COVER STORY • 封面專題 2023 UMAGAZINE 27 • 澳大新語 13 The Internet of Things (IoT) has given rise to an era of interconnectivity, bridging the gap between the physical world and the virtual world. It is also the key technology in the development of smart cities around the world. The State Key Laboratory of Internet of Things for Smart City (SKL-IOTSC) of the University of Macau (UM) has tasked itself with solving important scientific and technological problems facing IoT. In particular, the laboratory’s intelligent sensing and network communication group strives to enable information perception and transmission in a smart city to realise physical-virtual world integration and lay the ground for smart technology applications. Digital Transformation of Cities Driven by Innovative Technologies Urban sensing and network communication, two major IoT technologies, have accelerated the pace of smart upgrading of cities around the world. The group aims to tackle core problems and provide technical support for smart city development, especially in the development of new IoT-based infrastructure with comprehensive sensing capability, ubiquitous connectivity, low latency, and high safety standards. Ma Shaodan, assistant director of SKL-IOTSC and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is an expert in the field of wireless communication. She says that IoT may be conceived as a big tree, where intelligent sensing and network communication are the roots that provide the tree with the nutrients needed for growth by receiving and transmitting the information. Urban big data and smart technology are the tree trunk which tries to understand what people need through data mining and intelligent algorithms. The flowers of the tree will eventually blossom, and the fruits are data for use in major areas of smart city development, such as smart energy, intelligent transportation, as well as urban public safety and disaster prevention. ‘This can reflect the strategic research layout of the laboratory,’ says Prof Ma. At present, the group aims to build an effective IoT-based sensing and transmission system. Through the R&D of advanced sensing and communication technologies, the researchers hope to drive the digital transformation of cities to usher them into the era of smart interconnectivity. As the leader of the group, Prof Ma says, ‘things’ that can be connected to the network exist in every corner of a city, from buildings, streets, and bridges, to stairways, vehicles, and even underground pipes. To effectively connect various ‘things’ and achieve intelligent sensing, it is necessary to implement a far-reaching network that can cover all urban spaces. Intelligent Sensing Comparable to the Five Senses Focusing on intelligent sensing and network communication, the researchers conduct fundamental research to expand IoT technology and lay a solid foundation for the interconnection of all elements in an urban environment. According to Prof Ma, intelligent sensing operates like the five human senses, collecting information in the physical world, such as images, videos, temperature, road 澳大與澳門電力開展智慧街燈在澳應用研究 UM and CEM study the use of smart streetlights in Macao
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