HKRITA's technologies could become industry standards

06 Sep '16

2 min read

A fabric touch tester and an imaging colour measurement system for textile and garment industry developed by Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) have the potential to become industry testing and measurement standards in the textiles industry. A demonstration of these two technologies was viewed by a Hong Kong government official.

“The work of the HKRITA facilitates industrial upgrading and transformation, enabling enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, to move towards high value-added production. In addition, the development and adoption of technical standards and platforms, such as those in textiles testing and measurements, are also important for Hong Kong to have a strong influence on the development direction of the industries,” said Nicholas W Yang, the secretary for innovation and technology, Hong Kong government during his visit to HKRITA.

Speaking about the two technologies, Yang said, “These are also important factors in driving re-industrialisation of Hong Kong, namely to attract high-value manufacturing activities in Hong Kong, which will provide better and diversified jobs for Hong Kong people.”

The Hong Kong government is pushing forward to facilitate the realisation of R&D results, bringing them to the real world so that members of the public can feel that technology is closely related to everyday life and could help improve quality of living. It will continue to support the operation of the R&D centres for the commercialisation of R&D results for the benefit of the community.

The HKRITA has been building up its core competencies for in-house research in the environmentally friendly technologies domain and the high performance materials domain. Partnering with overseas and Mainland universities/institutes as well as private companies, the HKRITA has been striving in the commercialisation of research outcomes both for the industry and the public sector, including designing a high-performance uniform for the Hong Kong rowing team and fencing team for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, and engaging non-government organisations to develop suitable textile-based solutions for their work with the elderly, people with disabilities and patients, like radio frequency identification-embedded tracking vests.

Yang met the chairman of the board of directors of the HKRITA, Dr. Harry Lee, and the chief executive officer, Edwin Keh. He also toured the HKRITA's Bio-Functional Textiles Laboratory. (KD)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India