Press Release | ASTRI - Hong Kong Applied Science And Technology Research Institute Company Limited

ASTRI demonstrates Device-to-Device Communications (D2D) solution with TCL Communication at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016

(Hong Kong, 22 February 2016) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) performs a live demonstration of its Device-to-Device Communications (D2D) solution with the world’s fifth mobile terminal manufacturer, TCL Communication at Mobile World Congress 2016 being held in Barcelona, Spain.

D2D is a next generation cellular communication paradigm allowing mobile devices to discover one another and to directly communicate with one another without transiting via the network. Such features allow D2D to be a foundation technology for 5G ultra-reliable low latency communication. Applications of D2D range from robust public safety communications to mobile marketing and entertainment. As D2D continues to evolve, future use cases include industry automation and local area high-definition multimedia streaming.

In this live demonstration, a D2D system is set up to perform multicast transmission and UE-to-UE (user-equipment to user-equipment) relaying. ASTRI’s D2D solution is based on 3GPP LTE Release 12/13 physical layer specifications with enhancements to support increased peak throughput and to enable dynamic source selection for UE-to-UE relaying. The demonstration exemplifies ASTRI’s expertise in wireless baseband solution development. With the software defined radio (SRD) platform and modularized baseband processing blocks, the solution can be further upgraded to support other forthcoming technologies such as 5G Vehicle-to-Everything communications (V2X).

ASTRI is actively engaged in 5G R&D with partners such as TCL Communication. ASTRI’s 5G R&D focus covers D2D/V2X solutions for enhancing reliability and reducing latency, ultra-dense network (UDN) algorithms and architecture, massive MIMO channel estimation and robust beamforming solutions, and opportunistic spectrum utilization schemes.

ASTRI has striven to develop LTE research since 2008 and has become a leader in LTE and LTE-Advanced small cell and terminal technologies, providing the first market-ready reference design for small cell and terminal baseband cores supporting both TD-LTE and LTE FDD. ASTRI’s LTE technologies have been employed in partners’ chips and system solutions serving public and private network markets. Its core technologies were successfully transferred to multiple companies.

The demonstration is carried out at the ALCATEL booth of TCL Communication (Hall 6, Stand 6B10) in MWC Barcelona, 2016, being held at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain, from 22 to 25 February 2016.

More partnership info between ASTRI and TCL Communication is available at http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tcl-communication-announces-shipment-figures-130300862.html

ASTRI and Sunnada jointly demonstrate commercial LTE/LTE-A micro cell solution based on NXP B4860 SoC at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016

(Hong Kong, 22 February 2016) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), together with Fujian Sunnada Network Technology Co. Ltd., showcases a LTE-A micro cell solution at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in Barcelona, Spain.

The joint demonstration reveals a commercial LTE-A micro cell base station based on NXP B4860 SoC powered by ASTRI LTE/LTE-A PHY technologies. The display shows a complete end-to-end micro cell infrastructure with Sunnada’s commercial outdoor MIMO Remote Radio Unit (RRUs) connected through CPRI over optical fiber. In the demonstration, video server streams live video signals from the micro cell to a commercial UE.

ASTRI’s LTE/LTE-A PHY solution is optimized for NXP B4x processor platform. It supports up to 3 Carrier Aggregated (CA) Component Carriers (CC) with 400 active users and 1200 connected users per each sector. The solution configures up to 8 antennas with beamforming support. With the distributed antenna technology, ASTRI’s PHY solution can further support up to 64 distributed antennas to provide high user volume and high system capacity communications, suitable for indoor dense deployment in the public network. Moreover, ASTRI’s PHY solution is optimized for high mobility and high reliability, suitable for private network usages.

ASTRI has started its collaboration with Sunnada, the China-based wireless network equipment manufacturer and service provider, on commercial TD-LTE small cell and small cell gateway solutions since 2011. The TD-LTE small cells were especially developed for the China market and are ready for deployment test in the mainland and around the world. ASTRI will continue working closely with Sunnada in the joint development of 4G and 5G wireless communications technologies. In particular, ASTRI is actively working on the 5G Cloud-RAN network architecture. ASTRI’s PHY solution supports network virtualization with open-stack orchestration.

The demonstration is at Sunnada booth (Hall 5, Stand 5G70) at MWC Barcelona, 2016, being held at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain, from 22 to 25 February 2016.

