With the rapid development of internet technology and the widespread availability of high-speed networks, online live streaming has become a highly popular form of entertainment. Anyone can become a streamer, attracting many adventurous young people, including students from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE). During their live streaming experiences, they identified several issues with existing live streaming software and decided to develop a new application to make live streaming more convenient and intelligent.
Understanding the importance of communication
Inside the Hong Kong IVE campus, four student teammates, KWOK Man Ho, CHAN Man Him, LEE Tung Kin, and YIP Tai Wa, met with two mentors for an interview. As soon as they gathered, the students and mentors immediately engaged in a discussion on how to improve the functionality of the Streaming Hub mobile application. Over the past year, they have steadily improved the Streaming Hub's features, gaining recognition and attention in the market.
Students wrote the program, received seed funding, and won technology awards.
Highlighting the complexity of existing software and aiming for a single iPad solution
"When we did live streaming ourselves, we found that setting up the venue and dealing with multiple cables were cumbersome. This led us to design an app that could handle everything wirelessly with just an iPad," said Billy, explaining their initial idea. The team envisioned using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies, but implementation and programming became new challenges. Fortunately, with the assistance of mentors Will Kwok and KC, the students overcame these obstacles step by step.
The process had its ups and downs but provided valuable experiences.
Mentor: "I'm delighted that the students came up with these ideas and gradually implemented the features. It's beneficial for the live streaming market and the audience."
One of the mentors, Will, expressed his excitement about how using AI and AR technologies to assist live streaming is an intriguing topic. He stated, "I'm delighted that the students came up with these ideas and gradually implemented the features. It's beneficial for the live streaming market and the audience." The introduction of Streaming Hub allows large-scale live streaming events that used to require several people on-site to be accomplished with just one or two individuals.
Streamers themselves can also control the live streaming using gesture operations, and the use of 3D technology allows for more interactive elements between the streamer and the audience.
Discovering shortcomings while playing with live streaming
Student team: "Fortunately, we mediated conflicts, respected and accommodated each other, and resolved the issues."
Designing the new app was not without its challenges. Adrian, responsible for the program's user interface design, mentioned that there were many differing opinions during the subjective stage of interface design. "The development of the program was once halted, but fortunately, we mediated conflicts, respected and accommodated each other, and resolved the issues." Through this process, the students understood the importance of communication within the team.
As the program matured, it garnered market attention and recognition. The Streaming Hub team received investment from the Hong Kong Science Park's Seed Fund. Additionally, they were recognized with the "2022 Hong Kong ICT Awards: Student Innovation (Tertiary or Above) Silver Award." The students expressed their happiness with the recognition and revealed their upcoming participation in an international competition in Pakistan. They were grateful for the guidance from their two mentors and the support from the school, saying, "Without mentors and the school, it would be challenging to participate in these competitions. It's an invaluable experience."
Experienced mentors with market insights
When discussing the growth of the four students, the two mentors smiled warmly. Mentor Lei Huakang (KC) admired the students' ability to adapt to changes, stating, "Participating in competitions and hearing different opinions, seeing the market's expectations for adding various functions to the app, the students were proactive in making changes, which is quite impressive."
The teacher-student relationship is harmonious, filled with laughter.
Another mentor, Guo Yuhao (Will), also praised the students for their strong learning abilities. He emphasized that they had the confidence to absorb different opinions and incorporate them into their own product, leading to their success.
High achievements in programming wouldn't be possible without the mentors' dedicated assistance.
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