The concept of commuting didn't come into existence until about 60 years ago when cities grew bigger and people found it hard to afford downtown rent. Driving long distance to work has become a common practice ever since. In Hong Kong, despite our extensive railway system and bus routes, some of us still can't get over the convenience associated with having our own vehicles.
As walking on foot isn't an option in a large city like Hong Kong, we might as well minimize the impact of our commuting to the environment. One way to do it is obviously to use vehicles that cause less air pollution, such as an electric car. The sleek-looking home-grown fully-electric two-seater known as "mycar" is PolyU's answer to the growing demand for greener transportation means. It made headlines all over the world and has gone on sales in many European countries in 2009.
While it's impossible to convert all diesel and gasoline-driven vehicles into electric ones overnight, scientists are still working on ways to cut down on pollution and energy consumption in conventional cars. In the second project, PolyU experts invented a solar-powered air conditioning system independent from the engine, so that drivers don't have to take the heat when they can't turn an engine on in an idling car. Finally, energy efficiency of vehicle headlights can be significantly raised with the use of LED light and freeform optics.
Besides the said projects, PolyU scholars are also working on these areas: