Science News Corner of the Hong Kong Science Museum is an information centre for exhibiting science research projects of local universities, new discoveries and the latest technology. It helps to keep the public informed of the latest science news.

This 50-sq.metre Corner, situating in the permanent exhibition hall on the second floor of the Museum, features three distinct zones of interest, namely, SciTech Focus, Science Window and Science Web.

SciTech Focus focuses on science research projects that are currently being conducted in local universities and are related to frontier science and latest technology. New discoveries and inventions with scientific and social significance will be on the top of the list.

Science Window elaborates the exhibition contents through science documentaries and video programmes of relevant subjects.

Science Web enables visitors to have a further understanding on the topics through surfing recommended websites with in-depth information.

Current Topic - Artificial Intelligence and Railway Engineering Works Scheduling (13.6.2008 - 9.12.2008)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) - the science of making computers do things that normally require human intelligence - is a fascinating but elusive topic for the layman. In this exhibition, we provide a broad overview of this intriguing subject in everyday language and introduce how AI technology can be used to improve our daily life.

For over a decade, the City University of Hong Kong, has been using AI to help improve the service quality and productivity of many organisations. This exhibition provides a case study of how AI is used to help MTR perform railway engineering works scheduling. MTR carries millions of passengers every day. In order to keep trains running smoothly each day, it is very important that engineering works, such as routine maintenance, inspections as well as installations and replacements should be done on a timely manner. Here in this exhibition you will have a chance to learn the AI technology behind this MTR application that has won many awards including the "Innovative Applications of AI Award" from the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in USA, the "Asia Pacific Information Communications Technology Award" and the "IT Excellence Award" from the Hong Kong Computer Society.

The exhibition will be on show at the Science News Corner of the Hong Kong Science Museum from mid June 2008.

Your Choice

The contents of the Science News Corner are changed regularly. The public's preference will determine the topics. You are invited to vote on your favourite project(s) for the next exhibition topic of the Science News Corner.

Previous Topic

Palmprint Identification system (Jan 08 - Jun 08)
(Information provided by the Biometric Research Centre of The Polytechnic University of Hong Kong)

Cochlear implants - offering a hearing world for the hearing-impaired (Aug 07 - Jan 08)
(Information provided by Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Discoveries on Reproduction, Development and Growth: >From Gamete to Adult (Apr 07 - Aug 07)
(Information provided by Centre for Reproduction, Development and Growth of the University of Hong Kong)

Grapefruit Forms Bone? (Sept 06 – Mar 07)
(Information provided by the Faculty of Dentistry of The University of Hong Kong)

DNA Technologies for Chinese Herbs Authentication (Apr 2006 – Sept 2006)
(Information provided by the Institute of Chinese Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Health Benefits of Tea (Dec 2005 – Apr 2006)
(Information provided by the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong)

Ozone Application (Jul 2005 – Dec 2005)
(Information provided by the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Virtual Aquarium (Dec 2004 - Jun 2005)
(Information provided by the Department of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Climate and Sea-level Changes in Hong Kong During the Past 500,000 Years (Jul 2004 - Dec 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Earth Sciences of The University of Hong Kong)

Photocatalytic Technology for Air and Water Purification (Mar 2004 - Jul 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Chemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Extremes of the Universe (Nov 2003 - Feb 2004)
(Information provided by the Department of Physics of The University of Hong Kong)

Fruit Fly - Drosophila (Jun - Oct 2003)
(Information provided by the Department of Biochemistry of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Automatic Face Image and Sketch Recognition (Jan - May 2003)
(Information provided by the Department of Information Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Plant and Fungal Biotechnology (Oct - Dec 2002)
(Information provided by The UGC AoE Plant and Fungal Biotechnology Centre of the Department of Biology of The Chinese University of Hong Kong )

Nanotechnology (June - Sept 2002)
(Information provided by the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology)