HKTDC – April 2019 Edition- Intelligence at home, in mobility and in the cities
Intelligent solutions for home, mobility, cities, the economy and governments were themes with products and startups from the spring edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair and the IT Expo – ICT Expo. “The development of innovative technologies and smart products has become a major global trend,” said Benjamin Chau, deputy executive director of HKTDC.
Held from April 13 to 16, the fairs were attended by 3,600 exhibitors from 27 countries. They were visited by 236,000 buyers from 181 countries and regions of China, which represents a 2% increase over the 2018 event. The Hong Kong Tourism Board found that the events brought about a major investment in the hotel and food industries and generated business opportunities of about US$ 1.3 billion.
This time, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), organizer of the fairs, has incorporated more elements of innovation and technology. “The goal was to create additional opportunities for industry participants and strengthen Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s business center and capital of the international trade fair”, added Benjamin.
In products, HKTDC introduced intelligent robots equipped with 360 ° camera, interactive robots that take care of human health, record data at any time, have emotion and voice recognition, and do data analysis to provide information to doctors, 3D cameras, suitcases whose algorithm causes them to move in the right direction, and one automatic device that makes yogurt and that is self-cleaning.
ICT Expo
It has adopted the Smart City-Smart Living theme and presented a series of visionary smart city projects and applications at the Smart Government Pavilion. Among them, the first lamppost that is able to monitor traffic and collect environmental data and also the use of virtual reality for training.
“In the digital age, innovation and technology have become mega trends, and smart cities are beginning to change the way people move, work, and entertain themselves.”, said the deputy executive director of HKTDC, noting that a few years ago the two events highlighted smart city solutions, but the discussions were fast. Startups also introduced innovative solutions, showing how artificial intelligence contributes to facilitating the development of smart homes.
As in all editions, HKTDC did a survey at the fairs, showing that for the industry, electronic accessories are the most promising category, followed by digital imaging, audio-visual products and home appliances. In lighting, the industry is more optimistic about residential products and smart solutions.
In the case of kitchen products, the industry believes that those that are sustainable, as well as gadgets and furniture, are the ones that show the greatest growth potential this year. In present, the bet of the industry is in those that have technology embarked.
