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Two ISE Members honored with PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2023

The PolyU Patents Achievement Award is newly established in 2024 to recognise and commend outstanding achievements of departments and inventors who are active in filing intellectual property (IP) rights. The scheme includes two categories of award. The “Top Patents Filing Award” considers the IP filing activities over the past five years, while the “Most Active Patents Filing Award” focuses on the IP filing activities within the award year. We warmly congratulate two ISE members for winning the “Top Patents Filing Award”: Prof. Benny CHEUNG Chi-fai, Chair Professor of Ultra-precision Machining and Metrology, Director of State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology, and Associate Director of the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), and Dr HO Lai Ting, Laboratory Manager.

ISE innovations honoured internationally at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Project: Vcare - Vision Training VR Device   Award: Gold Medal   Principal Investigator: Dr TANG Yuk Ming Senior Lecturer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering; Co-founder, Vcare Vision Technology Limited (a PolyU academic-led startup)   Details: Vcare offers personalised vision correction training for myopia, amblyopia and strabismus. The solution combines hardware and software to provide engaging VR games and exercises, enabling active user participation. Unlike traditional methods, this non-invasive solution minimises side-effects and complications. Vcare has a patented multi-folded lens module with a varifocal mechanism in the VR headset. This innovative technology allows users to automatically adjust the focal length during their VR experience, providing optimal visual clarity without the need for manual adjustments or glasses for different distances. This design enhances flexibility and convenience, enabling users to freely navigate and interact within the VR environment while enjoying a clear visual experience. Prioritising rigorous research and clinical trials to ensure effectiveness and safety, the team has collaborated with eye care professionals to provide a safe, convenient and enjoyable alternative for vision correction training. The project team “Vcare” has also established a start-up company to translate PolyU’s research into impactful products for society. Project: Novel Nano-imprinting Technology for Anti-counterfeiting Micro-images and Information Storage   Award: Silver Medal   Principal Investigators: Prof. Sandy Suet TO Professor, State Key Laboratory of Ultraprecision Machining Technology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Dr Zhanwen SUN Postdoctoral Fellow, State Key Laboratory of Ultraprecision Machining Technology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Dr Lenny Wai Sze YIP Research Assistant Professor, State Key Laboratory of Ultraprecision Machining Technology, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering     Details: This invention provides a novel nano-imprinting technology for flexible machining anti-counterfeiting micro-images on precious products. Each pixel is encoded by adjusting its direction, in which way massive information is stored inside the micro-image. The invention can hide a string of anti-counterfeiting password into the micro-image, so compared with the traditional image anti-counterfeiting technology relying on geometric figures, the invention has higher anti-counterfeiting strength, and the micro-image cannot be forged without knowing the password. By combining the precision motion control technology with the piezoelectric drive technology, the invention can realize the high-precision machining of nanoscale microstructure, and thus can process micro-images and QR codes on a variety of industrial materials, and has a wide range of application. Therefore, the invention is expected to subvert the existing image anti-counterfeiting technology and apply it to the anti-counterfeiting of precious products. Project: WireInspect: Anomaly Detection System for Elevator Steel Wire Ropes Using Deep Learning Models   Award: Silver Medal   Principal Investigators: Dr Xiaoge ZHANG Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering; Project Leader, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS) Dr Rainbow Lee Programme Manager, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS) Mr Jack CHAN Lead Engineer, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS)     Details: Existing maintenance and inspection for steel wire ropes (SWRs) are typically dependent on manual