HKSTP’s partner companies and incubatees celebrate outstanding success in the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2017

(Hong Kong, 10 April 2017) - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (“HKSTP”) is pleased to announce that its partner companies and incubatees received various awards in the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2017. Among them are two grand awards – Best Smart Hong Kong Grand Award and Best Mobile Apps Grand Award.

Fosters innovations that benefit the public through a full-fledged innovation and technology (“I&T”) ecosystem

HKSTP’s partner company Megasoft Ltd. won Best Smart Hong Kong Grand Award and Best Smart Hong Kong Award (Internet of Things Application) Gold Award. Megasoft’s award-winning IoT cold chain visibility platform and solution, MyndVIZ, is a comprehensive cloud-based platform for the cold chain industry designed to monitor cold chain process from end-to-end, locally and globally. Matthew Man, CEO  of Megasoft Ltd. said, “MyndVIZ is a breakthrough to food and drug safety. By enabling real-time monitoring of possible temperature variation in food and drug during the delivery process, MyndVIZ protects public health and safety. The solution also helps set forth a best practice for the pharmaceutical, logistics and medical industries. We launched this solution in the end of last year and it has now been adopted by several hospitals in Hong Kong. Thanks to HKSTP’s support over the years to facilitate the speedy development of the solution, be it actively connecting us with different industry partners, assisting us in joining various international competitions, or helping us with brand building and product promotion. Our goal this year is to have all hospitals in Hong Kong adopt this innovative solution so to bring greater benefit to the medical industry.”

On the same occasion, HKSTP’s incubatee Playnote Ltd. won Best Mobile Apps Grand Award, Best Mobile Apps (Consumer Solutions) Award Gold Award, and Best Mobile Apps (Consumer Solutions) Award Special Mention (Creative and Innovative Application). Playnote Ltd. has been developing its music education mobile applications at Hong Kong Science Park with the use of artificial intelligence (“A.I.”) technology. The award-winning Scalebook™ is a mobile application that helps music students practice scales. It is the only music learning application globally authorised by The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). Eric Yung, Founder and CEO of Playnote Ltd. said, “We thank HKSTP for its continuous assistance and support throughout the R&D and commercialisation of our products. The vibrant I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong Science Park attracts talent from all over the world which fosters exchange among technology companies. This ecosystem benefits our team in generating innovative ideas and developing our award-winning new product. I hope this A.I. integrated solution will help more people around the world learn music.”

Drives innovation to fuel Hong Kong’s transformation towards an innovation-driven economy

Albert Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP, expressed that he was pleased to see the achievement of HKSTP’s partner companies and incubatees in the Hong Kong ICT Award 2017. Hong Kong’s strong capability on scientific R&D and commercialisation is evident in the market’s support and wide application of this year’s award-winning projects. He said, “Innovation in information and communications technology (“ICT”) is the backbone of smart cities. It is also a crucial component for development of healthy ageing and robotics solutions. The Grand Award and Gold Award winning projects span across a wide application spectrum, from food and drug safety, music learning, disease diagnostics to aeronautical management. This is a solid proof that Hong Kong has already embarked on the transformation towards innovation-driven economy.”

He added, “I&T industries will gradually become the foundation of sustainable and diverse social and economic development. It will also offer fresh opportunities for the young generation. HKSTP will continue to enhance the I&T ecosystem and bring together talents to drive exchange, collaboration and innovation. I look forward to seeing more aspiring individuals join our ecosystem to realise innovative ideas and make contribution to the society. The industry also plays a pivotal role to actively adopt innovative solutions from Hong Kong technology enterprises.”

To further promote innovation and foster the generation of smart city solutions, HKSTP will hold the “City Innovation Challenge: Smart Mobility” competition. Participants will develop innovative solutions using data to enhance public’s mobility, logistics efficiency, city space and resources utilisation. To refine their concept, participants will have the chance to meet with data publishers and relevant organisations. Winners will be able to test and verify their solutions in Hong Kong Science Park, university campuses and other public facilities such as the Hong Kong International Airport. Further details will be announced later. 