Key features on the ASTRI’s commercial LTE/LTE-A PHY solution

NXP B4x processors
3GPP release 9 and release 10
TD-LTE and FDD LTE
5, 10, 15, 20 MHz system bandwidth
Up to 3 sectors on B4860 SoC
Up to 8 transmit antennas per sector
Up to 4 receive antennas per sector
Number of users
- 400 active users per sector
- 1200 connected users per sector
- 24 PUSCH/PDSCH per TTI
Throughput
- 300Mbps DL throughput per sector
- 150Mbps UL throughput per sector
Advanced features
- Carrier Aggregation (CA)
- UL SU-MIMO
- High mobility, up to 350km/h
- DL beamforming
- Semi-persistent Scheduling (SPS) for VoLTE
- Virtualization support for Cloud-RAN

ASTRI demonstrates Coherent Joint Transmission (JT) MIMO technologies with Keysight Technologies at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016

(Hong Kong, 22 February 2016) Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) performs a live demonstration on coherent joint transmission (JT) technology using Fujian Sunnada Network Technology Co. Ltd’s (Sunnada) small cell verified with Keysight Technologies Inc’s Vector Signal Analyzer at Mobile World Congress 2016 being held in Barcelona, Spain.

The demonstration reveals a practical coherent joint transmission realization for LTE and 5G systems. Massive MIMO is one of the key 5G technologies for enhancing the system capacity. Coherent JT shown in this demonstration further enhances the capacity by coherently sending beamforming signal from separated transmission points to the target User Equipment (UE) in distributed MIMO systems. Coherent JT enables distributed beamforming and reduces user interference from highly overlapped cell. This is particularly useful for 5G ultra-dense network (UDN).

The demonstration shows an LTE MIMO beamforming with coherent JT technology using Sunnada’s LTE small cell with 4 distributed antenna units. The system can support up to 64 antennas. The quality of the beamforming signal is captured and revealed with Keysight PXI vector signal analyzer with 89601B VSA software. Sunnada small cell delivers live video streaming signal to a commercial LTE UE. The downlink LTE waveform are beamformed by multiple distributed antenna units. The antenna units are self-calibrated by the ASTRI’s baseband JT synchronization algorithms to maintain the timing and phase coherence.

Being one of the pioneers in 5G technologies, ASTRI is devoted to developing the massive MIMO technologies for next generation communication systems. ASTRI’s coherent JT algorithm simplifies the deployment and provides foundations for a practical 5G system. Apart from JT algorithm, ASTRI is developing advanced massive MIMO algorithms such as training resource optimizations and pilot contamination mitigation. ASTRI actively involves in establishing its IP portfolio on different 4.5/5G technologies including Ultra Dense Network (UDN), Machine Type Communications (MTC), Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), Device-to-device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). ASTRI is also developing the C-RAN system for enhancing system capacity with coordinated transmission points.

The demonstration is carried out at Sunnada booth (Hall 5, Stand 5G70) in Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2016, being held at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain, from 22 to 25 February 2016.

AIR fellows featured in Ming Pao

Two teams of AIR fellows namely DecaSense and eScooter were featured in Ming Pao on 22 February 2016. The teams shared that the AIR program helps ease their financial burden in running their innovative projects and provides them with valuable mentorship.

For more details, please visit: http://www.mpfinance.com/htm/finance/20160222/columnist/edb_edba1.htm
(The article is available in Chinese only)

AIR fellows’ field trip to Pearl River Delta

The ASTRI Innovation Runway (AIR) Entrepreneurship Fellow Programme organized a field trip to Pearl River Delta on 18 January, whereby the AIR fellows took a closer look at the entrepreneurship environment in the Chinese Mainland.

Led by the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI), the AIR fellows visited a number of successful companies in Guangzhou Nansha and Shenzhen, including Huawei Technologies, Tencent, ZTE and APT Electronics, where the young entrepreneurs observed and learnt from the innovation, business models and strategies of these iconic enterprises in China.

The AIR fellows also met with representatives from Shenzhen Micro & Nano Research Institute of IC and System Applications (MNI) and Micro & Nano Stone2Gold Angel Fund during the trip. MNI, ASTRI and Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks jointly established the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Micro-electronics Co-innovation Alliance in 2015 to promote the Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation microelectronics industry. Mr. Johnsheen Zhang, President of MNI and Executive Partner of Micro & Nano Stone2Gold Angel Fund, remarked that the field trip was an important platform for exchanging entrepreneurship ideas. Mr. Zhang urged AIR fellows to seize the opportunity to start their businesses and to stay focused upon their own strength. “As a young and small startup, it would be better to concentrate on small and innovative project with your competitive advantage.”

The group also visited institutes and incubators that inspire and nurture young entrepreneurs, such as Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub, Galaxy Bothwin Research for Innovation, Startup & Investment, HKUST Fok Ying Tung Research Institute and HKUST Shenzhen Industry, Education and Research Base. During the visit, the AIR fellows met with some incubatees to learn from their start-up experiences.

The AIR fellows were impressed by the establishment and supports provided to entrepreneurs in the Mainland. They found the trip inspiring as they could understand more about the entrepreneurship environment in the Pearl River Delta Region.

The AIR fellows meet with Mr. Johnsheen Zhang (front row, third from left), President of Micro & Nano and Executive Partner of Micro&Nano Stone2Gold Angel Fund.

AIR fellows visit the laboratory of Googol Technology at HKUST Shenzhen Industry, Education and Research Base.

