Global Positioning System (GPS) provides accurate outdoor positioning and navigation, but the satellite signals cannot penetrate indoors to provide service. In view of infancy and commercial potential of indoor location-based services, the LSCM R&D Centre has teamed up with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to develop an interactive indoor positioning system with advanced techniques to enhance the localisation accuracy. The platform project is now under trial run in the Hong Kong International Airport and will complete in the end of 2014.

The system is based on Wi-Fi fingerprinting and is non-intrusive to existing Wi-Fi infrastructure, which also has no impact on WLAN performance. Its highly precise positioning algorithm and low computation latency make it readily deployable in mobile devices. This project is aimed to gain substantial insights to enable various wireless applications in logistics and supply chain processes including container terminals and aviation operations.

The scope of the product authentication project “Authen√Tick™” is expanded from Chinese patent herbal medicines to pearls. The LSCM R&D Centre has collaborated with Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory, a local pearl nuclei manufacturing company, to develop an authentication solution for cultured pearls. The collaboration project will end in the first quarter of 2015.

With a vision to protect the global pearl industry, Fukui Shell Nucleus Factory and the LSCM R&D Centre are developing the world’s first ever pearl authentication solution. The solution merges the RFID and cloud database technologies into the traditional pearl cultivation techniques. A unique identity is given to each pearl long before it is born. This identity is stored inside a small RFID chip, which is embedded inside a pearl nucleus as small as 6 mm diameter. The network-enabled RFID interrogator communicates with the cloud database and the RFID-embedded pearl. Users can manage and process an array of pearl-related information for their own use, including inventory management, cultivation process management, origin track-and-trace, pearl technician identification, and so on.

The pearl identification technology and authentication solution improve the authenticity of each pearl. The information that is stored in the database about each pearl, upon retrieval, strengthens and guarantees each certificate’s authenticity. Ultimately, the reputation and the interests of each participant across the cultured pearl industry are protected.