Hong Kong (China Daily) - Hong Kong is boosting its research and development activities in augmented reality (AR) technologies to strengthen the city’s enterprises’ capabilities to provide their customers with an enhanced view of their world through AR glasses.
Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Co (ASTRI), established in 2000 by the Hong Kong government to enhance Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries, announced a strategic partnership with CITIC Telecom International CPC, a CITIC Telecom International Holdings subsidiary, to develop AR glasses.
The partnership program, announced on Monday, started in April and will run for 18 months. After the 18-month research period, CITIC Telecom International CPC will provide the new technology solutions to its clients, including those in the auto, retail, telecom and financial services industries.
Industrial application of AR glasses technology has been rare. ASTRI and CITIC Telecom International CPC believe the new technology can be applied in public services such as drainage and construction services.
The telecom-services provider is shouldering 20 percent of the R&D costs, or millions of Hong Kong dollars, while the remaining R&D costs are being assumed by ASTRI.
The two parties estimate that the AR glasses technology can boost productivity up to 40 percent to 50 percent.
Previously, field engineers relied on several computing devices like smartphones and laptops for installation, maintenance and troubleshooting. This typically consumed significant time and efforts to simultaneously manage and use multiple devices. After introducing AR glasses in their fieldwork, then real-time intelligence, troubleshooting logs, graphics and encrypted data from back-end systems can be streamed and made accessible onsite to engineers anytime and anywhere.
“We hope the resulting innovation will disrupt the game rules of operations and maintenance, enhance productivity and create value for our customers for years to come,” said Stephen Ho, CEO of CITIC Telecom International CPC.
ASTRI CEO Hugh Chow agreed, saying, “With technologies like AR, machine vision, robotics and artificial intelligence, we create the industries to deliver customer experience and pursue innovation-led growth.”
https://www.chinadailyhk.com/articles/41/157/154/1559569238905.html?news...
