BEEE PhD Students Received Gold Award in the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition 2023

PhD student Wang Meng (Team leader) from the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) received a Gold Award for the project “Smart Firefighting Robot” in the “China International College Students’ Innovation Competition 2023”. After the final competition on 2-6 Dec in Tianjin, this project is the only one in PolyU that received the Gold award, which is one of the in total 10 Gold-Award projects from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Other team members include Zhang Xiaoning, Cheung Wai Kit, and Ding Yifei, and the project supervision is BEEE Associate Professor Dr Huang Xinyan.

The proposed Smart Firefighting Robot utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision (CV) technologies that autonomously navigate fire scenes, detect various objects, and automatically extinguish fires. The advanced robot not only protects firefighters from dangerous fire scenes, fire explosions, and toxic environments, but also provides valuable information for situational awareness and decision-making. With advanced AI model, the robot enables real-time monitoring of fire dynamic and smoke visibility. In future firefighting operations, it will collaborate with firefighters to achieve safer and smarter fire operations. 

The China International College Students’ Innovation Competition 2023 encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of the next generation. This competition is ranked first by the Chinese Higher Education Association. It is set to unleash the innovation potential of young groundbreaking ideas and entrepreneurial powers and provides opportunities for talented students to transform their ideas into viable business ventures. The competition encompasses various categories, including education, medical care, transport, finance, and cultural exchange with the integration of digital technologies.

Early this year, the team has received a HK$120,000 start-up grant and an acceptance into the Ideation Program of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP), which comes with a HK$100,000 start-up grant. Currently, Wang Meng’s team has entered the HKSTP Incubation Program and received up to HK$1.29 million in start-up support over a period of three years.

The Department world like to congratulate Mr Wang Meng, Dr Xinyan Huang and the team on the excellent achievement and wish them continued success.