News

PolyU and Red Date Technology Sign MoU to Foster Blockchain Development

On 14 June 2023, PolyU and Red Date Technology have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities for collaboration in the field of blockchain. Uniting the strengths of the two innovative and forward-thinking organisations, the MoU serves as a framework for further discussion on blockchain research, application and education, addressing practical needs and the popularisation of blockchain. This collaboration will be led by COMP and Research Centre for Blockchain Technology. Prof. LI Qing, Chair Professor and Head of COMP, and Mr Tim BAILEY, Vice President of Global Sales of Red Date Technology, signed the MoU at the ceremony, witnessed by Dr Miranda LOU, Executive Vice President of PolyU; Ir Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU; Mr HE Yifan , CEO of Red Date Technology and Dr David CHUNG, founder of ImpactD. Ir Prof Christopher CHAO said in the welcome remark, “PolyU and Red Date share a commitment to advancing blockchain technology and its applications. This MoU is an excellent opportunity for us to explore potential cooperation between academia and the industry.” In Mr HE Yifan’s congratulatory speech, he stated that “Red Date is proud to collaborate with a leading institution such as PolyU to advance important technologies like blockchain and help develop future talent for Hong Kong.” Prof. LI Qing also pointed out in his speech that this partnership would undoubtedly leverage the strengths and expertise of both parties to drive innovation and progress in this field. The MoU signing ceremony concluded with a panel discussion on the BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network) Spartan experience sharing, moderated by Dr Henry CHAN, Associate Professor and Associate Head (Partnership & Collaboration) of COMP. Other panel speakers included Prof. Allen AU, Professor of COMP, Mr Tim BAILEY, and representatives from Prenetics and Fujifilm. By integrating knowledge and experience of PolyU and Red Date Technology, this MoU will definitely foster the development of blockchain and make a significant contribution to the field.

Best Paper Award from ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games

A research paper titled “NeRFahedron: A Primitive for Animatable Neural Rendering with Interactive Speed” has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games (i3D 2023). This paper was the outcome of the collaboration between Dr Hong Va LEONG, our associate professor and associate head, Dr Peter NG, our assistant professor, and Dr Zackary SIN, our research assistant professor.   Neural rendering is a hot topic in computer graphics injecting machine learning techniques into classical rendering pipelines. It has been shown to be able to produce photo-realistic results that mirror scenes in reality. An issue, however, is that previous approaches have limitations in speed or animation. This paper proposes a novel neural rendering primitive, NeRFahedron, that can enable animatable content for neural rendering in real-time. It is believed that this work can lay the groundwork for deploying neural rendering to interactive applications like VR apps and games. It is expected to be beneficial for rendering photo-realistic environments for the metaverse in the future as well. Read the paper here.   SIGGRAPH i3D is a leading conference that brings together researchers and practitioners working on real-time 3D computer graphics and human interaction. The conference provides a platform for presenting and discussing new research results, techniques, and applications related to interactive 3D graphics, games, and virtual environments. For more information about SIGGRAPH i3D: click here.

PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day: Admission Strategies 2023

PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day was successfully held on 20 May 2023 at the university campus, offering up-to-date programme information to JUPAS applicants. The departmental event featured an info seminar, guided lab tours, and hands-on workshops.   During the info seminar, Dr LEONG Hong Va, Associate Professor and Associate Head of COMP, gave a detailed presentation on the bright prospect of the tech industry that benefited from the surge of generated AI and Web3. He highlighted the features of the BSc (Hons) Scheme in Computing & AI, explained entrance requirements and provided helpful tips for JUPAS applicants. Dr YIU Man Lung Ken, Associate Professor, then shared information on various learning opportunities at COMP, including programmes for exchange, internships and mentorship. Additionally, a Year 4 student, LAM Wai Kit Alex, talked about his personal experiences at COMP, as well as the interesting and challenging sides of studying computing.   To give participants a glimpse of the research and teaching facilities of COMP, guided laboratory tours were hosted at our Game Lab and Research Centre on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, where they could try out the mixed reality applications designed by our students and staff. The last activities of the day were two workshops on the topics “AI-generated Arts” and “Crypto wallet in MetaMask”, conducted by Dr Richard LUI and Dr Dennis LIU, our Senior Teaching Fellows, respectively.   The event provided a platform for prospective students to learn more about our undergraduate programmes and gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge technologies.

