August 2022

BREED Robotics 2020

BREED is a student group committed to developing and promoting bio-inspired technology. Our flagship VAYU project – the world’s fastest robotic fish – and our upcoming initiatives such as our robotic dog aim to educate and enhance awareness in the general student body. Using designs perfected by millions of years of natural evolution, we adapt selected features into increasing effectiveness of man-made robots. We aim to establish a hub based in the Innovation Wing where this development can take root in the local community, increasing awareness and interest while promoting scientific innovation: this will be done through outreach projects, educational initiatives, as well as the continuation of various bio-inspired initiatives under BREED.

SIG – HKU Robocon

The annual Robocon competition project allows HKU engineering students from different disciplines to design and fabricate innovative robots with an integration of various advanced technologies, including IoT sensors, AI, computer vision, and mobile computing. Besides, it provides hands-on experiences on product design, prototyping, CNC machining, design and fabrication of electric circuit and PCB, control program development, etc.

HKU Robocon 2022

The annual Robocon competition project allows HKU engineering students from different disciplines to design and fabricate innovative robots with an integration of various advanced technologies, including IoT sensors, AI, computer vision, and mobile computing. Besides, it provides hands-on experiences on product design, prototyping, CNC machining, design and fabrication of electric circuit and PCB, control program development, etc.

HKU Racing 2019

Formula Student is a renowned educational engineering competition, combining practical engineering with soft skills including business planning and project management. It is a proving ground for students who want to create and change the world. Electrification of transportation system is here, the combination of electric powertrain and traditional mechanical system has made this competition attractive to lots of industries leading to companys’ attention and support. This competition jump starts our students’ knowledge and skills set for their future career. HKU Racing is the first team from Hong Kong to compete in Formula Student (European series).

Tech Talk – Innovation of Originality for Solving Sand Shortage Crisis around the World including Hong Kong

Sand is the most exploited raw solid material in the world and used for construction of buildings, roads, railways, bridges, tunnels and beaches. It is also used to make the glass and silicon chips. The annual consumption for use in glass, concrete and construction materials has reached 50 billion tones, which is extremely high. Consequently, according to United Nations’ reports, the world is facing a shortage crisis of sand, as one of the greatest sustainability challenges of the 21st century. Such sand shortage crisis around the world has affected the use of sand in Hong Kong since Hong Kong does not produce any sand and all the sand used in Hong Kong is imported from Mainland China. In this Teck Talk, Professor Yue will present his technological innovation of originality. His innovation can solve this global sand shortage crisis. More importantly, his innovation can provide a stable supply of quality sand for construction and industry and offer new raw material resources for developing new industry in Hong Kong. Professor Yue has discovered that the local ordinary soil in Hong Kong can be converted into the materials of sand and clay. The sand is silica sand and mainly quartz mineral. The clay is mainly kaolinite mineral. Both materials can be used as the raw solid materials in construction and other industry. Professor Yue will demonstrate that his technical innovation is simple, environmental-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective and can be applied to many places around the world for producing quality sand materials.

Tech Talk – Seeing the unseen in biomedicine with laser

In the past 10+ years, laser microscopy has successfully made it permeated not only in biochemistry and cell/molecular biology research, but also in numerous preclinical and clinical applications. However, our understanding of health and disease is still very limited. This lecture will introduce the latest breakthrough in laser microscopy technologies developed at HKU that can address some of these challenges. Especially these technologies can generate unprecedented views and understanding of the living biological cells. They include: capturing high-resolution motion picture of the swift-flying brain signals in a living animal; visualizing the inner workings of biological cells and organisms in 3D without killing them; and detecting rare cancer cells in millions of blood cells. Not only can these technologies impact new biological discovery (e.g. neuroscience), but also creating many new opportunities in cost-effective clinical diagnosis, especially cancer screening.

Smart Water Auditing for Hong Kong

The project is an integral part of a flagship research initiative being carried out under the auspices of the HKU Center for Water Technology and Policy. The Water Centre was jointly established by the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Social Sciences to conduct cutting-edge research on water science, technology and policy issues that pertain to the broader urban sustainability agenda. We would like to acknowledge the contributions of the members of our inter-disciplinary project team. They come from the Department of Civil Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Politics and Public Administration and the Faculty of Social Sciences.

nD Blockchain for ESG Reporting

The introduction of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guide (Guide) by HKEX in 2013, and the subsequent upgrade of the Guide’s reporting obligation to “comply or explain” in 2016, have significantly moved the dial for Hong Kong issuers’ ESG reporting. However, ESG reporting faces many bottlenecks, including data authenticity, consistency, and transparency. Professor Huang’s team developed an IoT- and blockchain-based platform to upgrade the ESG reporting industry.