Living Smart

038 039 I ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY testing the 5G technology. Hong Kong offers a good testbed for vendors to improve their systems with its unique environment, such as densely located buildings. Like in Hong Kong, many mobile network operators in other countries are in fact only testing their 5G mobile operations in a limited area and with limited coverage in a few cities. The patchy and inconsistent coverage is not good enough for practical usage by consumers, and that is not accidental. Although the millimeter wave spectrum of 5G is incredibly fast and able to transfer a large amount of data at once, it has problems traveling far from the cell site and does not easily penetrate materials, such as buildings, presenting problems that need to be fully solved, such as using the topology of small cells, which calls for more base stations. According to the Office of Communications Authority’ s spectrum roadmap for 2019 to 2021, the government will gradually provide more bands in the 5G spectrum, allowing operators to provide better services. Since 5G will require more base stations, the government is also proactively opening up at least 1,000 of its premises for this purpose, allowing mobile network operators to catch up with their counterparts in Asia. However, because of the increase of base stations, concerns have been raised that the increased radio frequency surrounding us could be detrimental to our health, especially when 5G will massively increase our exposure. Currently there is no research to back such claims. I believe the governments in Hong Kong and other places should look into this to address public concerns. Published on July 10, 2019 Let’s play it smart on computer interfaces Prof. MA Xiaojuan Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering B rain-machine interface – or the technology to synergize the brain with an external device so the latter can carry out orders, has been frequently featured in sci-fi movies as futuristic fantasy. Instead of maneuvering with our fingertips, individuals connected to such devices can transmit their thoughts, and the machines would do their bidding like magic. Recently, an American start-up promised to make this scenario a reality. A small chip would be surgically inserted into one’ s brain, which is then connected to a receiver with or without a wire, allowing the user to control things like a mouse or a keyboard. The company is even aiming to make the implant surgery equivalent to a simple surgical procedure like LASIK where one can walk away within hours. While this sounds revolutionary for people with disabilities, is the general public ready to sign up for its service? For years, computer scientists have worked on human- engaged computing with the goal of optimizing synergies between human and computers while maximizing the capacity of both in the process. For human with disabilities, this may re-empower and help them regain their lost ability or to even surpass their original capability. For the general public, such as patients in China, human- centered computer interaction such as “Ask the Doctor” services have become increasingly popular, where patients and