2010June - Department of Computing - The Hong Kong Polytechnic ...

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Recognition - Student
PolyU computing alumnus Mr Lau Hiu Fung, who works on a wheelchair and strikes the computer keyboard with a pair of chopsticks,
has developed a package of SMS-based services against all odds. These services could enable travellers to have convenient access
to information on updated flight status as well as shopping outlets or restaurants around Hong Kong.
Brilliance of the Mind:
SMS-based services developed by Lau Hiu Fung
COMP graduate Lau Hiu Fung once again surprised the
computing science community with his latest work – a
package of SMS-based services for airport users and
tourists.
These services could enable airport travellers and tourists to
obtain convenient access to information on updated flight
schedules as well as on restaurants or shopping outlets
around Hong Kong.
It was presented by Lau as a special gift to his mother, who
has helped him commute to campus because he is in a
wheel-chair, on the eve of Mother's Day at a seminar jointly
organized by PolyU and the Internet Professional Association
(iProA).
This young computing talent, who suffers from Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy, works by striking the computer
keyboard with a pair of chopsticks, while seated in a
wheelchair. He works under the supervision of Associate
Professor Dr Henry Chan of COMP.
Addressing the seminar, Dr Winnie Tang, President of iProA,
praised Lau for his efforts on this project. She also noted that
SMS should be one of the most commonly used
telecommunications services.
The seminar was also supported by the Communications
Association of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Computer Society,
the Lions Club of Hong Kong (Pacific), and The Hong Kong
Association for Computer Education.
The package of three SMS-based services developed by Lau
and other project team members consists of different
dimensions. The first tier of service provides arrival/departure
and transit flight information for airport users. The second tier
of service recommends shops/restaurants through SMS
using intelligent computing techniques. Finally, the third tier of
service provides value-added services through interaction
with external devices.
This SMS project is funded by a $400,000 grant from the
Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA). It is
supported by the Airport Authority of Hong Kong, Decisive
Consulting, DHL Global Forwarding, Hong Kong Cyberport,
Hong Kong RFID, Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong
Kong), iProA, Macroview Telecom, Xgate, and 2DiC.
Lau, a former student of the John F. Kennedy Centre of the
Hong Kong Red Cross, graduated from COMP with first-class
honours in 2009. A high-flying student, he already had
various awards under his belt, including the Gold Award in the
2009 Amway Pan-Pearl River Delta Region Universities IT
Project Competition, and the Gold Award in the Hong Kong
ICT Awards 2009 in the Best Innovation and Research
(College & Undergraduates) Category.
A Moment for Reward
Six graduating COMP students were selected as the champions of the Charles
Babbage Final Year Project Awards 2009-10. Held on 22 May, the event allowed
winning students to present their projects to a panel consisting of faculty teaching
staff, and industry professionals. The Outstanding Final Year Project Award was
snatched by student Wang Xin Chao, who theorized a unifying subspace selection
framework for classification.
The Technological Achievement Award went to Lo Wai Kwan’s Framework for
Multi-modal Human Computer Interaction project, and Li Ho Leung’s D-miner:
Discovering Potential Young Drug Abusers project. Feng Xue Chen, on the other
hand, won the Innovation Award with his Dual Wiimote Three-Dimensional Point
Tracking System with Applications. Student Lam Lap Kei and Ho Sai Hei won the
Merit Award for their respective projects. Throughout Enhanced Cooperative
Transmission Design and Implementation in Ad-hoc Wireless Network, and
Location Based Blogging.
The top four winning projects were selected to represent the COMP in the iProA
contest.