Hong Kong unveils plan to install 400 multifunctional lamp posts as part of smart city drive
- Smart lamp posts will be equipped with sensors, cameras and data networks, among other facilities, to harness data for analysis and public use
- Government stresses it has no plans to collect facial or personal data and lamp posts facing residential buildings will not have cameras
Four hundred multifunctional lamp posts will be installed around Hong Kong over the next three years as part of the government’s plan to promote smart city development, with HK$272 million (US$34.75 million) being set aside for the project.
Equipped with sensors, closed-circuit cameras, data networks and other related digital facilities, the smart lamp posts could be used to collect air quality, traffic flow and weather data. The data would also be available to the public, government departments and various industries for analysis.
Traffic cameras installed in some lamp posts could help monitor and collect real-time information on congestion and accidents. Air-quality sensors could also help collect data on the concentration of pollutants, which would be sent to the Environmental Protection Department for analysis.
The lamp posts would also aim to support the construction of 5G mobile networks, with base stations installed to facilitate faster mobile data networks.
“Smart lamp posts can help our department implement a lot of smart applications to enhance city and traffic management,” said Tony Wong Chi-kwong, assistant government chief information officer.