Pulse of HKUST aims to promote a smart campus which supports effective and smart decision-makings through the combined power of IoT devices, big data, and AI.

It serves as a data-driven platform to palpate the “pulse” of the campus community such as human crowds, facility availability, and events. The platform automatically senses real-time crowds based on Wi-Fi access logs and CCTV videos, and visualizes crowd distribution and movement appealingly. It further applies big data technologies to derive useful information about facility status, and utilizes AI techniques to predict crowds. Finally, it communicates those data to the public on various platforms including large-screen displays, Kiosk machines, and mobile websites. In addition, user privacy is strictly protected under the governance of the university by filtering out any personal information and setting restricted access to any sensitive data.

This project allows both the campus community and visitors to share the benefits of a smart campus. By analyzing and communicating campus big data, it provides a data-driven solution for smart decision-makings on mobility and facility management. As such, it promotes a better campus experience, quality of life, and a stronger sense of ownership, making HKUST a leader in the open-data movement. The generated data is shared and beneficial to further studies on crowd behavior, transportation plan, and facility management, offering references for smart city development.