The results of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2012 announced today have seen two teams of HKUST engineering students receiving the Best Innovation & Research (College & Undergraduates) Bronze Awards and one team receiving the Best Innovation & Research (College & Undergraduates) Special Mention - Social Responsibility. Two alumni from the School have also won the Best Lifestyle (Learning & Living) Gold Award and Best Lifestyle (Green, Healthy & Creative Living) Bronze Award respectively.

The Hong Kong ICT Awards 2012: Best Innovation & Research (College & Undergraduates) received 11 applications from various local tertiary institutions this year. The team formed by Ho Sum LEE (Year 3, Mechanical Engineering), Chun Yin LEUNG (MPhil student, Electronic and Computer Engineering) and Ka Kin WONG (Year 3, Mechanical Engineering) entered the competition with their project “Modular-based Underwater Robotic System”. The project’s unique functionality was praised by the judges, who commented: “The modular-based design enables the System for multi-purposes (such as underwater inspection and oil pipeline fixing). This makes the System differentiate from other Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) in the market that are usually for single purpose. There is no company in Hong Kong providing ROV service. With its performance, cost effectiveness and ease of control comparing with other ROVs, the System has high potential for commercialization after its final testing stage.”

Another team, formed by MPhil student Steve Weipeng ZHUO and 2011 UG graduate Jeffrey Siu Lung LUI, both from Computer Science and Engineering and led by Prof Gary Chan, won with their project “An Innovative Multi-hop Wireless Network for Pervasive Wi-Fi Access”. The judges remarked, “The applicant has designed the Solution through a series of research activities. The Solution improves the wireless network performance, and is suitable for difficult indoor and outdoor environments such as shopping mall and port terminal. This outweighs the performance of traditional wireless solutions. Its field deployment in Modern Terminals Limited shows that the Solution can reduce network interference and increases signal strength. The Solution supports other routers in the market. With a reasonable price per Access Point node and its good performance, the Solution is cost-effective and is mature enough for production.”

Another Computer Science and Engineering team was presented with the Best Innovation & Research (College & Undergraduates) Special Mention - Social Responsibility. The project “Where To?”, designed by David Ka Chun CHEUNG (Year 3), 2011 UG graduates Tim Chun Yim WONG and Jason Siu Hung YUEN, was a collaborative Android app which provides an online Google Map with audible Cantonese pronunciations for expats and tourists in Hong Kong.

Playnote Ltd, led by MPhil graduate Eric Yung, was presented with the Best Lifestyle (Learning & Living) Gold Award for the company’s flagship product “AURALBOOK”, which aims at helping music students to learn aural skill required for examinations worldwide in a revolutionary way. Bull-b Ltd, led by UG graduate Yik Hei CHAN, was presented with the Best Lifestyle (Green, Healthy & Creative Living) Bronze Award for the project “iMenu”. Both are from Electronic and Computer Engineering.

The Hong Kong ICT Awards 2012 comprises 10 categories. The Best Innovation & Research (College & Undergraduates) category was organized by the Internet Professional Association (iProA). It aimed to recognize the achievement of the most innovative and quality research in the ICT areas. The Best Lifestyle Award category was organized by Hong Kong Information Technology Federation (HKITF). It aimed to recognize excellence of ICT development and adoption to most outstanding applications, services, products that enable people move towards a more convenient and enjoyable lifestyle.