inspection via visual checks and intensive measurements. To tackle this problem, we develop a principled uncertainty-aware deep learning algorithm established upon the magnetic flux leakage signals associated with SWRs for automatically classifying defects in elevator SWRs. The developed deep learning algorithm not only largely boosts classification efficiency, but also reliably identifies out-of-distribution data falling beyond the discernment framework that the model is trained for. The resulting accurate and reliable defect defection algorithm provides an advanced solution to investigate the health, degradation, and aging mechanisms of SWRs used in lift systems for assuring their functional safety. Project: AR Smart Headset with Gesture Recognition and Control   Award: Bronze Medal   Principal Investigator: Dr Carman LEE Associate Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering *Project from AiDLab (established under the AIR@InnoHK cluster in collaboration with the Royal College of Art, UK)     Details: The AR Smart Headset transforms the user experience by merging augmented reality with gesture control. Its unique modular design integrates seamlessly with high-quality headphones, offering a value-added element to the headphones for industrial and entertainment purposes. The gesture control system enables effective control in noisy environments and supports passive QR code scanning from the egocentric view of the user for various applications. By leveraging AR and AI technologies, the device augments the user’s perception with digital information. It replaces traditional control methods with intuitive hand gestures recognized by deep convolutional neural networks, providing an immersive and hands-free experience. The headset’s embedded camera captures the user’s viewpoint, allowing real-time interaction and seamless access to information via QR code scanning. Its potential application ranges across entertainment, industry, education, and communication, offering a dynamic and interactive user experience. Project: Intelligent Non-invasive Structural Health Inspection System for Multi-part Covers   Award: Bronze Medal   Principal Investigators: Dr TANG Yuk Ming Senior Lecturer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Prof. YUNG Kai Leung Chair Professor of Precision Engineering and Associate Head, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Mr. LAM Chi Wo Senior Scientific Officer, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering     Details: Multi-part covers are used for covering accesses to large manholes and desilting openings of drainage facilities. This non-intrusive structural health inspection system counts on AI-based analytic techniques for defects identification of multi-part covers. Without the need of any road closure and uncovering works, this system is capable of identifying a problematic multi-part cover based on acoustic emissions arising from live traffic traversing over the cover. It significantly improves inspection efficiency while reducing traffic impacts rendered by road closures. Project: Vision: Real-Time Defect Detection and Classification System Using Deep Learning for Multi-Material Components   Award: Bronze Medal   Principal Investigators: Dr Xiaoge ZHANG Assistant Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering; Project Leader, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS) LUK Shun Sun Lester Senior Engineer, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS) WONG Chak Nam Gary General Manager, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS) HUANG Jingyuan Jenny Assistant Programme Manager, Centre for Advances in Reliability and Safety (CAiRS)     Details: Defects in the anti-lock brake systems (ABS)-related components manufactured during the injection molding process need to be detected timely and accurately. To this end, we develop a fast and accurate real-time defect detection algorithm trained with environmental-fused augmented data to detect defective components in the ABS-related products. The developed defect detection system is deployed in the automobile industry Kenta Enterprise Company Limited for detecting multiple defects (e.g., break, shrinkage, and missing pin) in the anti-lock brake system-related components. The defect detection results are communicated with a programmable logic controller to control the filtering action of a robotic arm towards defective products. Our invention, on the one hand, achieves a detection rate that is even faster than the production rate in the production line. On the other hand, it boosts the detection efficiency of defective products in the massive production of ABS components.

