Virtus Asia Limited (Virtus) and GS1 Hong Kong Limited (GS1 HK) have signed a memorandum of understanding where Virtus will team up with the Hong Kong RFID Centre (the Centre), set up by GS1 HK. GS1 HK is a non-profit independent industry support body committed to driving supply chain innovations of Hong Kong enterprises through the provision of world-class industry standards and know-how. Virtus, as a leader in sensor-based technology and related applications development was invited to team up with the Centre to drive toward the shared vision of positioning Hong Kong as regional logistics technology hub.
The Centre is located in the Hong Kong Science Park and was established to promote Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Region of China as a regional center of gravity for accelerated adoption of EPC/RFID technologies and other complementary technologies such as sensor technologies.
Virtus innovations will be showcased in the Centre’s showroom, located at the Hong Kong Science Park which include applications developed using its proprietary inertial sensing technologies including its multi-sensing V-logger, which was officially announced in August. The V-logger is the world’s smallest and most inexpensive integrated data logger which can be utilized by the logistics industry to monitor and record acceleration, temperature and humidity data during the shipping of a variety of goods.
According to Ronald Heung, Centre Manager of the Hong Kong RFID Centre, "Through the upcoming showcase on integrated sensor and RFID solutions by Virtus and other partners at the Centre, we hope to further accelerate the development of state-of-the-art technology products as well as the industry's adoption of RFID technology with an ultimate goal to further strengthen Hong Kong's position as a regional technology hub. The emergence of the “Internet of Things” is shaping the future digital world. This vision, which is primarily enabled by RFID with some other advanced complementary technologies such as sensors, requires collaboration and innovation of the business and technology community. The newly-established Hong Kong RFID Centre co-hosted by the Innovation and Technology Commission, the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation and GS1 Hong Kong, provides the necessary infrastructure and environment for fostering a closer collaboration within the industry in nurturing the development of integrated RFID solutions.” “We are very delighted to partner with Virtus, a world leader on multi-axis "single-chip" solutions for next-generation motion-sensing technology and are interested in integrating these technologies with our next-generation RFID technologies and solutions. The products could be niche products for specific industries such as sensors for the logistics industry or mainstream products such as next generation mobile phones with RFID, NFC, GPS, and Virtus’ multi-axis accelerometer technology, etc.”
“In the case of a cell phone, for example, people could seamlessly traverse the physical world and the Internet of 3D world. The phone could assist visitors in a large exhibition to navigate through all the physical booths he is interested in, making real time recommendations regarding the next booths he should visit based on best path of physical space, the real time distribution of the people nearby, the profile of the visitor, and the electronic catalogue of the exhibitors. I look forward to the birth of this kind of innovative products from the high-tech community of Hong Kong RFID Centre."
Virtus Asia, based at the Hong Kong Science Park, plans to expand in order to increase its collaboration and interaction with groups such as GS1 and customers and partners in China and Asia. “We are very excited about working with GS1 and are happy about the strong acceptance of our new products in the region. GS1 has an impressive facility to showcase leading logistics/shipping oriented technologies and we look forward to collaborating with them.”, commented Louis Ross, CEO of Virtus Asia.
Through supporting technologies at its showcase facility, hosting demonstrations and developing proof of concept technologies and devices, the Centre serves to nurture the prosperous development of key technologies such as RFID and sensors. Virtus’ participation in the Centre is expected to attract business opportunities which stimulate the integration of inertial sensing technologies with other novel technologies. This collaboration is going to assist the Centre to promote Hong Kong
as a regional technology hub.
About Virtus Asia Limited
Virtus Asia Limited develops novel applications for Virtus Group proprietary multi-axis inertial sensor and related technology. Virtus Asia is based in Hong Kong Science Park and is an affiliated company of US‐based Virtus Advanced Sensors (VAS). VAS also maintains a wholly‐owned subsidiary in Japan, Virtus Japan K.K., based in Tokyo. Virtus Asia is currently an incubatee of the Incu-Tech Programme of Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP). For more information about Virtus Asia, please visit:
www.virtusensors.com.
About GS1 Hong Kong Limited
Founded in 1989, GS1 Hong Kong is a not-for-profit industry support organization. It is committed to enhancing Hong Kong enterprises’ competitiveness through the provision of global supply chain standards, best practices and enabling technologies. As GS1’s local chapter, GS1 Hong Kong is the only organization that is authorized to issue and administer GS1 identification numbers in Hong Kong. Standards and solutions offered include bar coding services, B2B e-commerce services, Global Data Synchronization (GDS) and Electronic Product Code™/ Radio Frequency Identification (EPC/RFID). The organization also hosts a wide range of training courses to facilitate knowledge transfer for SCM principles, e-business strategies, global standards and the implementation of enabling technologies. The GS1 community has over one million corporate members spanning 155 countries and economies and more than 20 industries around the world. For more information about GS1 Hong Kong, please visit:
www.gs1hk.org.