As part of the hype surrounding the internet of things, or IoT, and its vast potential, Hong Kong government officials and tech executives agreed that artificial intelligence technology is vital for the successful implementation of IoT.
Speaking June 6 at the Hong Kong IoT Conference 2018, the city’s secretary for innovation and technology, Nicholas Yang, told delegates that a confluence of artificial intelligence, big data analytics and IoT is needed to transform Hong Kong into a successful smart city.
Yang referred to Hong Kong’s SmartCity Blueprint, released last December and which mapped out development plans for the city over the next five years. It stresses the need to launch a fast-tracked IT talent admission scheme, to lure more professionals in data science, robotics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
The president of the Hong Kong Internet of Things Industry Advisory Council, Andy Bien, who delivered an opening speech at the tech conference, agreed that while the onset of IoT represents limitless opportunities, it comes with hurdles of its own.
"Despite the hype of data collection from IoT applications, the challenge is that not much data is used or shared for reuse right now. Businesses need to be ready to handle such massive amounts of data, to truly realize the potential of IoT," Bien said.
Meanwhile, Ram Kumar Narasimhan, a senior director and head of solutions, cloud and analytics for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Capgemini, argued that artificial intelligence is transforming a number of industries because of its ability to "humanize" IoT devices.
Narasimhan’s point was well demonstrated with the appearance of SoftBank Group Corp..'s humanoid robot, called Pepper, which punctuated the conference at different points.
On several occasions, Pepper demonstrated its ability to identify emotions and select behavior best suited for the situation based on voice, facial expressions and body movements. Indeed, when Pepper first rolled onto the conference stage, it was greeted with a round of applause from the audience to which the robot instinctively swung its robotic arms in the air.
Several case studies presented at the event illustrated how IoT can be applied in various sectors. For example, Yang pointed to Hong Kong’s smart lampposts project, which is currently in a pilot stage and will involve the installation of 400 lampposts in four urban locations, as one that will help collect real-time city data such as weather, transportation and crowd flow.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s collaboration with the mobile arm of Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Ltd., Three Hong Kong, to open the industry’s first large-scale IoT infrastructure, was another example presented.
Yet, in order to take such cases to "the next level," businesses must look at making sense of patterns, according to Wincy Chan, Microsoft Corp.'s IoT Ecosystem Lead for Digital Transformation, Data and AI in Asia. She said that IoT devices are increasingly invading consumers’ daily lives from driver-less cars to cashier-less shops.
While IoT devices can operate without the need for the cloud "every second," the power of the device is unlocked through artificial intelligence and big data platforms, Chan added.