Dr Pai Zheng Shares Insights on AI Technology and Human-robot Collaboration at AI for Good Global Summit 2024

Dr Pai Zheng was invited as a Keynote Speaker at the AI for Good Global Summit 2024 organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr Zheng shared his insights on AI technology, human-robot collaboration, and exchanged his research experience with other global experts and participants. About AI for Good Summit 2024: The AI for Good Global Summit 2024 is the leading action-oriented United Nations platform promoting the use of AI to advance global development priorities. Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with 40 UN agencies, the summit aims to identify practical applications of AI, accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and scale solutions for global impact. The two-day event in Geneva, Switzerland on 30 -31 May 2024, brings together policymakers, industry leaders, AI experts, and other stakeholders to explore how transformative AI technologies can be harnessed to address global challenges. Learn more at https://aiforgood.itu.int/summit24/.

Dr Pai Zheng Honored with 2024 SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers Award

Dr Pai Zheng has been honoured with the prestigious SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineers Award in the class of 2024 for his cutting-edge scientific contributions in the field of smart manufacturing and robotic systems. He received the award in the SME’s International Awards Gala in Pittsburgh on 3 Jun 2024. About SME: Established in 1932 as a nonprofit organization, SME represents the entire North American manufacturing industry, including manufacturers, academia, professionals, students, and the communities in which they operate. We believe manufacturing holds the key to economic growth and prosperity, and champion the industry's potential as a diverse, thriving, and valued ecosystem. SME accelerates new technology adoption and builds North America’s talent and capabilities to advance manufacturing and drive competitiveness, resiliency, and national security. SME designs new ways to understand and solve problems, and our solutions advance the next wave of growth in manufacturing. Learn more at SME.org. SME OYME Award: Since 1980, the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award has recognized manufacturing engineers, age 35 or younger, who have made exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the manufacturing industry (https://www.sme.org/aboutsme/awards/outstanding-young-manufacturing-engineer-award/)

Joint Career Talk of Aviation Programmes

A joint career talk specially organized for students of BSc (Hons) in Aviation Operations and Systems (offered by Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering), BBA (Hons) in Aviation Management and Logistics (offered by Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies), and BEng (Hons) Scheme in Aviation Engineering (Aviation Engineering / Air Transport Engineering) (offered by Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering) was successfully held on 29 March 2024. The event attracted over 80 interested students, including graduating year students looking for employment as well as students seeking internships in the middle of their studies. Some recently graduated alumni also attended to share their job hunting and working experiences in the aviation industry. Representatives from the following companies were invited to come to share valuable first-hand information about the job opportunities and career prospects with our students. Hong Kong Airport Authority Hong Kong Air Cargo Carrier Limited Aviation Security Company Limited Aerovision Technology Limited

ISE students awarded the Champion Team in 2024 Hong Kong Logistics Case Competition & Workshop

In the 2024 Hong Kong Logistics Case Competition & Workshop, an open competition organized by the Hong Kong Logistics Association (HKLA), the Champion Team was awarded to Mr. CHU Wang Cheung (Victor), Miss MAO Jianing (Janine), and Miss ZHENG Si. From February 23 to 25, 2024, our talented trio, who are currently studying in the BSc (Hons) in Logistics Engineering with Management (LEM), visited Hankyu Hanshin Express (HK) Ltd. During the visit, they tackled a challenging problem from the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspectives. Their hard work paid off as they developed a comprehensive solution to enhance goods safety during time-critical operations. Congratulations to the winners and, we are incredibly proud of our students for their excellent performance in this open competition.

Welcome to Dr. LAU and his Students from the University of Miyazaki

On 24th November 2023, Dr. Carman Lee and Dr. Paul Tsang were delighted to host a group of eight students from the Faculty of Regional Innovation at the University of Miyazaki. This visit, led by the esteemed academic Dr. Chung Ming LAU, is a shining example of the collaborative spirit between international academic institutions. Highlighting the visit was a tour of our state-of-the-art cyber physical system laboratory, where the students from the University of Miyazaki gained firsthand experience in the innovative technologies and cutting-edge research being conducted at PolyU. The lab, known for its advancements in integrating computational algorithms with physical processes, offered the visiting students a glimpse into the future of industrial engineering. We are committed to nurturing global partnerships that enhance educational experiences and drive innovation. We are grateful to Dr. LAU and his students for their visit and look forward to future exchanges that will continue to strengthen our bonds with the international academic community.