ASTRI’s Chairman attends Shenzhen-Hong Kong Co-operation Working Seminar

Mr. Wong Ming-yam, BBS, JP, Chairman of ASTRI recently attended the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Co-operation Working Seminar and met with Prof. Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, President of Qianhai Institute for Innovative Research as well as a number of industry leaders in the areas of finance, technology, education and professional services, to name but a few. In the meeting, the leaders had an in-depth discussion and explored new breakthrough on Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation.

For details, please refer to http://t.cn/RbQ4lSe (Chinese only).

Mr. Ming-yam Wong, BBS, JP, Chairman of ASTRI

Photo source: www.southcn.com

ASTRI’s Technology Leader Appointed Adjunct Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr. Joe C.L. Chan, Director, Information Security, ASTRI has been appointed as Adjunct Professor of the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering by the President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in January 2016.

Prior to joining ASTRI, Dr. Chan received venture fund and co-founded an information security technology startup, leading the research and development of patented hardware security tokens, email and cloud encryption systems, and multi-factor authentication technologies, among others. Dr. Chan had also co-founded an IT consultancy company back in 2005 and was Director and Technology Leader of the company responsible for the advancement of technological development, establishment of new data recovery, reverse engineering and forensics function.

Prior to his entrepreneur venture, Dr. Chan was devoted to the research and development of numerous data processing systems. These research and development activities include cryptosystems, DRM reverse engineering, semantics database systems, elevator control, distant video learning, audio compression, and many other areas. Dr. Chan has been granted 4 patents.

Dr. Chan obtained his PhD degree in Electronic Engineering from City University London. He is also the holder of CISSP and CISA. Currently, he is the Vice-Chairman of Research in Cloud Security Alliance HK Chapter.

ASTRI Joins 2015 China Science and Technology Finance Summit Forum

2015 China Science and Technology Finance Summit Forum was held on 12 December at Foshan, Guangdong, China. The Forum aimed at discussing the problems that China faces and formulating solutions about how to upgrade the economy. One of the solutions is to focus on financial innovations, for examples, the technologies on crowd financing and securitization of intellectual property, and building platforms to promote and to commercialize the technologies so that innovators or inventors can obtain fair reward for their hard work. ASTRI’s Director of Internet Finance Prof. Jerome Yen was invited to give a talk about the valuation and securitization of intellectual property. For details, please refer to relevant news report (Simplified Chinese only).

Photo Source: Xinhua Net

Prof. Jerome Yen (third from the right)

Photo Source: Xinhua Net

OmniVision and ASTRI’s New Heads Up Display (HUD) Delivers Clear Information to the Driver’s Eye Line

Continued Collaboration Results in Dramatically Improved Display Quality and Reduced Power Consumption

[Hong Kong, 8 January 2016] OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: OVTI), a leading developer of advanced digital imaging solutions and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) today announced a new heads up display (HUD) for next-generation automobiles that delivers bright, clear information to drivers, even in daylight. Built on OmniVision’s OVP7200 and OVP921, the new HUD can produce 720p high definition (HD) images with reduced power consumption, vastly improved contrast ratio and a wider operating temperature range.

“ASTRI’s collaboration with OmniVision is based on the simple idea of bringing brighter and clearer information into a driver’s line-of-sight in the hope of reducing distractions and improving safety for drivers and passengers,” said Kenny Chan, Senior Manager at ASTRI. “Through close collaboration and a deep understanding of our and OmniVision’s LCOS technologies, we have jointly produced an HUD that will set a new standard of driver displays for the next generation of automobiles. We hope to continue the collaboration for our two-dimensional holographic HUD, which we expect to make a debut in 2016.”

Using OmniVision’s OVP7200 single panel, colour field sequential LCOS solution, ASTRI can process the LCOS backplane to produce a vertical alignment (VA) display. In addition, ASTRI’s proprietary optical module design enables the HUD to produce an excellent contrast (> 800:1) of more than 10,000 nits at 2 watts of LED power.

Israel Minister of Science, Technology & Space leads a delegation to visit ASTRI

Israel Minister of Science, Technology & Space Mr. Ofir Akunus led a delegation to visit ASTRI on 17 December. Mr. Ming-yam Wong, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASTRI and Dr. Frank Tong, CEO of ASTRI extended a warm welcome to the delegation and introduced to them ASTRI’s latest technology development. The delegation also visited the ASTRI Security Lab and IC Design Demo Room and had a look at the live demonstrations of ASTRI’s technologies such as face analysis system and big data analysis platform.

Mr. Ming-yam Wong, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASTRI (6rd from the right), Dr. Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI (4th from the left), and technology leaders welcome the Israel Minister of Science, Technology & Space delegation to ASTRI.

Mr. Ming-yam Wong, BBS, JP, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ASTRI presents souvenir to Mr. Ofir Akunis, Israel Minister of Science, Technology and Space.

The delegation visits the ASTRI Security Lab, IC Design Demo Room and looks at the live demonstrations.