COMP Shines at 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva with Multiple Awards

PolyU has once again demonstrated its commitment to impactful innovation by winning a record-breaking number of accolades at the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (Geneva Inventions Expo). The event is widely considered as one of the most important global events devoted exclusively to inventions. Among the awarded innovations, talents in COMP have won several awards at the event, including a Gold Medal for the Advanced Intelligent System for Radiation-free Scoliosis and Posture Evaluation, developed by Prof. GUO Song, our professor, and Mr Jackal XU Zhenda, our PhD student. This innovative edge intelligence system provides a radiation-free, non-contact, and cost-effective way to screen, diagnose, monitor, and provide real-time treatment feedback for common spinal deformities in teenagers, such as adolescent scoliosis and spinal-related posture problems (e.g. thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis). Based on intelligent light sensing technology, topographical technology and artificial intelligence algorithms, the AI + 3D infrared imaging system allows users to conduct AI-based online scoliosis screening and monitoring comfortably at home using edge devices (e.g., smartphones). Additionally, Prof. CAO Jiannong, Dean of Graduate School, Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, and Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing of COMP, won a Silver Medal for the invention “PolyPi: Edge-AI Empowered Robot for Autonomous In-pipe Inspection,” while Prof. CHEN Changwen, our chair professor also won a Silver Medal for developing a system for Evaluation and Triage for Healthy Knee, co-developed with Prof. Amy FU Siu-ngor, Peter Hung Professor in Pain Management, Assoc. Head (RS) & Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. The University's success at the Geneva Inventions Expo further underscores its dedication to leveraging its expertise in education, research, and knowledge transfer to drive PolyImpact - PolyU inventions and innovations that benefit the world. The Geneva Inventions Expo this year attracted about 1,000 inventions from about 40 countries and regions. To learn more about PolyU’s impactful innovations showcased at the Expo, please refer to the website of the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/kteo/Knowledge-Transfer/Innovations-and-Technologies/Award-winning-Innovations/Geneva2023/.

Prof. Allen Au and Dr Xingye Lu’s team won the ZPrize Competition for Accelerating Zero-knowledge Cryptography

We are delighted that Prof. Allen AU, our Professor; Dr Xingye LU, our Research Assistant Professor; Mengling LIU, our PhD student; and Chengru ZHANG, PhD student at HKU, have won the Plonk-DIZK GPU Acceleration Prize in the ZPrize Competition, receiving an award of $550,000 USD (approximately HKD 4,300,000). Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), which allow one to prove the validity of an assertion without revealing any other information, are considered a game-changing technology for Web3 as they can be used to protect data privacy and improve the efficiency, and scalability of transparent systems such as blockchain. It has the potential to be applied across a variety of industries, including financial services, healthcare, and supply chain management. However, a major challenge for the real-world adoption of ZKPs lies in their computational cost, particularly for applications at scale. To overcome this hurdle, the industry-wide ZPrize Competition was launched in 2022, aiming to enhance the performance of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for different applications or hardware platforms, which can significantly revolutionise user experience regarding privacy, security, and integrity, especially for blockchain applications. Teams competed for monetary prizes spanning a range of categories (7 open divisions and 5 team divisions). Over $7M in prize money has been committed. The Plonk-DIZK GPU Acceleration category focused on accelerating a specific type of ZKPs called PLONK, which can be parallelised by distributing the proof generation procedure among multiple servers. Participants were required to apply the Distributed Zero-Knowledge Proof (DIZK) approach to accelerate the Plonk zero-knowledge proof protocol and improve the efficiency of Plonk-proof generation for gigantic circuits. However, due to the insufficient memory capacity of servers and some other real-world factors, it is considered to be extremely difficult to perform the acceleration. As a result, only this team led by Prof. Au and Dr Xingye Lu successfully completed the tasks by demonstrating a 40% computation speedup compared to the baseline on a single machine. Compared with the original DIZK, which requires more than 2 hours with twenty powerful servers (each equipped with 244GB of RAM) to prove a circuit with 228 gates, the team only needs 48 minutes to generate such a proof. The team's approach involved moving the most time-consuming operations in the proof generation process to GPUs and using a categorisation of servers into dispatchers and workers to distribute the prover's computation across a cluster of computers with minimised communication costs. Their solution is believed to be crucial for the broader adoption of ZKPs in various applications as it optimises scalability, efficiency, and resource consumption. The team will further generalise their distribution approach on PLONK and apply it to other ZKPs. Overall, the ZPrize Competition plays a significant role in advancing the field of zero-knowledge proof. We congratulate the team on their impressive achievement and look forward to seeing the impact of their winning submission on the broader adoption of zero-knowledge proof in the future.

Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU COMP 2023

PolyU is proud to recognise and honour the outstanding accomplishments and contributions of its alumni to the community through the establishment of the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award (OPAA). The result of the departmental award this year is out after a rigorous selection process. We are delighted to announce that Mr Albert YIP, Chairman of Syndicate Capital, is the recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award. At the same time, Mr Sky TANG, Founder of Conceptfound Technology International (HK) Limited, is granted the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Both awards are under the category of “Entrepreneurial Achievement”. Mr Albert Yip earned a Master’s Degree in Information Systems in 1997 at COMP. He began his career in accountancy and quickly rose through the ranks with his experience and exposure in the banking and financial sectors. Over the past 30 years, he has held CEO, CFO, CAE, and other C-Suite positions in Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Albert is the Chairman of Syndicate Capital and has been appointed as the Chief Strategy Officer at BOA International Financial Group since Jan 2020. In addition to his impressive achievements, Albert has worked closely and made significant contributions to COMP and PolyU. He established the "Syndicate Lab and Alliances Scholarship" to encourage and recognise the hard work of potential COMP students. Furthermore, he has served as a mentor in the COMP Mentorship Programme and a guest speaker in our Academic-Industry seminar series, where he introduced "The Galaxy and Blackhole of Metaverse". Mr Sky Tang graduated with BSc (Hon) in Enterprise Information Systems in 2014 and began his career as a programmer in the IT industry. After a few years, he was promoted to IT manager and played a crucial role in the company. In 2018, Sky started his entrepreneurial journey in Greater Bay Area. He has established Conceptfound Technology International (HK) Limited, a sought-after IT services provider, helping businesses across a range of industries to harness the power of technology to improve their operations and achieve their goals. In the academic year 2022/23, Sky donated a “Tang Man Chun Entrepreneurship Learning Scholarship” for COMP undergraduate students who demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit and unwavering and perseverant devotion. He has also become a mentor in our Mentorship Programme. Last year, he gave a talk on his personal stories at our Alumni Homecoming event, inspiring participants with entrepreneurial dreams to embrace challenges and avoid entrepreneurial landmines. The award selection is based on rigorous assessment and review of candidates' qualifications and performance by the judging panel. Candidates' achievements in the field and their contributions to the community and PolyU are considered. The award is given at three levels: Department level, Faculty/School level, and University level, with four achievement categories, namely "Professional Achievement," "Entrepreneurial Achievement," "Scholarly Achievement," and "Community Service Achievement." For more information on COMP's previous alumni awards, please click here. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Mr Albert Yip and Mr Sky Tang on receiving the Outstanding Alumni Award of the PolyU Department of Computing!

COMP Taster Programme on AI Completed with Success

On 22 April 2023, our department organised an experiential learning programme for secondary school students themed on “Knowledge & Interactions: AI Workshop for Secondary School Students”, more than 50 students completed the whole-day programme. The morning workshop was held at the Solar Tower in Ma Wan Park, where participants received a comprehensive lecture about the knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI). The widespread availability of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT has caused heated debate in society. This workshop introduced the perception, communication and content creation ability of AI, guiding participants to rethink the power of AI and the relationship between human and AI surrounded by Solar Tower’s immersive environment, where visitors could recognise the strong tie between human, nature and universe. Participants returned to PolyU campus for an interactive hands-on AI experience after visiting Ma Wan Park. They learnt practical AI knowledge through an interactive model-building competition and competed for awards. Regardless of the competition result, all participants enjoyed a fruitful day, and their understanding of AI have been deepened upon completion of our taster programme. The programme was led by Dr LI Jing, Amelia, our Assistant Professor, who has extensive experience in designing AI-related educational programmes.

