News

SCRI Research Salon Promotes Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Smart Mobility and Governance

On 25 February 2025, The Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully hosted its second session of Research Salon, uniting 12 participants to delve into pioneering research in SCRI key research directions - Smart Mobility and Smart Governance. This engaging event provided a vibrant platform for SCRI members to share their latest findings, exchange innovative ideas, and explore potential interdisciplinary collaborations. The salon commenced with welcoming remarks from Prof. John Shi, Director of SCRI, highlighting the institute's ongoing commitment to advancing smart city research and innovation. The session then featured a series of compelling presentations from SCRI members, each offering unique insights into their research areas, including advancements in Urban Mobility, Transportation, Logistics, Policy, GIS, Spatial Intelligence, and 3D Point Cloud Learning.

Prof. Daniel LUO named distinguished member of Association for Computing Machinery

Prof. Daniel LUO Xiapu, Member of the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT) and Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences and Professor in the Department of Computing, has been inducted as a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery for 2024, in recognition of his seminal contributions to safeguarding blockchain and smart contracts along with Android and its applications. A total of 56 scholars were awarded this prestigious honour, and they were selected by their peers for their significant technical achievements and volunteer service to the professional community.   Online coverage: ifeng.com - https://polyu.me/3Qj2EjT NetEase - https://polyu.me/41gnqqM Sina - https://polyu.me/4gI5rOk Sohu - https://polyu.me/4hEcxos  

SCRI Research Salon Fosters Interdisciplinary Collaboration on Urban Informatics, AI, Data Science and Smart Living

The Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully hosted its first session of Research Salon on 11 February 2025, bringing together 17 participants, to explore cutting-edge research in Urban Informatics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, and Smart Living. The Research Salon provided a dynamic platform for SCRI members to share their latest research, exchange ideas, and discuss potential interdisciplinary collaborations. The salon commenced with welcoming remarks Prof. John Shi, Director of SCRI, followed by an overview of SCRI’s ongoing efforts to advance smart city research and innovation. Next, the sharing session featured engaging presentations from several SCRI members, each offering valuable insights into their respective research areas, such as advancements in AI and technology, machine learning and data-driven approaches in public health.  The SCRI Research Salon continues to serve as a vital platform for fostering collaboration and innovation among researchers. The insights and connections gained from this event will undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of smart city research and its real-world applications.

Prof. MA Wei receives Smart Traffic Fund to develop AI-enabled parking garage vacation prediction service

Prof. MA Wei, Member of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Research Centre for Digital Transformation of Tourism (RCDTT), Assistant Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of PolyU, has been awarded a funding of about HK$2.9 million from the Smart Traffic Fund for a period of 18 months, for his project titled “Parking Garage Vacancy Prediction Services in Hong Kong: AI-enabled Solutions for Enhanced Reliability and Extensibility”.   This project aims to develop a deep learning-based parking garage vacation prediction service for off street carparks in Hong Kong. By leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) technology and combining big data with real time data, the service will predict parking vacancy and estimate queuing times for fully occupied garages, helping to reduce motorists’ cruising time and enhance road efficiency.   Read more: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rio/news/2025/20250127---smart-traffic-fund/

Successful SCRI Distinguished Lecture on Remote Sensing Image Processing from Classical Approaches to AI-supported Approaches on 17 December 2024

On 17 December 2024, the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully hosted a Distinguished Lecture titled "Remote Sensing Image Processing from Classical Approaches to AI-supported Approaches". The seminar featured Professor Yun Zhang from the University of New Brunswick, Canada. In his lecture, Prof. Zhang highlighted the achievements of his research lab in remote sensing image processing, including the significant contributions to Google Maps. Prof. Zhang also presented four recent research outcomes: (1) hyperspectral remote sensing for spruce budworm defoliation detection, (2) Sendinel-2 multispectral image for forest canopy height estimation, (3) super-resolution of Sentinel-2 multiresolution multispectral images, and (4) ultra-spatial-resolution hyperspectral imaging. 

EMSD Delegation Explores Innovative Collaborations at Smart Cities Research Institute

On 12 November 2024, a distinguished delegation from the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) of the HKSAR Government, led by Mr. Raymond Poon Kwok Ying, JP, Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, visited the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI). The delegation was warmly welcomed by Professor John Shi Wenzhong, Director of SCRI. The visit facilitated a fruitful exchange of ideas between EMSD and SCRI representatives, focusing on leveraging innovation and technology to advance smart city development and fostering collaboration. Key topics of discussion included Mobile Mapping Technology for Digital Twin, Building Information Modelling (BIM), and advancements in artificial intelligence. The visit concluded with a comprehensive tour of SCRI's state-of-the-art facilities, highlighting the institute's pioneering research and projects.

