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RaSpect is an AI-powered predictive inspection company for 'Built Infrastructure' such as buildings, roads, bridges, power lines, etc. By integrating IoT sensing technology and robotics system, the company aims to automate the process of data collection and standardize it to achieve remote detection and real-time monitoring. It further attempts to establish high-quality inspection of big data, use of deep learning, image recognition, data model analysis, and other cutting-edge technologies to conduct early warning analysis for infrastructure safety and functionality. RaSpect can effectively assess the potential risks for the safety and functionality of any structure, and calculate the degree of damage after a comprehensive analysis of the data. The company promises that its solution not only provides more accurate detection and analysis than traditional methods but also saves more than 50% of time and cost. RaSpect's mission is to create a safer and smarter society through artificial intelligence detection technology.
Harris Sun is the Founder and CEO of RaSpect Intelligence Inspection Limited. He believes in meeting challenges head-on and learning from them. As a serial entrepreneur and leader in innovation, Harris is committed to getting things done and creatively solving problems. His passion and zeal for innovation, exploration, and entrepreneurship have been recognized both locally and internationally with awards including the UN-based World Summit Awards. His motto is – "Be passionate and embrace uncertainty". This has driven him during his entrepreneurial journey.
Harris graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor's degree in computer science and completed a Master's degree in computer science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a team player and works with his team members in a hands-on manner whenever the need arises.
RaSpect offers cutting-edge smart city solutions that significantly improve inspection efficiency and accuracy while also reducing costs. Instead of Hong Kong's traditional inspection method of putting up expensive scaffolding to inspect a building's conditions, the company's core technology employs autonomous robots and state-of-the-art sensing technology to optimize the data collection. That is then put through the dual procedures of processing and analysis using AI-powered algorithms.
According to Harris, this model has proven effective as it has been replicated for various properties and has garnered customer delight for its low-cost, short-timeframe, safety of workers, and provision of a thorough inspection. Thus, RaSpect is ushering in a new age of AI-powered process that will revolutionize a particularly important sector which has long suffered from low productivity and adoption of new technology. It not only radically changes how building inspection and monitoring is done but has the potential to radically transform construction and infrastructure maintenance through automation and the use of machine learning, AI and data analytics. This will also impact the national AI industry and inspire others to apply the same approach in other sectors of the industry in different parts of the country and the world.
RaSpect has developed its own patented AI-powered automated inspection solution, leveraging IoT, big data, and computer vision technology. The company's solution is continuously being developed further to achieve optimal results by its diverse team consisting of entrepreneurs, professors, PhDs in machine learning and computer vision, senior civil, electrical, mechanical and software engineers, and a global R&D team.
Some of the RaSpect's outstanding list of solutions include,
Live data of building performance is collected via robotics and IoT and continuous inspections are performed autonomously with limited human intervention. This solution reduces human errors and saves the hazards associated with inspection operations. It uses a drone installed with an HD camera and different types of sensors for inspection, namely optical, infrared, sonar, and LiDAR etc. By leveraging on the infra-red sensor, businesses can detect the thermal change of the surface due to water leakage, surface cracking, or energy leakage. They further use the sonar sensor to inspect the inner structure. 24×7 IoT inspection collects and lives streams data for structural assessment, data-driven inspection, improved awareness of safety status.
RaSpect makes use of the latest data science techniques for the automatic processing of data. Inaccurate data is automatically cleaned from the raw data to increase data quality.
RaSpect's data analytics system comprises defects recognition, thermal analytics, vibration analytics, ultrasonic analytics, and structural analytics for structural integrity assessment covering the entire range from planned-to-built, in-operation, and indoor-to-outdoor.
Harris believes that the world is on the cusp of a revolution in many sectors through artificial intelligence and data analytics. Already there are significant deployments in finance, national security, healthcare, criminal justice, transportation, and smart cities that have altered decision-making, business models, risk mitigation, and system performance. These developments are generating substantial economic and social benefits. Yet the way AI systems continue to evolve and unfold has major implications for society. It matters how policy issues are addressed, ethical conflicts are reconciled, legal realities are resolved, and how much transparency is maintained in AI and data analytic solutions.
Harris further says that human choices about software development affect how decisions are made and how they are integrated into organizational routines. It is crucial to understand how these processes are executed precisely because they will have a substantial impact on the general public into the foreseeable future. It is also imperative since AI will be revolutionary in its impact on human affairs as it becomes the single most influential human innovation in history.
Harris believes that an innovative leader should possess five essential qualities, viz., trustworthy, committed, persistent, passionate, and courageous.
He further emphasizes that a good leader should be able to trust his team members, who in turn would return the trust, thus fostering a strong team spirit. A good leader should be committed to setting goals that are aligned with an innovative and well-explored approach for everyone's benefit. This commitment must be accompanied by persistence to simultaneously challenge and help the market. Finally, a good leader should possess a passion for exploring newer and better options while being courageous to face failure with grace.
During the initial phase of the journey, Harris discovered that the public perception of building inspection was based on personal, visual, or manual experience. He found it challenging to open the reserved minds towards entrusting a machine for its accuracy and ability. Therefore, the RaSpect team focused on educating and showing how the company is capable of data capture and data analytics. Afterward, the team could enlighten the public perception by illustrating how RaSpect's techniques and services solved its client's problems and saved their money.
The time Harris spent working in various start-up companies after graduation prepared him for a rewarding journey of leadership. The experience he gained there bolstered his vision and drive for innovation. It was instrumental in inspiring him to become a founding member of the innovation centre in Cathay Pacific Airways. Several awarding committees that recognized Harris's passion in setting up and leading RaSpect have been a great encouragement for him to strive harder and aspire for higher goals.
Harris has been bestowed with the prestigious World Summit Award and Red Herring Award in 2019, among many others. Landing the iconic International Commerce Centre (ICC) building for the application of RaSpect technology was a big milestone. "Our successful delivery of façade inspection results has opened up a lot of opportunities to expand to other building services engineering domains around the world towards an AI-driven automated facility management system," says Harris.
Harris is confident that RaSpect will continue to educate the market and pave its way to be the leading AI-powered inspection company in the world. At present, the company is looking towards expanding its horizons to other global cities, including Toronto, London, Dubai, and Tokyo in 2021, and Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur in 2022. RaSpect aims to provide quality, cost-efficient, and sustainable service as it expands into all areas of built infrastructure.
The AI industry will continue to evolve rapidly to have a disruptive but positive impact on all sectors. The construction and infrastructure sector, which has been a laggard in technology adoption will hopefully gain the most as it evolves to meet the challenges of productivity, safety, and sustainability.
