News

Collaborative Research Seminar & Workshop | Technology Matters - Innovation for Future

ITDO was honored to have Mr. Charles Ai [艾超], Vice President, Technology Cooperation & Head, Early Stage Investment, R&D of Huawei Technologies, to be the guest speaker on “Technology Matters – Innovation for Future”, which served as the second episode of its collaborative research and workshop series.  The morning session was a seminar held at N002, Lim Por Yen Lecture Theatre on PolyU campus on October 17, 2014 (Friday). With more than 15 years of experience in telecommunications industry as well as reputable expertise in business development, R&D and marketing, Mr. Ai had attracted an enthusiastic audience of over 90 guests from PolyU and other academic institutions attending the seminar. Mr. Ai shared his novel vision and views on the role and importance of innovation in blueprinting our future from a strategic perspective. Followed by the seminar, Mr. Ai and his senior R&D team on Huawei’s Early Stage Investment further participated in the theme-based workshop in the afternoon to meet and exchange insights individually with about 15 PolyU professors from 7 different departments on a variety of research topics including Next-G optical communications, Big Data & Mining and GEO informatics and explore the respective strategic collaborations with PolyU in upcoming years.    To view the snapshop of the Seminar and Workshop, please visit here.

AOAC Annual Meeting & Exposition

AOAC INTERNATIONAL is a global standard developer for analytical sciences, and much effort has been invested in the aspect of food science. Its Annual Meeting & Exposition is an invaluable event for food testing professionals to be educated on the most upfront technologies, to network and discuss food science at a professional level, and to explore potential partnering with the industry.

The First Annual Meeting of the Intellectual Property Assessment Committee

The First Annual Meeting of the Intellectual Property Assessment Committee [IPAC] was held on July 3, 2014 with the aim of soliciting recommendations from both the industry leaders and PolyU’s academia on strategic initiatives to further improve the University’s existing regime of intellectual property [IP] management. The meeting was kicked off with the welcome remarks delivered by the Chairman, Ir Professor Ping-kong Alexander Wai, Vice-President of Research Development of PolyU. He expressed his heart-felt thanks on behalf of the University to the members for their continuous support to the Committee since its establishment. The members were invited to share their illuminating views, edge-cutting insights as well as valuable experience in their respective professions in the architecture of a sustainable model for PolyU’s IP management. The Committee would further submit the thoughtful and inspirational inputs from the members for PolyU's Knowledge Transfer Committee’s consideration in the formulation of PolyU’s strategies in regard to the portfolio management and business potential exploration of IP. To view the snapshots of the meeting, please visit here.

2014 BIO International Convention & Study Mission

PolyU ITDO joined the Hong Kong Biotechnology Delegation as an exhibitor of the Hong Kong Pavilion at the 2014 BIO International Convention held in San Diego, California and a delegate of the business mission to Los Angeles and San Diego to visit biotech companies, research institutes and industry associations. The convention is one of the most representative events for the biotech industry every year, furnishing industry players with the updates of the latest trends and development. ITDO showcased PolyU's capabilities in drug discovery, development & delivery, biomedical engineering, medical devices & diagnostics, rehabilitation sciences, optometry and ophthalmology, biological imaging, and other research expertise. We also participated in one-on-one partnering meetings with key industry leaders at the convention. For more information about the BIO International Convention, visit http://convention.bio.org. If you would like to learn more on how to explore this useful platform in the future, please contact our office. To view the snapshots of 2014 BIO International Converntion & Study Mission, please visit here.

PolyU Ranks First Among HK Tertiary Institutions in U.S. Utility Patents Granted in 2013

PolyU is honored to receive the accolade from the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) as being named a Top 100 Worldwide University in U.S. Patents Granted in 2013. The National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association publishes a report listing Top 100 Worldwide Universities granted the most U.S. utility patents with data obtained from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on an annual basis. In 2013, PolyU was granted a total of 30 U.S. Utility Patents in 2013 and was ranked the 67th on the global list, topped among tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. You may check out the full list here. To know more about National Academy of Inventors, please visit here. To know more about Intellectual Property Owners Association, please visit here.

Meeting with GE Healthcare to Explore Research Collaboration Opportunities

ITDO organized a meeting between PolyU researchers and GE Healthcare. Dr. Xiangli Chen, President at the GE China Technology Center, Dr. Bing Zhang, China Technology Growth Leader at GE China, and Dr. Xiaodong Han, Lead Engineer of GE Global Research had a fruitful exchange with Professor Ping-kong Alex Wai, PolyU’s Vice-President of Research Development and the Interim Head of PolyU’s Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering Professor Yong-ping Zheng. GE and PolyU are now exploring collaborations of mutual interests. To view the snanpshots of the meeting, please click here.

Receiving Shunde Delegation, Signing of MOU between PolyU & Shunde Government

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The People's Government of Shunde District, Foshan City (Shunde Government)on 9 January 2014 with a view to promoting exchanges and encouraging collaboration between PolyU and the Shunde Government / Shunde high-technology industries. A delegation from the high-technology sector, led by a Shunde Government official, also visited PolyU to understand more about its R&D activities as well its technology transfer and commercialization process. The exchanges between PolyU and the Shunde community is expected to be stepped up, fostering the development of more collaborative research, and hence more deliverables. PolyU is keen to provide more concrete R&D and commercialization support to the Shunde high-technology industry to help realize related innovations, ultimately driving the economic development in the Shunde region and national scales. ITDO has been facilitating conversations between PolyU and Shunde companies since signing of the MOU. For more information, please refer to PolyU's media release of the event. To view the snapshots of the signing ceremony, please visit here.

Establishment of the Intellectual Property Assessment Committee (IPAC)

PolyU has established the IPAC as per recommendation of the Knowledge Transfer Committee of the PolyU Council. The IPAC, commissioned to improve the IP assessment process at PolyU, will work closely with the ITDO to conduct IP assessment and to provide advice on IP matters. Chaired by Ir Professor Ping-kong Alexander Wai, Vice President (Research Development), the committee consists of internal members from PolyU including Deans and Heads of all faculties and academic departments, and external members comprising a pool of prominent businessmen and industrialists from various industries in Hong Kong. PolyU has one of the strongest patent portfolios among the universities and research institutes in Hong Kong. With the establishment of IPAC, we aspire to further enhance the evaluation and management of our intellectual property assets and to significantly improve the quality of our patent portfolio and the commercialization potential of our inventions. For more, please visit here.

PolyU Two Projects Awarded Sports Science and Research Funding Scheme to Support Athletes

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been awarded two grants with a total amount of HKD 13.7 million under the Sports Science and Research Funding Scheme in its first-round announcement, to collaborate with the Hong Kong Sports Institute on conducting two sports science research projects, committed to supporting the development of Hong Kong elite athletes with advanced technologies and enhancing their competitiveness at the upcoming major games. One of the awarded projects aims to develop a vision-based analysis system using Artificial Intelligence to provide comprehensive scientific data support for track cycling coaching in a timely manner.  The other project aims to provide various customized assistive aids to enhance and maximize the physical performances of Paralympic athletes from different sports fields, including fencing, boccia, badminton, table tennis, etc.   Cycling Track Video Intelligence Led by Prof Heng Li, Chair Professor of Construction Informatics This project aims to develop a solution for vision-based analysis of cycling matches. The proposed solution includes five components: video shooting, data transmission, video AI processing, data analysis application and hardware. By leveraging IR Sensor and SRM power meter, the pre-trained deep learning models are employed to analyse the competition videos to obtain players’ ranks, speeds, and power. This developed system can analyse the athletes’ statistics and technical characteristics in competitions in a timely manner to assist the coaching team in identifying the tactical limitations of players, and also able to analyse how competition court and environment affect an athlete’s performance, fast grasp opponents’ technical characteristics and accurately evaluate their performance and condition. Compared to the current practice of relying on manually collecting technical statistics, this proposed system will not only reduce manual efforts but also build a platform to accumulate athletes' historical data in a time-saving manner, supporting elite athletes' training by providing comprehensive analysis. The captured and combined data, including heart rate, power, speed, time, position, and level, can be used to assess the athlete's tactical proficiency and training intensity. The first edition of this vision-based algorithm model will be finished soon, which is promising to be tested and thus offer the coaching team data for reference in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou.   Customized services of assistive devices for paralympic athletes Led by Ir Prof Ming Zhang, Head of Department, Chair Professor of Biomechanics and Director of the Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology The customization of assistive devices can support Paralympic athletes in reducing the weight load while increasing training rigidity and strength. This project will provide various customization services of assistive devices, including prostheses, orthoses, wheelchairs, and associated devices, based on the Paralympic athletes’ individual needs to enhance their confidence and performances. Advanced prosthetic elements such as carbon-fiber blades prosthesis will be introduced. Paralympic athletes may try different advanced components to find their preferred combinations. For wheelchairs, the customized seat cushion is significant for comfort and stability. This project will fabricate a wheelchair using lighter and stronger materials to achieve agility, which is dominant for badminton and table tennis, and improve grasp and body balance through the custom handles.  This project will also provide portable equipment, such as portable wheelchair cradles using foldable aluminum frames for wheelchair fencing training. In addition, the research team will modify the boccia ramp based on the optimization of shape and length and develop a portable force plate to determine the center of gravity of the rolling ball so as to avoid deflection. The latest international development in assistive devices and technologies will be introduced to coaches and athletes. Deliverables will be optimized based on the research and the feedback of athletes and coaches.