City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is showcasing 12 projects at this year's Innovation & Design Expo (IDE), demonstrating how the University’s high-quality application-oriented education results in new technologies that help improve people’s lives.

 

Participation in the IDE underlies CityU’s commitment to cultivating an innovative culture for social and economic development in Hong Kong.

 

The IDE, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, highlights the latest technologies and design solutions and aims to enrich the capacity of the trading, manufacturing and service sectors to supply the global market.

 

This year’s event was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 21 to 23 November and attracted over 30,000 enterprises, including manufacturers and traders from Hong Kong, private business enterprises from the mainland, and international companies interested in the Asian, especially the China market.

 

“CityU does not simply exchange fresh technological inventions and ideas with others,” said Mr H Y Wong, Director of the Technology Transfer Office at CityU. “We apply our strengths in research to business and industry so that we can help different sectors find their potential niche. This is important in advancing the frontiers of knowledge for a better world,” he said.

 

At the session on Technology Services, Chair Professor Hong Yan of the Department of Electronic Engineering (EE), introduced his project “Real-time lip-sync and facial animation for digital entertainment”, an application that can cope simultaneously with several virtual characters and process many languages. In addition to the entertainment aspect for use on mobile phones and the Internet, the technology is also applicable to e-learning and e-training.

 

Dr K F Tsang, Associate Professor in EE and Managing Director of Citycom Technology Limited, introduced his project “ZigBee Wireless Automated System”, a technology that is durable, versatile, and cost-effective because it requires low operating energy.

 

“The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to facilitate reliable, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard,” Dr Tsang said.

 

In the area of computer science, CityU projects highlight electronics; wireless communications; information technology; manufacturing engineering; building and construction; materials and surface technology; and life and environmental sciences.

 

These innovative projects help disseminate information about applied research at CityU to industry sectors such as trading, manufacturing and services to help improve our living environment as creatively and practically as possible.