Govt to push location-based data in smart city drive

The Hong Kong government is actively promoting open access to location-based data as part of its smart city initiatives. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn recently highlighted how this data can be used for various applications, including accessible walking routes and AI-assisted searches for vacant government properties.

The Development Bureau's Spatial Data Office has established a geospatial lab to manage the Common Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI) portal, which provides over 1,100 datasets from more than 70 government departments and organizations for public use. These datasets encompass planning, land, building, works, population, and transport information, among others.

Raymond Choi, head of the Spatial Data Office, explained that the office's role is to integrate, analyze, and standardize geographically tagged digital data, making it shareable and usable across different services. In addition to the CSDI portal, Linn mentioned an AI-powered conversational assistant that enables users to query information about vacant government sites and retrieve specific datasets without navigating through individual websites.

This assistant was developed as part of a collaboration between the Lands Department's Survey and Mapping Office and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, which created the "Walk in HK" application.

The "Walk in HK" app merges a 3D digital map with CSDI data to generate customized routes based on various user needs, such as wheelchair accessibility. It provides barrier-free or flatter paths that avoid stairs or slopes. Furthermore, a startup has utilized CSDI data to launch the "WayMe" app, which offers facility alerts and a comfort score for hikers. The app also has the capability to issue instant warnings to hikers who deviate from their planned routes.