Together with Hong Kong Cyberport and HKT, Microsoft Hong Kong announced the opening of Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace, which integrates an Internet of Things (IoT) experience zone with makers workspace to inspire and enable Hong Kong start-ups to explore and experiment their IoT solutions through utilizing HKT’s 5G network and Microsoft’s technologies. Leveraging Hong Kong Cyberport’s start-up community and HKT’s true 5G services, Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace will also offer workshops and expert advice to upskill start-ups, test their solutions and provide go-to-market support to commercialize their solutions.
Research from McKinsey Global Institute suggests that over the next decade IoT and related data growth will have an economic impact of up to US$11 trillion per year, equivalent to about 11% of the world economy. As Hong Kong and the world enter the 5G era, IoT will be a critical foundation for the continued rise of smart devices with expectations of 20 billion connected devices by 2020. IoT is the gateway to business transformation and will create significant business opportunity for companies.
Mr. Fred Sheu, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Hong Kong, said, “In the next decade, nearly every consumer gadget, every household appliance and every industrial device will be connected to the Internet. IoT has the power to help us make our everyday lives better. Companies will have an opportunity to reimagine everything and fundamentally transform their businesses with new product offerings, new customer experiences, and differentiate against competition with new business models. We expect to see 5G accelerate this new wave of computing by supporting the proliferation of IoT and edge devices. We are going to see the combined benefits of two major industries – cloud and mobile - enabling the intelligent edge, with security as the core of Microsoft’s IoT platform.”
Mr. Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Cyberport, said, “One of Cyberport’s goals is to strengthen the competitiveness of start-ups by promoting their collaborations with well-established tech companies and creating synergy between both parties. The establishment of the Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace is an excellent example of how Cyberport’s anchor tenants can unleash the potential of our start-ups through technology enablement and by helping them seize opportunities in 5G and IoT. We are looking forward to seeing more Cyberport start-ups develop innovative 5G solutions with Microsoft’s state-of-the-art technology and be showcased at the Makerspace.”
Mr. Tom Chan, Managing Director of Commercial Group, HKT, said, “HKT is honored to unleash the power of true 5G at Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace, where we can co-develop and fast-track 5G smart technology solutions with start-ups for enterprise applications in various sectors. 5G is a super enabler of emerging technologies, and will drive tremendous growth of IoT, AR and other new applications. As the only Microsoft partner in Hong Kong with both Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) and Licensing Solution Provider (LSP) status, we are pleased to support start-ups with 5G and help on their go-to-market planning and strategies, capitalizing on our unique strengths in fixed and mobile network expertise, cloud computing, and many years of experience in system integration to help enterprises in digital transformation.”
Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace also features seven partners solution to stimulate start-ups’ innovation:
Cherrypicks: Utilizing indoor and outdoor location and data services through IoT devices, property management companies can capture visitors’ footfall patterns and analyze how visitors in different locations respond to notifications or promotions. Real-time and historical location data are also visualized in a user-friendly way for easy and immediate analysis or to prepare further actions in a timely manner, e.g. customer dwell times and crowd patterns, footfall patterns between stores, heat maps, location search history, etc. Data security is guaranteed with the integration use of Azure. Demo video is available here.
Web-on (Asia) Ltd: Leveraging Azure IoT services to collect usage and telemetry data from the Eversys Barista-Grade Coffee Machines, Web-on’s goBsrista, a Connected Coffee Machine solution, enables remote management of multiple coffee machines, providing real-time insight about the performance and usage of the machines to minimize the downtime and enhance the services level. Empowered by Azure, Eversys Coffee Machine provides the option for consumers to pay at the coffee machine with various payment systems through QR Code.
MAD Gaze: As one of Cyberport’s start up members, MAD Gaze develops AR smart eyewear which features dual optical display to facilitate a clear and wide visual, equivalent to a 90-inch screen from a three-meter distance, for gaming and other entertainment such as watching movies and browsing the Internet. This IoT device sets to bring brand new visual experience to users’ everyday lives.
Bamboo Technologies: The site inspection solution is a next generation service solution for the field service industry by using Azure IoT Central and Microsoft Power Platform. Once the IoT devices which are installed at the building sites detect abnormality, they will send signals to Azure IoT Central which will determine if any workers are required to be notified through smartphone applications. This role-based process flow enables businesses to optimize and automate work orders executions in the most efficient manner, and can be customized easily to meet various business needs, and to achieve digital transformation. The machine learning capabilities of the solution can also predict the lifespan of the IoT devices based on the signals generated in the past.
RIB Group: RIB’s iTWOlens solution combines MTWO Cloud, the world’s first integrated 5D Building Information Modelling (BIM) construction management cloud software which is empowered by Azure, with Microsoft HoloLens 2 to digitize the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. By collecting data from HoloLens 2 and leveraging the computing power of MTWO Cloud, iTWOlens enables AEC companies to achieve higher transparency on job site situation, offers better support to field crew and enhances project management process.
Hong Kong RFID: By capturing IoT sensors data, Hong Kong RFID’s predictive maintenance solution utilizes 5G network to conduct real-time analysis for property management companies to conduct 24x7 monitoring service to ensure the performance of crucial assets and facilities (such as escalators, pumps, motors, turbines) are operating optimally and safely. If the IoT sensors detect any abnormal behaviour in the assets, automatic alerts will be sent to the person in charge to take appropriate actions.
RaceFit: Through using AI and IoT, RaceFit has developed many products, among them a line of “smart garments” with sensors that record the wearer’s movements for real-time feedback. The sensors send data to RaceFit’s app on a mobile device for analysis using RaceFit’s Fitness Ability Measurement System (FAMS) in the Azure, which delivers a wealth of information on the person’s strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination, and balance.
Start-ups can utilize the Microsoft 5G IoT Makerspace by registering at this link and entitle to the following benefits:
- Free Azure cloud credit for solution testing and development (up to US$3,000)
- One-year technical consultations with Microsoft experts including Cloud Solution Architect
- Seasonal technical training sessions on Azure IoT Hub, Azure Sphere and Azure Time Series Insights
- Business and go-to-market support from Microsoft Hong Kong
Source: Press Release