|
Professor K.F. Wong, Associate Dean (External Affairs),
Faculty of Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong
Kong |
HONG KONG, Apr 15, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) -
Cutting-edge technology solutions are changing the way we live like
never before, as we prepare for a futuristic new era of smart
cities. The radical shift in the urban fabric, integrating data,
communications and sensors to boost the efficiency of civic
operations and services was the focus of a seminar themed
'Disruptive Technology Enabling Smart City' at the 15th edition of
the HKTDC International ICT Expo at the Hong Kong Convention &
Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).
Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong Unveiled --
Exploring the technology side of this year's expo theme "Smart
City: The Way of the Future", the seminar organised by the Hong
Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) was moderated by Professor
K.F. Wong, Associate Dean (External Affairs), Faculty of
Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
He introduced the session praising Hong Kong's own vision for a
'Smart City'. The blueprint unveiled "embraces innovative
technology for a smart Hong Kong under six key areas," he said,
which included mobility, living, environment, people, government
and the economy.
The blueprint promises to "improve quality of life by changing ways
of living", he said, while disruptive technologies, the theme of
the seminar, will play a key role in making the vision a reality,
bringing "better ways to live in this world".
Building Smart Cities with Data Technology --
Patrick Chan, Solutions Architect, Alibaba Cloud Hong Kong &
Macau, explained how Alibaba's cloud-computing ecosystem, developed
originally for the e-retail giant's businesses including the online
payment platform Alipay, is now being commercialised for government
and enterprise applications through what it brands 'ET City
Brain'.
"Data embraces all of society," he said. "The question is how smart
cities can use it?" The answer is "in a multitude of ways" - from
security and the environment to health systems and medical record
management.
One of the most immediate and visible benefits is traffic
management alleviating traffic jams and snarl-ups in Hangzhou, the
first Chinese city to embrace Alibaba's 'ET City Brain Solution'.
With 8,000 traffic lights, 2,300 junctions, 11,000 taxis and 5,000
buses, Hangzhou, which also happens to be Alibaba's home, was
enduring chaotic traffic when it launched Alibaba's first smart
city initiative in 2016 "to make life easier and more convenient
for citizens".
Through "intelligent deployment of all available real-time traffic
data", including GPS and sensors revealing traffic status, traffic
light control is now adjusted to optimise efficiency. As a result,
Alibaba's cloud computing ecosystem has "made every junction
smarter" and "improved daily transportation for everyone" - with
overall traffic movement accelerated by 11%.
The 'ET City Brain Solution' is now on the drawing-board for
Suzhou, Quzhou, Macau and even further afield in the Malaysian
capital, Kuala Lumpur; with improved service applications extending
from transport and public services to real estate, finance, health,
e-commerce and entertainment - and even improving ways smart cities
can adapt their systems to changing weather.
"Ultimately, through merging advanced technology and data, we are
helping cities to build better services, control and organisation,"
said Mr Chan. Alibaba is also keen to help make Hong Kong a smarter
city.
Cybersecurity Alongside Smart City Development --
"Smart cities will bring great benefits making life easier, but
before we are all connected we must think about security,"
cautioned Garrick Ng, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco Hong Kong,
Macau and Taiwan.
As the leader of Cisco's engineering strategy and operations for
enterprise, commercial and service provider systems, Mr Ng noted
that by 2020, there will be an estimated 30 billion 'things'
connected through the internet worldwide - equivalent to four times
the world's population. "This opens the door for hackers, and makes
it very easy for them to get in," he warned.
While cities are getting smarter, so are the hackers, he said:
"It's a whole new world for us, but it's also a whole new world for
the hackers. Hacking chaos used to happen in the movies. Now
hacking is a huge industry - they are making a lot of money."
As an example, he cited the recent 'ransomware' infecting smart
TVs, when hackers brazenly telephoned users promising to unlock the
block for HK$500. Victims could, of course, take their smart TVs to
the manufacturer for cleaning, but they would be charged about the
same amount - "with a lot more hassle". "Either way you had to
pay," he said.
In other frightening cases, he recalled a "huge attack" that
brought down a large part of the United States internet for a day.
It subsequently transpired that 100,000 internet devices were
hijacked from the unknowing public to mount the attack. In Ukraine
in 2015, 225,000 residents lost power supply for up to six hours
during the freezing winter, as a result of 30 power sub-stations
being disconnected by hackers.
WannaCry ransomware claimed 300,000 victims in 150 countries, among
them motoring giants like Honda, Nissan and Renault, global
logistics leaders FedEx, TNT and Maersk - were effectively shut
down for a day at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Hacking is simple, he said, because so few people regularly update
the 'patches' and passwords on their computers and devices, it's
like leaving their houses unlocked for burglars to hijack their
systems for nefarious attacks.
On the plus side, there is no turning back on smart cities, with
advantages far outweighing the risks: "You can even turn up street
lighting in a high crime rate area and crime drops!"
"The world is going to be a very different place in the future," he
said. "But we don't only need connectivity for smart cities. We
need secure connectivity."
Building a Next-generation Data-inspired Enterprise --
Finally, Michael Siu, Senior Solutions Architect, Greater China,
Dun & Bradstreet, updated the seminar on the "not so scary"
scenario of how his company effectively manages next generation
data for enterprises.
Smart cities and enterprises depend on data, he said, and Dun &
Bradstreet has been providing databases since long before the
online age, since being founded in 1841 - "nearly two centuries of
unlocking the truth through data".
The New York-listed data manager today boats a database of 290
million business records, and 30,000 data sources - which makes it
in demand from 90% of Forbes 500 companies.
"We also play a vital part in maintaining Hong Kong's role as
Asia's leading banking and financial centre," he said. "Data
management is crucial."
Smart City Seminar Series at HKTDC International ICT Expo --
Organised by the HKTDC, the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring
Edition) and the International ICT Expo continues through to 16
April at the HKCEC, featuring more than 3,500 exhibitors from 25
countries and regions. The two fairs showcase the latest
electronics, cutting-edge technology and ICT solutions from around
the world. The Smart City Seminar Series features industry experts
exploring such topics as Internet security, Fintech, developing
smart business through IoT applications, how disruptive technology
is driving smart city development, smart mobility and logistics,
smart home trends and electronic ID. Event details:
https://bit.ly/2HdShtl.
15th Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring)
2,950 exhibitors, 24 countries and regions
Website: http://hkelectronicsfairse.hktdc.com
Startup Zone: https://goo.gl/1YH5iz
Highlights: https://goo.gl/LNwp78
15th International ICT Expo
600 exhibitors,10 countries and regions
Website: http://ictexpo.hktdc.com
Smart City zone: https://bit.ly/2EoFukK
Startup Zone: https://goo.gl/1YH5iz
Highlights: https://goo.gl/STgHRp
HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department -
Joshua Cheng, +852 2584 4395, joshua.cp.cheng@hktdc.org
Angela Cheu, +852 2584 4546, angela.ly.cheu@hktdc.org
Source: HKTDC
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
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