SCRI Scholars ranked among World's Top 2% Most-cited Scientists 2024

A total of 19 scholars from SCRI were ranked among the “World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists 2024” in the latest list released by Stanford University. The named SCRI scholars were included in the “Career-long Impact” list based on their career-long citation impact.   The latest ranking reflects the influential research of SCRI researchers and PolyU’s leading position in multiple research areas. The ranking compiled by Stanford University covers over 100,000 top scientists across the globe. The database grouped scientists under 22 subject fields and 174 sub-fields. The list was based on indicators including citations, scientific research output and a composite indicator for citation impact, up to the end of 2023.   SCRI is very proud to announce that the following members are on the list: SCRI Scholars Field Prof. John SHI Wenzhong Geological & Geomatics Engineering Ir Prof. NIU Jianlei Building & Construction Prof. CHEN Xiaojun Operations Research Prof. LI Qing Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing Prof. CAO Jiannong Networking & Telecommunications Prof. Edwin CHAN Hon-wan Urban & Regional Planning Prof. Anthony CHEN Logistics & Transportation Prof. CHEN Jianli Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences Prof. CHEN Changwen Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing Dr HSU Li-ta Networking & Telecommunications Ir Prof. William LAM Hing-keung Logistics & Transportation Prof. LI Ping Experimental Psychology Ir Prof. MAK Cheuk-ming Acoustics Ir Prof. Horace MUI Kwok-wai Building & Construction Prof. Geoffrey SHEN Qiping Building & Construction Prof. WEN Chih-yung Aerospace & Aeronautics Prof. WENG Qihao Geological & Geomatics Engineering Prof. XIAO Bin Networking & Telecommunications Dr ZHU Xiaolin Geological & Geomatics Engineering   (As per the data published by Elsevier on 16 September 2024 (version 7): https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/7)  

SCRI Research Seminar on Facility-based accessibility: A new research agenda by integrating facility choice behaviors into the evaluation of place-based accessibility was hosted successfully on 20 September 2024

The Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully hosted a research seminar on 20 September 2024, on the topic of "Facility-Based Accessibility: A New Research Agenda by Integrating Facility Choice Behaviors into the Evaluation of Place-Based Accessibility." The seminar featured Professor Bi Yu Chen from the State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping, and Remote Sensing at Wuhan University, China.   During the seminar, Prof. Chen introduced a range of accessibility measures known as facility-based accessibility measures. These measures extend conventional place-based accessibility assessments by explicitly incorporating the complexities of residents' facility choice behaviors. The presentation included empirical studies utilizing real data from Wuhan, China, and highlighted several empirical insights and methodological implications for future research.

Successful LSGI & SCRI Distinguished Lecture on More than One Twin: Multiple Digital Twins in City Planning on 17 September 2024

On 17 September 2024, the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) and the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully held a Distinguished Lecture titled "More than One Twin: Multiple Digital Twins in City Planning." The seminar featured Professor Michael Batty, Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London. In the lecture, Prof. Batty defined what constitutes a digital twin and demonstrated how different types of models can enhance our understanding of real systems, facilitating the development of innovative solutions for future scenarios. He focused primarily on city planning but extended the discussion to various scales, employing different models of the same system from diverse perspectives and integrating these twins to create more comprehensive models. Prof. Batty also illustrated his points with examples from London and presented a digital twin of British cities. He concluded with reflections on the future, suggesting that our world will increasingly consist of multiple twins—varied models of the same entity that are rapidly becoming the norm.

Successful LSGI & SCRI Distinguished Lecture on Digital Twins and Urban Informatics on 11 September 2024

The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) and the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) successfully hosted a Distinguished Lecture on 11 September 2024, titled "Digital Twins and Urban Informatics," featuring Professor Michael Goodchild, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.   In this lecture, Prof. Goodchild discussed the relevance of urban informatics as a promising field for the application of digital twins. While various definitions of digital twins share some common features, there is a lack of consensus on what precisely constitutes a digital twin. He highlighted the term can be misleading if the inherent uncertainties associated with any representation of a real system are not adequately addressed. Prof. Goodchild also examined the challenges of quantifying uncertainty and explored the implications of digital twins in urban informatics, including questions of purpose, governance, and ethics.