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Cable guy proves a Hong Kong design can compete globally

Matthew Lam put his knowledge of fibre optics to good use in developing a system to prevent electrical meltdowns

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Matthew Lam’s clients include the MTR Corp and the new terminal at Jakarta’s international airport. Photo: Edmond So

There’s a lot of talk about “smart cities” lately. What makes a city smart?

“Most people think of it on the consumer level: how can I control my room lights with my phone? We have smart phones, smart furniture, the Internet of Things,” says Matthew Lam Siu-ming, CEO of Optical Sensing. “But not many realise what smart cities really need is smart infrastructure.”

A few years back, Lam was chatting with a friend who supplies buildings with electrical systems about the headaches caused by exploding power cables. He found out people had no way to detect defects that might lead to such accidents. An electronic engineer, Lam thought there must be a way.

Turns out, Hong Kong’s public utility systems haven’t really upgraded their technology for years. So Lam and his friend decided to set up a company researching and developing “smart infrastructure”.

Having worked for years in telecommunications, Lam was familiar with fibre optics and understood that apart from being brilliant at sending data, silicon dioxide is sensitive to heat.

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