from a wide spectrum of industries, including FinTech, AI, software, hardware, biotech, media and e-commerce. The top three companies of TF20 were WeLab Holdings Limited, SenseTime Group Inc., and GoGo Tech Holdings Limited. For the Rising Star Program, 10 companies such as Klook and TNG were identified.

Fellow guests of the ceremony take photo together, including Mrs Fanny Law (4th from right), Chairperson of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park; Dr Justin Chuang (3rd from right), Vice President, Next Generation Network of ASTRI and Mr Dennis Chow (2nd from right), Deloitte China Southern Region Managing Partner.

 

Dr Justin Chuang (right) and Mr Shang Hailong (left), Managing Director of SenseTime attend the ceremony

Led by Mr Chen Linhao (5^th from left), PPSTI Vice Chair, DDG of International Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology, the delegation of APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI) China visited ASTRI on 18 September 2017. From ASTRI, Mr Wong Ming-yam (5^th from right), Chairman; Dr Meikei Ieong (4^th from right), CTO; Ms Cammy Yung (2^nd from right), CFO; Dr Justin Chuang (3^rd from right), Vice President, Next Generation Network; and Mr Bill Zhang (1^st from right), Senior Director, Mixed Signal Systems IC welcomed the delegates. They learned more about the latest R&D development on artificial intelligence, health technologies, intelligent manufacturing, big data analytics and blockchain of ASTRI. The delegation also learned our National Engineering Research Centre for Application Specific Integrated Circuit System (Hong Kong Branch) which focuses on microelectronics and integrated circuits (IC) and systems, conducting research, technology transfer, and talent training in the fields of mixed signal systems IC, advanced digital systems and packaging.

 

After the presentation, the guests visited Cyber Range – Hong Kong’s first laboratory equipped to monitor and simulate cyber-attacks and witnessed live demonstrations on Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technologies, Head-up Display (HUD) and blockchain in our newly developed Smart City Innovation Centre.

Dr Meikei Ieong (1^st from right), CTO of ASTRI and Dr Justin Chuang (Middle), Vice President, Next Generation Network of ASTRI led the ASTRI’s delegation to visit Zhuhai National Hi-tech Zone on 18 September 2017. Apart from Zhuhai National Hi-tech Zone, they also visited Zhuhai Smart Industrial Park and met the Commission of Zhuhai National Hi-tech Zone. Mr Liang Zhaoxiong, Vice Secretary of The CPC Committee of Zhuhai National Hi-tech Zone welcomed ASTRI’s delegates, they discussed about the collaboration in the future.

Fundació Privada I2. Cat, Internet I Innovació Digital A Catalunya (I2CAT) – an R&D institution from Catalonia, Spain – recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) to collaborate on 5G and other related technologies. The 5G R&D projects will be driven simultaneously from both Hong Kong and Barcelona. The MoU signing ceremony took place at ASTRI’s newly opened Smart City Innovation Centre in Hong Kong Science Park. Professor Josep Paradells, Director of I2CAT and Dr Justin Chuang, ASTRI’s Vice President of Next Generation Network represented the two organisations.

The partner organisations will collaborate in the following areas of technological research:

• 5G Technologies
  • Radio Access Technologies including New Radio (NR) base station and terminal, Centralised-Radio Access Network (C-RAN), Massive MIMO (multiple antennae) and Vehicle-to-Everything Communications (V2X);
  • Network Function Virtualisation, Mobile Edge Computing, Network Orchestration and Network Slicing;
  • End-to-end 5G Innovation Platforms

• Visible Light Communications (VLC)
  • High-accuracy indoor positioning systems and solutions

 

I2CAT and ASTRI also agree to work together to deploy technology platforms and applications for the following initiatives:

• 5G Open Innovation Platform in Hong Kong: The 5G innovation platform will offer a Next Generation Network platform for researchers, technology companies, commercial enterprises, start-ups and public service providers The platform will facilitate testing and development of innovative ICT solutions related to Internet of Things and other applications. From Financial Technologies to smart governance to smart living, connected cars to citizen services – a wide range of Smart City applications will be explored through the platform.
• 5G Open Experimental Infrastructure in Barcelona: The initiative seeks to facilitate city-wide as well as laboratory testing for integrated 5G validation and experimentation. It will enable the 5G ecosystem in Barcelona, including vendors, operators, service developers, small and medium enterprises and academic institutions to explore and experiment various elements and services of 5G technology.

 

The partnership will initially drive the deployment of live end-to-end 5G testbeds, and proof of concept of 5G scenarios leveraging enabling technologies from ASTRI and I2CAT. VLC applications field trials will include high-accuracy indoor positioning for targeted advertising for retail shops or museums, and also for automated guided vehicles for industrial use.

I2CAT was founded by the Government of Catalonia and the Technical University of Catalonia in 2003 with the mission of promoting collaboration between public and private sector institutions – including commercial and R&D organisations – to drive innovation in advanced Internet technologies aiming for highly efficient tools and applications.

 

Dr Justin Chuang, Vice President of Next Generation Network of ASTRI (left) and Professor Josep Paradells, Director of I2CAT (right) sign a MoU to develop 5G technology.

Mr Darryl West (7^th from left), Group Chief Information Officer of HSBC ; and Ms Wendy Wang (5^th from left), Chief Information Officer, Asia Pacific and Chief Information Officer, Global Commercial Banking of HSBC accompanied a delegation of the HSBC’s Asia Pacific non-executive directors to visit ASTRI on 5 September 2017. Mr Wong Ming-yam (9^th from left), Chairman of ASTRI; Dr Meikei Ieong (3^rd from left), Chief Technology Officer of ASTRI welcomed the guests. They discussed the visions on the collaboration of HSBC and ASTRI as well as had thought exchange on a number of technologies such as biometric and behavioural authentication, Chinese handwriting Optical Character Recognition and big data analytics etc.