ISE PhD student won the outstanding paper award in the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM) 2023

Mr. K. T. Chung, a PhD student under the guidance of Dr. Carman Lee and Dr. Paul Tsang, received the Outstanding Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM) 2023. In an impressive gathering of scholars and professionals at the conference, which took place in Singapore from December 18 to 21, 2023, Mr. Chung's paper titled "Solving Capacitated and Time-constrained Vehicle Routing Problems by Deep Reinforcement Learning-based Method" was shortlisted (top 4% among all the submissions), and finally received the outstanding paper award for its innovative approach and significant contribution to the field of industrial engineering. The paper, which addresses complex logistical challenges through advanced deep reinforcement learning techniques, showcases the cutting-edge research being conducted by ISE researchers and highlights our commitment to fostering an environment where academic excellence and research innovation can thrive. We extend our heartiest congratulations to Mr. K. T. Chung on his well-deserved achievement and wish him further success in his academic pursuits and professional endeavors.

ISE PhD student is honored with the Best Student Paper Award at the 2023 International Conference on Electric Vehicle and Vehicle Engineering (CEVVE)

Mr. HU Dong from the Human-Oriented Intelligent Systems Lab (HOIS) was honored with the Best Student Paper Award at the 2023 International Conference on Electric Vehicle and Vehicle Engineering (CEVVE) held in Shenzhen, China, November 10-12, 2023. The objective of CEVVE is to provide a platform and opportunities for researchers, scientists, scholars and engineers to exchange their research experiences and share new ideas to promote their research progress in the field of Electric Vehicles and Vehicle Engineering through discussion on practical issues, challenges encountered as well as solutions adopted. The article 'Enhancing Autonomous Driving Following Motion Decision Making Through Model Based Policy Optimization' won the award and was written by Mr. HU Dong as the first author with Dr. HUANG Chao as the corresponding author. This article proposes an autonomous driving following strategy called Adaptive Rollout Model-based Policy Optimization, which greatly improves the safety, comfort, and economy of vehicles. Mr. HU Dong attended the award ceremony and presented the paper at the conference. Mr. HU Dong is currently a Ph.D. student in the ISE Department. He is supervised by Dr. HUANG Chao and is co-supervised by Dr. Lee Carman K.M. Congratulations to the team, and we wish them further success along the future research road.

ISE PhD student achievement in the 2023 IEEE ITSS Student Competition in Pedestrian Behavior Prediction

Mr. HU Fengqing, Mr. WANG Mingfeng, Dr. WU Jingda, and Dr. HUANG Chao from the Human-Oriented Intelligent Systems Lab (HOIS) achieved rank 2 and received 2nd prize in the 2023 IEEE ITSS Student Competition in Pedestrian Behavior Prediction. The 2023 IEEE ITSS Student Competition in Pedestrian Behavior Prediction was organized by the IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (IEEE ITSS), Technical Committee on Human-Centered AI in Transportation (HAIT). This competition aimed at advancing the research field of pedestrian behavior prediction, which is one of the most critical challenges for fully automated driving in urban settings. Research teams in the field of intelligent transportation from worldwide renowned universities were involved. The ISE team won the second prize with the project entitled “An Ensemble Multimodal-LSTM with Data Augmentation for Pedestrian Intention Prediction”, which was led by Mr. HU Fengqing and was supervised by Dr. HUANG Chao. The project aimed at producing more accurate and robust pedestrian behavior prediction methods based on deep neural networks to ensure the safety of both pedestrians and autonomous vehicles. Mr. HU Fengqing attended the award ceremony and presented the project at the 3rd Workshop on The Prediction of Pedestrian Behaviors for Automated Driving at ITSC 2023. Mr. HU Fengqing is currently a Ph.D. student from the Department of ISE. He is supervised by Dr. HUANG Chao and is co-supervised by Prof. FU Xiaowen. Mr. WANG Mingfeng is currently a MSc student from the Department of Applied Mathematics (AMA). He is working on his thesis with the Department of ISE on the topic of pedestrian intention. Dr. WU Jingda is currently a Postdoc researcher in the Department of ISE. He received his Ph.D. degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). His research interest lies in the intersection between reinforcement learning (RL) and autonomous electrified vehicles. Congratulations on their achievement, and we wish them further success on the future research road.