Embracing Digital Resources for Livability

Pulse of HKUST

This project is an online platform which aims to build a smart "3C" campus which can 1) Collect various real time information, 2) Communicate amazing stories of the university and 3) Connect the UST community.It serves as a data-driven platform to palpate the “pulse” of the campus community such as human crowds, facility availability, and events. The platform automatically senses real-time crowds based on Wi-Fi access logs and CCTV videos, and visualizes crowd distribution and movement appealingly. It further applies big data technologies to derive useful information about facility status, and utilizes AI techniques to predict crowds. Finally, it communicates those data to the public on various platforms including large-screen displays, Kiosk machines, and mobile websites.

To visit Real-time data page of Pulse, please check out: http://pulse.hkustvis.org/chartScreen.html

For more information, please visit: https://pulse.ust.hk/

What is the problem this project is trying to address?

The absence of good and timely information manifests itself in a variety of inconveniences – unnecessarily waiting in lines, difficulty in scheduling activities, delays in communicating with colleagues, and wasting valuable resources. While this has been a part of our normal routine, new ways to collect and utilize data have the potential to eliminate these inconveniences. This project allows both the campus community and visitors to share the benefits of a smart…

How does this project support our sustainable smart campus as a living lab vision?

The project provides a data-driven, evidence-based solution to promote smarter decision-making on mobility and facility management, which can enable us to use resources more efficiently. As the project allows all USTers to contribute, the learning outcomes will be active.

Progress and achievements

Apr 2019: Our project won the Student Innovation Gold Award, Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 (By Office of the Government Chief Information Officer), and was exhibited at HKTDC International ICT Expo (Smart City, Smart Living Pavilion). [Feature story by Ta Kung Pao]

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What's next?

Installations will take place at the north/south bus stations, entry/exit in the Multi-floor Car Park, campus canteens, and library entries. Achievements will be shown multiple times each day on the E-board, Engineering Commons, visitor center and mobile phones using advanced AI algorithms and visual narrative techniques. Development of a touchscreen interface for enabling a more interactive experience. Establishing an open data platform with ITSC in order to…