The story appears on

Page B4

May 19, 2015

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » District » Minhang

Dream Creation Talk

Radio is often called a dinosaur in the digital world, but Yu Yifei, the developer of an online radio app for mobile devices, begs to differ. He said he believes that listening to the radio can still be a favorite form of entertainment.

That belief led to the development of Ajimide online radio. With the app, people can listen to radio programs from around the world as long as they have a wireless network. Users can bookmark their favorite programs and listen to them whenever they like.

The app also includes a social function.

“When I was developing the app, I noticed that people who liked listening to the same kind of music tended to also share the same hobbies,” he said. “So I thought it might work to develop an online community bringing those people together.”

The app also allows listeners to communicate directly with the disk jockeys from their favorite radio programs by online messages or forums.

With wide promotion on different radio stations in the city, Ajimide has developed a big fan base.

“My dream was to change people’s lives through voices, and I think I am on my way to realizing that dream,” said Yu.

The rental housing market is chaotic. Illegal agencies operate and unlawful flat-stacking squeezes multiple tenants into apartments too small to hold them, angering neighborhoods.

The problems continue despite government clean-up efforts. Into the fray comes Qingke Life Service Co.

The company professionally manages more than 15,000 rooms in Shanghai, providing reliable and regulated rental services for white-collar workers.

“We have very strict standards in choosing our clients,” said Qu Chengcai, CEO of the company.

It does interior decorating for tenants based on what young people want in a home.

Every room comes equipped with wi-fi, and gas is replaced by induction cookers because many young people prefer eating out to preparing meals at home.

New technologies are deployed. Using an app on mobile devices, renters can sign a lease and pay rents and public utilities online.

“With such a platform, we can provide an array of creative services,” said Qu. “For example, we can give free cleaning services to the renters and collect deliveries for them when they are away from home.”

The non-governmental organization Team Maike uses digital technology to help the needy.

Comprised of college students, social workers and industrial zone employees in the district, the team has developed five apps for mobile devices to help seniors and disabled persons.

The most recent product is an online platform connecting social workers and people needing their help. The idea was inspired by the family call service for seniors.

“If seniors have health emergencies, they can summon help by pressing just one button, but, of course, they still need to wait for some time for an ambulance to arrive,” said Diao Chengyao, leader of the organization. “We were thinking: Why not create a similar platform that connects them with social workers who have received training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.”

And with the same platform, seniors can also order other social services they may need, such as grocery and medicine delivery.

The app is now used in the Wanke Neighborhood in Wujing Town, where it is receiving positive feedback. Diao said the ultimate goal is to expand the functions of the app to cover community needs.

“Apart from aiding seniors and disabled persons, there are issues such as greenery maintenance and parking management,” he said. “With technology, there is usually a solution.”

The Zoyce Photonics was created by a set of twins with impressive credentials. Zhao Yuji is a student of Nobel Prize winner Shuji Nakamura, the inventor of LED lights, while his brother Zhao Yuzhe serves as general manager of the company.

The company has developed a new mobile control system for stage LED lighting. A smart phone controls all onstage music and lights with an app. The products have been used in grand projects such as the Shanghai Expo Site.

Zhao Yuzhe said turning their ideas into a successful business has been a hard slog.

“We started the company in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, but the bankruptcy of a local technology company quashed government confidence in all high-tech companies,” he said. “Our lab didn’t receive enough support, so we had to leave.”

The brothers came back to Shanghai and decided to stick to LED illumination. They formed a research and development team to study combining artificial intelligence and LED illumination.

Zhao Yuji also serves as a professor at Arizona State University, which means the onus of day-to-day operations of the company fall on his brother.

“In modern society, illumination is no longer just a working lightbulb,” said Zhao Yuzhe. “We believe that with the help of new technology, advanced lighting can greatly improve the daily lives of people.”

These two ideas were hatched by students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Hu Chunjia said the idea of multi-play TV screens came from his own family experience. He said family members often disagreed about which shows to watch on television.

The university junior reckons there must be some way for a television to broadcast two shows at once.

“There is a large gap between a good idea and the reality of achieving it,” said Hu. “Doing the research and experiments is a long, winding road.”

Hu joined an online group for young inventors in the district to see if he could learn from others.

“The atmosphere of the group was quite warm, with people of similar interests sharing their knowledge and helping one another,” said Hu. “They helped me a lot in surmounting practical problems.”

Meanwhile, Li Duo, a postgraduate student with the university, was inspired by Google Glass to invent a pair of spectacles that can display whatever people want to see.

“I think, at the very least, the glasses can help people enjoy working out more,” said Li. “When they are on a treadmill, they can enjoy something more interesting than just staring at the wall.”

Li said he has developed several more intelligent glass ideas, such as glasses that can help guide the blind. “I hope in 10 years to be an engineer who is successful in turning ideas into reality,” he said.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend