KT Stories | Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office

Knowledge Transfer Stories

Vision Care

Myopia Control Technology

PolyU’s School of Optometry (SO) is committed to nurturing professional optometrists and conducting cutting-edge research to safeguard our eye health. One major focus of SO is myopia, a prevalent vision condition affecting an alarming proportion of people globally, especially in Asia. Apart from blurry vision, moderate to high myopia is associated with an increased risk of serious eye diseases. Aiming to mitigate the epidemic, our experts have developed “myopia defocus”, a revolutionary method for controlling the condition in children based on a natural mechanism of the eye where the eyeball size is regulated by optical inputs.

Railway Condition Monitoring

PolyU had developed “Advanced Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) Railway Monitoring System” that had been successfully installed in Hong Kong MTR rails. Thousands of optical sensors installed provide information on vibration, acceleration and temperature change for engineering staff, helping them to monitor the health condition of tracks and…

Engineering

Railway Condition Monitoring

Space Research

Space Exploration Technologies

PolyU has long been contributing to space explorations with innovative engineering solutions. In Chang'e-3 and 4 lunar missions, the Camera Pointing System (CPS) captured stunning panoramic images and enabled the monitoring of the rovers’ motion on the Moon’s near and far sides respectively. The Surface Sampling and Packing System brought back the first Chinese acquired lunar regolith in Chang’e-5 mission, and will be used in Chang’e-6 as well. In Tianwen-1 mission, PolyU’s Mars Landing Surveillance Camera has also landed on the red planet. Back on Earth, such high-precision engineering knowledge was applied in robotics, creating advanced robots such as the in-line pipe robot for water pipe inspection and repair.

On the other hand, PolyU’s innovative planetary remote sensing and mapping technologies are indispensable to landing site selection and surface operation for space missions. They generate high-precision, high-resolution topographic models of celestial bodies by combining images and laser measurement data from various sources across various platforms, and reconstructing fine topographic details. To automate the analysis of surface hazards such as rock and crater distributions on planetary surface, solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI) are developed. The resulting 3D topographic model could achieve resolution as high as 1 cm/pixel, and the AI solution could achieve 85% correctness.

Torque-free Single Yarn

In textile industry there is a long problem – residual torque. Residual torque will cause fibers to twist together, affecting the smoothness and quality of yarns. Supported by Innovation and Technology Fund of Hong Kong Government, PolyU researchers have successfully developed a breakthrough technology, trademarked as “Nu-Torque”, that can resolve this problem – a problem that has never been resolved for many years. Adopting the Nu-Torque™ technology, the industry can produce yarns with good quality, low twist but high strength and extra-soft hand feel fabric using simple retrofitting device on…

Textiles

Anti-Erasing (ATE) Ink

The recent surge in counterfeit products and reselling of expired or contaminated goods is threatening consumer confidence and brand value around the world. To combat unethical tampering of product markings, PolyU researchers have developed an anti-counterfeit technology which adopts a fast-drying formulation. Compatible with various continuous inkjet printers, the innovative Anti-Erasing (ATE) Ink can withstand physical tampering and leave non-removable trace marks on product packaging. Different series of products, including the Nano ATE ink series, for printing on specific materials and surfaces such as…

Anti-counterfeiting

Radiation-free Scoliosis Monitoring

The Department of Biomedical Engineering has developed and filed worldwide patents for Scolioscan, a radiation-free system for scoliosis evaluation based on 3D ultrasound imaging technology. The system enables adolescent patients to have the condition monitored properly and regularly without increasing the risk of cancer. Seeing its…

Healthcare

Radiation-free Scoliosis Monitoring

Engineering

Mega Structure Monitoring

PolyU’s inter-disciplinary research teams have developed a structural health monitoring system that can provide real time information on structural health conditions throughout the whole life cycle of mega-structures like bridges, high-rises and towers. Through the system, the owner can assess structural health condition immediately after any major…

Optimisation of HVAC Systems

As in situations across the globe, buildings account for the largest electricity consumption in Hong Kong. While commercial and industrial buildings consume over 90% of all electric energy here, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems take up over 50% of it on average. However, much of the consumed energy is wasted due to improper design, commissioning, operation and control of these systems, especially in the case of outdated models. PolyU’s experts in building services engineering have long been devising related optimisation strategies and energy efficient approaches, covering all sub-systems as well as control systems for conventional and special indoor environment, such as cleanrooms, industrial processes and underground stations. The comprehensive solutions include robust optimal design of HVAC systems, building energy diagnostic and commissioning methods and tools, optimal control of air side and water side systems, automation and energy-efficient control.

Through dedicated consultancy services, PolyU’s HVAC optimisation solutions have been applied in various architectural establishments, such as a transport station, pharmaceutical manufacturing buildings, hotels and commercial centres. In a commercial centre at Kowloon Station, the optimisation system has been fully incorporated into the design and control of the air conditioning system, and has achieved a significant annual saving of over 18% of electricity for the entire building.

Sustainability

Optimisation of HVAC Systems