Pulse of HKUST 

What is the project?

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.

 

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 campus. By analyzing and communicating campus big data, it provides a data-driven solution for smart decision-makings on mobility and facility management. As such, it promotes a better campus experience, quality of life, and a stronger sense of ownership, making HKUST a leader in the open-data movement.

 

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]

Mar 2019: The South China Morning Post wrote a feature story about us, namely, Making long queues a thing of the past is the goal for two computing science master’s students at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Feb 2019: Pulse of HKUST was highlighted in the HKUST Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab launching event, and received extensive media coverage including 明報, 東網, 香港新聞網, 信報, 文匯報, 新浪教育, 人民網, 新華網, 香港01, 星島, 東方日報, 中联办, 頭條日報, 香港仔,灼見名家, 香港經濟日報, the Standard, China Daily etc.

Nov 2018: Our project was selected as one of the first seven HKUST Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab initiatives and received a funding of HKD 2,600,000.

Dec 2018: Our story was available at the School of Engineering yearbook In Focus.

Oct 2018: Mr. Wu presented this work as an extended abstract at the VISComm Workshop, IEEE VIS at Berlin.

Sep 2018: We released our first demo at the Engineering Commons starting at the HKUST Information Day 2018, which visualized the real-time crowdedness such as waiting time at bus stops and available seats at canteens. Our project was also briefly covered by the Sing Pao Daily.

 

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 create a vast and easily accessible source of information. Optimizations for library seating and development of temperature visualization system will take place.

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

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