HKSTP Collaborates with Technology Partners to Boost Data-driven Smart City Solutions in Hong Kong

(From Left) Gracie Ng, Associate Director, ICT Cluster & Smart City Platform, HKSTP; Jerome Lee, Manager, Application Center, Greater China, Infineon Technologies; Samuel Lo, General Manager, NVIDIA AI Technology Center; Keith Cheng, Head of Hong Kong Digitalisation Hub of Siemens; George Tee, Chief Technology Officer, HKSTP; Douglas Lo, Technical Lead, Hong Kong & Macau, Hitachi Vantara; TF Chow, Senior Advisor - Strategy, CLP Power Hong Kong and Peter Yeung, Head of ICT, Smart City & Green Technology, HKSTP. Senior executives from Partner companies and HKSTP at the inauguration of the Data Analytics Platform, part of the initiative to accelerate the development of smart city solutions in the city.

(Hong Kong, 22 March 2018) - Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) announced the inauguration of Data Analytics Platform, an extension of the Data Studio initiative to accelerate the development, testing, validation and adoption of smart city solutions in the city. The new Data Analytics Platform offers hybrid cloud technology infrastructure as well as on premise GPU computing with new data creation that data analysts, data engineers and software developers can apply to the vast datasets including those from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors for big data analytics and data visualisation.

The Data Studio initiative, which comprises a facility at HK Science Park and an online portal, was established in February last year. As of today, the Data Studio possesses a rich 129 dataset library with various disciplines such as health, finance, environment, education and transportation, currently subscribed by 593 developers from 42 publishers.

The new Data Analytics Platform is the collaboration between HKSTP and leading technology partners to enrich the supporting infrastructure for start-ups and SMEs to drive data-driven innovation around smart city solutions under four smart themes – Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People. The themes were laid out in the Smart City BluePrint for Hong Kong released by the Government last December.

The five technology partners involved in the Data Analytics Platform include:

• Hitachi Vantara will provide sophisticated analytics and digital tools to unleash the power of IoT, big data, analytics and video intelligence to fuel innovation, solve local challenges and improve smart cities.
• NVIDIA AI Technology Center (NVAITC) will provide access to the NVIDIA DGX Systems, powerful personal supercomputer for AI development. Built on the NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) Cloud Deep Learning Stack, the DGX Systems will enable researchers to leverage deep learning and build their smart and safe city applications.
• Siemens will provide their Siemens MindSphere, a cloud-based IoT operating system for the Data Analytics Platform. MindSphere’s open Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) enables a rich partner ecosystem to develop and deliver new applications to tackle city challenges such as traffic congestion, public convenience, public safety, energy saving and city planning.
• CLP Holdings will collaborate with HKSTP and technology partners to derive value and insights out of data leveraging CLP’s energy and domain expertise.
• Infineon will provide data related to human and vehicle traffic flow collected via its smart downlights and smart lamp poles in Science Park. The collected data will contribute to the data platform for smart city innovation.

With the Data Analytics Platform, start-ups, software developers and companies can gain access to data-centric tools and software including IoT (Internet of Things) data acquisition, data engineering, visualisation design and analytics software – tools that help them utilise big data and develop smart city solutions, thereby accelerate the development cycle from proof-of-concept to industrial adoption. These solutions could include IoT equipment for major industries, apps, software, industrial robotics and wearables, as well as artificial intelligence applications in building management systems, traffic management, banking, retail, etc.

George Tee, Chief Technology Officer, HKSTP said, “Through close collaboration with ecosystem partners, HKSTP strives to promote the use of innovation and technology for continuous city innovation. The new Data Analytics Platform extends the capabilities of our Data Studio to the next level, turning Science Park into a living laboratory with a range of value-added services that accelerates the R&D innovations done here at our premises. I’m confident we can realise many new possibilities for our smart city development objectives – solving urban challenges, driving sustainable city management and improving our quality of living even more.”

“Hitachi Vantara is advancing the accumulated wisdom of Hitachi’s unrivaled experience of more than 100 years in operational technology and more than 50 years in information technology.  Leveraging our established IoT & Data Analytics Platforms, we enable data-driven insights and outcomes that matter so as to foster growth and development of a smarter and safer city”, said Andrew Sampson, General Manager, Hong Kong and Macau, Hitachi Vantara.

NVIDIA AI Technology Center General Manager Samuel Lo said, “At the foundation of every technological innovation is computing power, whether it’s on a smartphone, PC, server or the cloud. In this era of AI, GPU deep learning, software writes itself and machines learn. AI will revolutionize every industry. The number of GPU deep learning developers has leapt 25 times in just two years. Around 2,000 AI startups have cropped up – in smart city, healthcare, fintech, automotive, consumer web application and more. NVIDIA is focused on innovation, AI and high performance computing. We are proud to play a part in contributing to the growth of innovation and technology here in Hong Kong.”

“In this digital era, businesses have to connect virtual machines with physical infrastructure to tap the potential of digitalization.  Siemens MindSphere, a cloud-based IoT operating system, enables business to harness the wealth of data generated by IoT with advanced analytics. Empowered by thriving talents, supportive leaders and HKSTP Data Studio Platform, we are dedicated to co-create connected city solutions and ultimately transform Hong Kong into a smart city.” said Keith Cheng, Head of Hong Kong Digitalization Hub, Siemens Ltd.

Austin Bryan, Senior Director – Innovation, CLP Holdings Limited said, “Digital technology is a key part of our utility business to position us as a market leader within the region that we operate and an important enabler for our business growth. The HKSTP provides us with an excellent ecosystem to access to a variety of companies and technologies where we can leverage our domain expertise and market presence to co-develop innovative solutions and business models with our partners. We look forward to collaborating with the local ecosystem here in Hong Kong to support both our local Hong Kong and regional opportunities.”

David Poon, Managing Director of Infineon Technologies Hong Kong Limited said, “As a global leader in semiconductor, Infineon provides high performance and innovative technology solutions to make life easier, safer and greener. By applying our 24GHz radar sensors in this initiative, vehicle traffic flow and human traffic data can be precisely consolidated through our Smart Street Lighting and Smart People Flow Management System installed in HKSTP. The big data collected is a valuable and critical contribution to the Data Analytics Platform for further AI analysis. It is our key priority to continue to invest and develop new technology to support our Hong Kong Smart City development.”  

The five technology partners demonstrated their support and collaboration in the Data Analytics Platform at the MakeITHongKong 3-2-1 Go! event held at Hong Kong Science Park today. MakeITHongKong is HKSTP’s renewed push to develop the I&T sector for Hong Kong.