Steered by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, and organised by ten ICT industry associations and professional bodies in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong ICT Awards is an annual industry event aims at recognising and promoting outstanding ICT applications and solutions.

Introduction of innovation receiving Gold Awards or above

Megasoft Ltd. – Best Smart Hong Kong Grand Award and Best Smart Hong Kong Award (Internet of Things Application) Gold Award

MyndVIZ – is an IoT cloud based platform designed to monitor cold chain process and provide a total solution to the cold chain industry. MyndVIZ can provide real-time temperature monitoring at item level from end-to-end, locally and globally. Some solutions include IoT devices such as: mPulzer (wireless temperature logger), mAntenna (wireless receiver) and mAnchor (wireless intelligence server). The solution can serve different needs within the entire temperature controlled supply chain, even at homes and hospitals. The platform provides real-time monitoring and instant alerts to alarm any abnormal temperature changes. The data will be stored on the MyndVIZ platform for up to 4 years for tracking and tracing. Its unique monthly rental model enables end users to adopt the solution quickly and cost effectively with minimal infrastructure cost. MyndVIZ ensures that the quality of temperature sensitive products is monitored to the highest standards to meet food safety standard ISO22000 and other pharmaceutical compliances.

Playnote Ltd. – Best Mobile Apps Grand Award, Best Mobile Apps (Consumer Solutions) Award Gold Award and Best Mobile Apps (Consumer Solutions) Award Special Mention (Creative and Innovative Application)

Scalebook™ is a mobile application that helps music students around the world practise Scales, with the help of an A.I. teacher and examiner. Scales playing is a fundamental element in music education, and it is also an essential subject of ABRSM (Associated Board Royal Schools of Music) Exams. The A.I. teacher can instantly analyse students’ performance after they played, pointing out areas for improvement such as intonation, pitch, rhythm and tone, just like a human teacher. Scalebook™ also provides unlimited mock exams, providing instant detailed feedback and marking. Scalebook™ uses big data method to analyse students’ strengths and weaknesses, and displays this information in simple graphical form. All practice and mock exam records are stored on the cloud, allowing teachers to easily track their students’ progress. Scalebook™ also provides other tools such as patented interactive fingering, demo recording, etc. The A.I. teacher can speak Cantonese, Mandarin and English. The app supports different instruments, including violin, flute, trumpet, clarinet, etc. Scalebook™ supports ABRSM Exams Grades 1 to 5, available for download on the App Store.

BrianNow Medical Technology Ltd. – Best Smart Hong Kong Award (Open Data / Big Data Application) Gold Award

AccuBrain is a clinically applicable computing tool for early detection and differential diagnosis of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. Current diagnosis of these diseases is based on cognitive assessment and subjective assessment of magnetic resonance images (MRI). Designed by a team with more than 10 years of experience in medical image computing, the system is a disruptive cloud computing tool for automatic extraction of MRI biomarkers. The key technologies involved are fast and robust 3D image segmentation algorithm and the statistics analysis based on big imaging data. Compared with existing research tools for brain image analysis, which takes up to 24 hours for analysing each individual brain MRI, the system takes less than 30 minutes to generate a quantitative report containing quantitative metrics of more than 40 key brain structures for each individual data. Based on the normal reference derived from these imaging biomarkers in a large cohort of Chinese population, the percentile of individual biomarker can be calculated and will be of great value in clinical practice and in clinical studies and significantly contributive to the healthcare field.

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO) – Best Mobile Apps (Enterprise Solutions) Award Gold Award

HAECO Mobile – Line Services is a mobile application that provides an integrated communications platform to the HAECO Line Service (LS) frontline staff so that they can access and input the latest work related information anywhere and anytime effectively. The LS teams can use the mobile application to view flight schedules and assignments on the day; cross-check unreturned tools; receive weather warnings; do check in/out and perform event logging on aircrafts. It greatly reduces the communications overhead and travel time to the mobile workforce due to geographical locations, education levels, languages; and transforms the working culture to drive for operation efficiency. This mobile application enables HAECO to deliver professional and high quality engineering services, which directly contribute to the quality operation in the Hong Kong International Airport.