Prof. ZHANG Lei ranked 1st in Asia in Best Computer Science Scientists Ranking

We are excited to announce that Prof. ZHANG Lei, Chair Professor of Computer Vision and Image Analysis, has been ranked 1st in Asia and 30th in the world in the Best Computer Science Scientists ranking released by Research.com (formerly named Guide2Research) on 21 March 2023. He outranked 92 leading scientists from China on the top 1000 scientists list. Prof. ZHANG has a high Discipline H-index of 136 and the highest number of publications among the top 1000 scientists. His research interests include image and video processing, computer vision, pattern recognition and biometrics, etc. In 2020, He was also recognised as top 1000 scientists for computer science & electronics by Guide2Research. This edition of the best scientists ranking for the field of Computer Science is based on data consolidated from various data sources including OpenAlex and CrossRef, and 14402 scholars in the field were investigated. The bibliometric data for evaluating the citation-based metrics were collected on 21 Dec 2022.

Industrial Collaborative Paper selected as the Highlight at CVPR 2023

The industrial collaborative paper entitled “Being Comes from Not-being: Open-vocabulary Text-to-Motion Generation with Wordless Training” is selected as a highlight at the IEEE / CVF Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference (CVPR) 2023. With more than nine thousand of submissions, only the top 2.5% of them are selected as highlights. This paper was the outcome of the collaboration between , Mr LIN Junfan, COMP Research Assistant and the first author of this paper; Prof. CHEN Changwen, our Chair Professor; and other five collaborators from PolyU, Sun Yat-sen University and Huawei Cloud respectively. The project is supported by the funding sponsored from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd to PolyU.   This paper addresses the emerging and challenging problem of text-to-motion generation, which aims to synthesize motion with the same semantics as the input text. However, due to the lack of diverse labeled training data, most approaches either limit to specific types of text annotations or require online optimizations to cater to the texts during inference at the cost of efficiency and stability.   In this paper, an offline open-vocabulary text-to-motion generation in a zero-shot learning manner that neither requires paired training data nor extra online optimization to adapt for unseen texts is investigated. Inspired by the prompt learning in NLP, the paper pretrains a motion generator that learns to reconstruct the full motion from the masked motion. During inference, instead of changing the motion generator, the method proposed in this paper reformulates the input text into a masked motion as the prompt for the motion generator to ``reconstruct'' the motion. Read the paper here.   CVPR is a premier annual computer vision event since 1985, which is regarded as one of the most important conferences in its field. The conference is highly selective in paper acceptance, and only the papers with the highest impact would be selected by the programme committee as the highlights or for oral presentations. This year, CVPR 2023 will be held from 18 to 22 June at the Vancouver Convention Center in Canada.

Faculty of Engineering Research Grant Achievement Award 2021

We are proud to announce that five COMP academic staff members received the Faculty of Engineering (FENG) Research Grant Achievement Award for 2021. The award goes to Prof. AU Man Ho Allen, Prof. GUO Song, Prof. WANG Dan, Dr LUO Xiapu Daniel and Dr YANG Lei Ray. Their exceptional accomplishment in securing external competitive research grants from 2017 to 2021 returned in triumph. The awarded members are dedicated to diverse research fields, but have also spared no effort to lead and contribute to multidisciplinary research projects. Prof. AU’s research interests include information security, applied cryptography, blockchain technology, and their applications; Prof. GUO focuses on big data, edge AI, mobile computing, and distributed systems; Prof. WANG conducts research on network architecture and QoS, smart building (a big data study) and Industry 4.0; Dr LUO’s research areas include mobile/IoT/system security and privacy, blockchain/smart contract, software engineering, network security and privacy, and internet measurement; Dr YANG studies physical neural networks, battery-free IoT, augmented metaverse, mobile computing, wireless communication and sensing, security and privacy. The Faculty Research Committee has set up FENG Research Grant Achievement Award since 2003 to recognise the outstanding performance of FENG academic staff members in securing external competitive research grants. To be qualified, a staff member must successfully secure three external competitive research grants in 36 months or four external competitive research grants in 60 months, as Principal Investigator/ co-Principal Investigator.