Hikers disappear from time to time in Hong Kong, often before it is discovered too late. Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) said today (31 December) that it has contacted the Police Force and the park company Otel Technology Limited to jointly develop "Signal Radar" to enhance emergency rescue services, which can help rescue teams locate distress seekers in remote and complex terrain and detect distress signals sent by the "HKSOS" app.


HKSTP's Director of Strategic Partnerships Ko Chi-shing (right), Senior Superintendent of Digital Policing Services Branch of the Police Force Mok Chun-kit (centre), and Vice President of Business Development of Altel Technology (left) present the Gold Award of Signal Radar and the Jury Commendation at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. (Courtesy of Science Park)

Signal Radar won the gold medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions

According to HKSTP, Signal Radar does not need to rely on mobile phone network coverage, can detect signals at a longer distance than similar wireless technologies, and can also detect distress signals in complex terrain, even in dense canopy covered woods or sea surfaces, and can still accurately transmit the GPS coordinates of the rescuers to search and rescue teams.

Hong Kong's area consists of more than 60 islands, 4% of which are country parks, many of which pose a challenge to rescue missions, according to the Police Department, the number of search and rescue cases in Hong Kong has increased by 370% in the past four years. The design of Signal Radar can be aimed at the current shortcomings in search and rescue, and it is believed that it can improve rescue capabilities and seize the golden rescue time.

Signal Radar is the first time that Autotel Technology's patented technology has been applied to search and rescue services, and its technology won the "Gold Jury Commendation" in the "Security, Search and Rescue and Alarm" category at the 4th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva in April this year, and the technology is expected to attract the attention of both regions and countries outside Hong Kong.

Science Park. (Profile photo/Photo by Wu Zhongkun)

Senior Superintendent Joshuen Mok Chun-kit of the Digital Policing Services Bureau of the Police Force said that the Force's strategic direction is to actively promote the application of innovation and technology in policing and promote I&T culture internally and externally through collaboration with the industry and academia, and the Force is the first department to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation on promoting innovation and technology.

The Director of Strategic Partnerships at HKSTP, Mr Kwa, said that the collaboration was not just about adopting existing technologies, but about the police participating in the collaboration to create new solutions according to demand, which was important to accelerate the introduction of innovative solutions to market.

The first outcome of the MoU was signed between the Police Force and HKSTP in September last year to explore innovative solutions in five areas: search and rescue operations, natural language processing, geographic information systems, simultaneous positioning and mapping and augmented reality. HKSTP has connected more than 9 I&T companies for the Police and will continue to drive innovation and technology innovation.

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