CitySmart is Smarter Than You Think!

Jaime Poon

By now, most of you must have already enjoyed using your CitySmart card to gain entrance at various locations and to pay for small bills within campus. And bet you would like to know more about this small yet extraordinary card and the plans for its future applications development.

Phase I Development

The CitySmart card project was successfully launched in February this year. It is the first hybrid smart card of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region with both identification and stored-value functions.

In the phase I development, some 5,700 staff and dependants and 3,800 students were issued the CitySmart card. Its applications mainly focus on two areas: access control using the contactless chip and small-amount payment using the stored-value chip. Present locations with smart card access control include the Computing Services Centre (CSC), Faculty Laboratory Centre, Library, Self-access Centre of Language Institute, Sports Complex and Swimming Pool.

On the other hand, various points-of-sale have been established within campus, covering the University Book Shop, the Health Centre, City Express (the student canteen), the University Computer Shop, CSC, Library, Sports Complex, REG Service Centre, Students' Union, Cut-Price Collection, the Swimming Pool and the Car Park shroff.

Phase II Development

To further explore the potential of the CitySmart card, a steering group headed by Vice-President/Planning & Information Services (VP/PI) was established in June to continue the phase II development of the smart card applications. At its first meeting the following new applications were identified:

Electronic lock for staff offices and entrance control of other public areas.
Update of card information for temporary staff and alumni members by installing automatic data update machines in the campus.
Loan of equipment and reference materials.
Handling payment and booking/purchases simultaneously, say in the Sports Centre, the University Computer Shop and the Student Canteen.
Car park shroff function (to serve as the existing annual parking ticket).
Clock-in/clock-out attendance record.

Among the above suggested applications, the CSC had already taken its own initiative to develop an electronic lock system called "SmartLock" which uses the smart card as a key for staff office entrance control. Interested departments may contact the Estates Management Office (EMO) for the initial arrangements. The EMO will act as the coordinator of the installation process while the CSC will provide the "SmartLock" system itself and the necessary technical support.

[Issue No. 12]

Computing Services Centre
City University of Hong Kong
ccnetcom@cityu.edu.hk