Today
was fairly free since only the first half of the day involved a scheduled
event. After breakfast everyone went on a tour to Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (PolyU), then after eating lunch at the university the rest of the
day consisted of free time to explore, journal, and to enjoy the country of
Hong Kong.
Upon arriving at Hong Kong PolyU, the
professors welcomed us into a conference room and introduced themselves to us. They also had a brief presentation about their
university, programs, and interest in foreign exchange students. They offer
many graduate programs, including programs for Liberal Arts students as well as
math or science majors. They showed a great deal of interest in student exchange
between schools and thought was important for students to broaden their
experiences by living in a different culture as well as learning how different
people around the world live. The university recommended that students do an
exchange program for a semester to get what they called a “taste” of another
culture. If the student enjoyed the experience, then they would be welcome to
apply to one of the many graduate programs. Regardless of whether a student did
an exchange program as an undergraduate or not, the professors explained that
the graduate programs are available to those who are interested. As the
presentation concluded and questions were answered, the professors led our
group to research labs to view projects that graduate students were working on.
The purpose of touring each lab was
so that students could get a better idea of what graduate projects are actually
like. In one demonstration, there was a miniature model of a city block. On
different parts of the map they had cameras set up along a model of a road.
They would track miniature cars driving along the road using cameras which were
designed to trace specific objects. When the car began to leave the range of
the first camera, the next closest camera would look in the direction of that
car and continue to follow it. While the project itself seems fairly simple in
concept, the potential for this research to be used in every day traffic
settings is incredibly high. For instance, this technology could be adapted to
our own traffic systems to locate stolen cars, monitor high speed chases, or
find known criminals. However, others could also argue potential privacy issues
that this new technology could bring.
Another lab demonstration was
researching the ability to create what I would label as an “automated house” or
a “smart home.” Instead of a typical lab with computers, tables, and research
material, it appears that you have just entered into someone’s dorm or
apartment room. The lighting is soft and warm; there is a neatly made bed in
the far left corner, a TV and couch to the left of the room’s door, and a sink
with appliances in the center right of the room. This “smart home”
demonstration most likely gained the greatest interest. Essentially, the
researchers use infrared to allow devices (TV, coffee maker, etc.) to “talk” to
one another. For example, let’s say you set your alarm for 6am, around 6am the
following could happen: 5:50am the coffee maker starts, 6am the alarm goes off,
bed rises and a projector turns on displaying the calendar for the day with a
voice that announces each scheduled task for the day. With the technology that we
have today, an automated “smart” house has become fully possible. In fact, they
have integrated the core hardware and software for this home system into
nothing more than an internet router. While this is a rough draft of what could
be, the tangible potential made everyone eager for more. Sadly, the
demonstration concluded and we finished our trip at Hong Kong PolyU by eating
lunch in their cafeteria.
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