Smart Cities Research Institute Develops 3 Patented Technologies

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) established its Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) in 2020, and has already developed a number of cutting-edge, patented technologies. 

Three smart city technologies developed at SCRI – which is led by Professor Wenzheng (John) SHI – include:

  • A three-dimensional (3D) Mobile Mapping System to provide accurate 3D maps to support smart city applications. 3D indoor Building Information Models (BIM) are often used when buildings are undergoing reconstruction or maintenance. Many older buildings do not have BIMs, which led Shi’s team to develop a lightweight and reliable 3D mobile mapping system which can easily measure cities and obtain 3D maps with centimeter-level accuracy. Their mobile mapping backpack can also be used to obtain detailed indoor 3D models to support firefighting efforts;
  • AI-based Landslide Recognition for reporting landslides and facilitating disaster control, based on a series of AI-based algorithms to recognize various ground objects from remotely sensed data. The Hong Kong Civil Engineering and Development Department can use this tool to learn details of landslides, a major natural disaster in Hong Kong; and, 
  • Spatiotemporal Prediction of COVID-19 Onset Risk to help public health agencies formulate more precise prevention and control strategies. A key Smart Living initiative in the Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2.0 is the use of information technology to combat Covid-19. The team developed the extended Weighted Kernel Density Model for predicting the COVID-19 symptom onset risk. Based on their Spatiotemporal Big Data Platform, they have also developed a visualization platform for COVID-19 onset risk to show the latest developments and short-term forecasts of the epidemic.

“Smart cities is one of the key research focuses of the University. PolyU’s multidisciplinary research capabilities in the fields of urban informatics, artificial intelligence, robotics and data science will help us further enhance the research of smart city technology. Looking ahead, the PolyU Smart City Research Institute will concentrate its research on a range of smart cities applications such as transportation, the environment, and ageing issues, so as to expedite the development of smart cities in Hong Kong and the Nation, ” said Professor Shi.