Housing chief says robotics to be adopted in housing estate management

Hong Kong’s housing chief said authorities will soon adopt robotics in housing estate management, and at the same time, engage top technology research talent in Hong Kong to bring such innovative technology to fruition.

This came as the Housing Bureau signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics on Tuesday for the establishment of a strategic partnership.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said the three main directions of the collaboration are Smart Tower Cranes, Smart Construction Sites, and Smart Estates.

Ho noted that promoting smart estate management is one of the measures announced in the policy address, in which authorities will adopt robotics in its housing estate management.

Meanwhile, different types of construction robots, such as rebar tying robots will help enhance on-site efficiency and safety at construction sites, she said.

The housing chief also said the department and the HKCRC will jointly develop a smart tower crane system to first enable workers to remotely control the tower crane at ground level or indoors, thus providing a more comfortable and safer working environment for tower crane operators.

She believed such innovative construction technology could be beneficial to the Modular Integrated Construction methods used in public housing.