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New Smart LAB co-creates innovative IT solutions with industry to enhance public services (with photos)
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     The Smart Government Innovation Lab (Smart LAB) was officially launched today (May 30) to provide a platform for encouraging innovative solutions and product suggestions from the IT sector, particularly local start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to address public service delivery and operational needs. It aims to facilitate the adoption of innovative technology to enhance city management and provide better public services for citizens. The Acting Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung, described the setting-up of Smart LAB as a milestone towards the development of a "smart government".
 
     With the objective of "Connect, Inspire, Co-create", Smart LAB aims to connect the service needs of individual departments with quality solutions from the industry. Proof-of-concept and technology testing will be arranged to enable departments to have a better picture of the effectiveness and limitations of suitable solutions, thereby assisting them in formulating innovative measures that are conducive to streamlining operations and upgrading services. Located in Cyberport, Smart LAB also showcases technologies that are being tested, or have been successfully tested, in various departments to inspire wider adoption by other departments. To foster exchanges and sharing between departments and the industry, technology forums and thematic workshops will be organised regularly with a view to co-developing more I&T solutions that best suit the public service needs.
 
     Dr Chung said at the opening ceremony that Smart LAB is a testing ground and showroom to pull together government departments and I&T enterprises. It will not only further assist departments in the adoption of IT, but also open up more business opportunities for local start-ups and SMEs. The ultimate goal is to bring quality services to the public.
 
     The Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Victor Lam, added that the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) is working with the Cyberport and the Hong Kong Science Park in organising technology forums. These technology forums will be conducted at quarterly intervals so that government departments can grasp trends and get updates on the latest solutions and products, while industry players can get hold of the business needs of government departments. The first forum, themed "Smart City Infrastructure", will be held on June 26 at Cyberport, followed tentatively by another in September at Hong Kong Science Park. Mr Lam said he expected that the move would give start-ups and SMEs a greater chance in bidding for government projects.
 
     Also newly launched today is a dedicated website for Smart Lab (www.smartlab.gov.hk), where service needs of different departments are listed. Industry players are invited to submit technology proposals to address such challenges. IT solutions put forward by the industry are also available on the website for government departments to search for suitable solutions and potential suppliers.
 
     Since the establishment of Smart LAB in April, the OGCIO has already approached some bureaux and departments to explore the feasibility of adopting various IT solutions. Technologies that have undergone or are undergoing proof-of-concept testing are now on display at Smart LAB. These include anti-bot solutions to prevent people from using computer programmes to automatically book public facilities; smart sensing technology and geographic information services for monitoring tree stability; video analytics for monitoring traffic conditions; virtual reality technologies for assisting the design of construction sites, monitoring of construction process and urban development planning, as well as others related to the Internet of Things, blockchain, artificial intelligence, cloud technologies and big data. 
 
Ends/Thursday, May 30, 2019
Issued at HKT 16:00
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Today's Press Releases  

Photo

The Acting Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung (centre); the Acting Permanent Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mrs Millie Ng (second left); the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Victor Lam (second right); the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Ms Annie Choi (first left); and the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Alfred Sit (first right), officiate at the opening ceremony of the Smart Government Innovation Lab today (May 30).
The Smart Government Innovation Lab (Smart LAB) assists government departments in the adoption of IT with a view to enhancing the quality and efficiency of public services.  Photo shows the Acting Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung (front row, sixth right); the Acting Permanent Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Mrs Millie Ng (front row, sixth left); the Government Chief Information Officer, Mr Victor Lam (front row, fifth right); the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Ms Annie Choi (front row, fifth left); and the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Alfred Sit (front row, fourth right), with representatives of departments which are in collaboration with Smart LAB at the opening ceremony today (May 30).
The Smart Government Innovation Lab showcases technologies that are being tested or have been successfully tested. Photo shows the Tree Movement Monitoring Console. When the sensor installed at the bottom of the tree trunk indicates that the tilt angle exceeds a certain threshold angle, the system will immediately alert designated parties.
The Smart Government Innovation Lab showcases a delivery robot, which is being tested by the Customs and Excise Department at the airport. This movable robot can help deliver items along predefined routes.
Photo shows the 4D Immersive CAVE System which is being displayed at the Smart Government Innovation Lab. Working together with the Hybrid Reality Platform, Building Information Modelling and 3D maps, the system can simulate and visualise prototypes of smart city technologies, and is being tested by the Lands Department and Architectural Services Department.
The city dashboard, which will be introduced by the end of 2019, is among the technologies being showcased at the Smart Government Innovation Lab. The city dashboard presents livelihood-related open data from data.gov.hk on interactive charts and geoinfo maps for easy browsing by the general public.