HKPC Innovation Wins 4 International Awards at Geneva

Various applied R&D technologies developed by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) in the realm of metal 3D printing, electric vehicle (EV) charging, green textile processing, as well as medical device have won four awards in the “44th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva” recently held in Switzerland.

Mrs Agnes Mak, Executive Director of HKPC, said, “We are pleased that all the four HKPC innovations showcased at the ‘44th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva’ have garnered awards, following our winning of two honours last year. This is indeed a recognition of the efforts and dedication of our research teams in providing creative applied solutions to the industry. We will continue to embark on applied R&D to assist enterprises to adopt innovative technologies to enhance competitiveness, while improving the quality of living for the community.”

The winning projects are as follows:

Gold medal - ‘Customized and Replaceable Horseshoe’
In addition to frequent replacement due to fast wear, traditional horseshoe can easily hurt the hoof during the fitting process and lead to accident in racing if the horseshoe is poorly fit. Made from hybrid metal 3D printing technology, the tailor-made horseshoe provides better shock absorption and is easily replaceable.

Contrary to the traditional U-shaped design, this innovative horseshoe covers the entire hoof. The durable titanium part also reduces the replacement frequency, which in turn lowers the risk of hurting the hoof.

Silver medal – ‘Multi-standard Mobilized EV Smart Charger’
Developed by the Automotive Parts and Accessory Systems R&D Centre of HKPC, this is the first mobilized EV charger in Hong Kong. While traditional EV charging stations are stationed in a fixed location, the mobilized EV charger offers highly flexible and multi-standard charging solutions for battery-drained EVs or fleet EVs, where EV charging stations are not available.

Compared to other emergency diesel engine charging service truck in overseas, the HKPC-developed mobilized EV charger is more eco-friendly as the electricity is supplied by a battery pack. It only takes 20 minutes to get an EV charged up to 50%.

Silver medal – ‘Waterless Textile Materials Processing System’
With support from the Innovation and Technology Fund, HKPC collaborated with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel and an industry partner in developing a ‘Waterless Textile Materials Processing System’. With zero emission, the ‘waterless’ system addresses the wastewater issue by using supercritical fluid to integrate cleaning, dyeing and functional treatments processes. The technology can reduce 60% of energy consumption, while shorten the traditional dyeing and finishing process time by half.

Bronze medal – ‘Medical Skin Analyzer’
Skin cancer is one of the top ten cancers in Hong Kong. Currently, most dermatologists carry out preliminary diagnosis by visual inspection only, with possible failure rate as high as 40%. Comprising an optical imaging hardware and an analysis software & management system, the ‘Medical Skin Analyzer’ can assist medical doctors to perform initial assessments on suspected skin lesions and to diagnose skin lesion symptoms more effectively and accurately. The system has conducted over 300 clinical cases for technology validation.

For media enquiries, please contact Chloe Chau at tel. (852) 2788 6158 or email: chloechau@hkpc.org

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Mr Jonathan Ho
General Manager
Corporate Communication and Marketing
Tel: (852) 2788 6390
Fax: (852) 2788 5056
Email: jonathanho@hkpc.org
Website: www.hkpc.org

18 April 2016

Various applied R&D technologies developed by HKPC have won four awards in the "44th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva" recently held in Switzerland. The winning projects include: Gold medal - "Customized and Replaceable Horseshoe"; Silver medals - "Multi-standard Mobilized EV Smart Charger" and "Waterless Textile Materials Processing System"; and Bronze medal - "Medical Skin Analyzer".