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UM–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Robotics and Embodied Intelligence Pioneers GBA Innovation in Autonomous Driving and Aerospace Technologies

The UM–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Robotics and Embodied Intelligence (CREI) was jointly established by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Macau as the first direct academic research platform dedicated to embodied AI between Hong Kong and Macao. Designed to foster deep regional synergy, the Centre builds an “A-shaped” innovation network across the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), effectively linking the scientific strengths of the eastern (Hong Kong) and western (Macao and Hengqin) hubs. The Centre is co-led by Professor Cheng-Zhong Xu from the University of Macau and Professor Wen-Hua Chen from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. CREI focuses on four key research pillars: physical intelligence, embodied infrastructure, safe robotics, and applied robotics. Operating under a complementary cross-campus model supported by a joint dual-degree PhD programme, large-scale physical testbeds and robotic hardware are hosted at UM, while algorithmic research, theoretical modelling, and software simulation are conducted jointly across both universities. Among its major initiatives is the planning of a cross-border autonomous driving bus connecting Hengqin and Macao, slated for trial operation by 2028 to mark the 30th anniversary of Macao’s handover to the motherland. Partnering with industry leaders such as Baidu and WeRide, the team is addressing complex hurdles—including border-crossing protocols, mixed-traffic dynamics, and left- and right-hand drive transitions—with future plans to extend routes across the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge into Hong Kong. Concurrently, the Centre is embedding affective AI into robotic systems to develop empathetic companions for elderly care and social driving, alongside the high-dexterity “WuJi” robotic hand with over 20 degrees of freedom for delicate industrial assembly. CREI has also achieved significant breakthroughs in extreme-environment and specialized robotics, including insect-scale micro-robots for search-and-rescue within the critical post-disaster “golden 72 hours” and flexible robotic arms with variable-stiffness grippers for confined aircraft engine inspections and underwater operations. Looking ahead, the team is transferring its embodied intelligence and tactile-sensing algorithms to deep-space exploration—such as terrain evaluation for extraterrestrial rovers—in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Supported by UM’s upcoming Hengqin campus expansion in 2029, the Centre exemplifies a high-impact translational model of “Macao–Hong Kong R&D, Hengqin commercialisation.” For further information, please visit Ta Kung Pao and here.

Article on East Asia Forum - China’s low-altitude economy takes off amid challenges

We are delighted to share that Prof. Wen-Hua Chen, Chair Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems and Director of the Research Centre for Low-Altitude Economy at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), and Prof. Wei Liu, Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering (AAE) at PolyU, have published an insightful article titled “China’s low-altitude economy takes off amid challenges” on East Asia Forum. China’s low-altitude economy — encompassing drones, eVTOL aircraft and the infrastructure to support them — has impressive industrial momentum, with 3.3 million registered civil drones completing 45.3 million flight hours in 2025. But the transition from technological potential to reliable routine commercial operations requires aircraft technology, airspace management and ground infrastructure to mature together rather than in isolation. Applications with clear operational advantages such as agricultural drones, medical delivery and emergency response will scale first, while wider visions like urban air taxis face longer paths through technological improvement, regulatory adjustment and public acceptance. For more information about the article, please visit the East Asia Forum official website.

AAE PhD Student Selected for Participating IAF Young Professional Leadership Development Programme 2026

Mr Samba Zihong ZHOU, PhD student of the PolyU Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, was selected for the International Astronautical Federation Young Professional Leadership Development Programme 2026, organised by the IAF International Project/Programme Management Committee (IPMC). He was the sole participant from the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong.  Over ten months of close collaboration, he co-authored a research paper alongside young professionals from the world's leading space agencies and industry, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The paper, presented at the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026) in Antalya, Türkiye, examines how governance design shapes the relationship between partner asymmetry and long-term stability in multinational space programmes, drawing on case studies that include the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Through the YPLDP professional mentoring sessions and the Young Professionals Forum, he also worked closely with senior leaders from the international space community on leadership, negotiation and cross-cultural teamwork, before his work was recognised at the YPLDP award ceremony. The programme has positioned AAE's aerospace research within an international network of young professionals, and the collaborations formed through it have laid the groundwork for future partnerships that strengthen the international engagement of the Department, PolyU and Hong Kong in the space community.  

Eleven AAE Scholars ranked among World’s Top 2% Most-Cited Scientists in 2026

Eleven PolyU AAE scholars are ranked the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in 2026. This prestigious acknowledgment, compiled and announced annually by researchers at Stanford University, USA, is determined by citations, h-index, co-authorship-adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in various authorship positions, and a composite indicator. We extend our warmest congratulations to our colleagues for their exceptional achievements and continued dedication to research innovation! Prof. CHEN Wen-Hua  Prof. WEN Chih Yung Prof. LIU Wei Prof. NG Kam Hung Prof. HSU Li Ta Prof. HUANG Hailong Prof. SHEN Xi Prof. WEN Weisong Prof. ZHANG Guohao Dr HU Zhijian Dr LIU Kang Data available at Elsevier: http://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/9 Published: 7 October 2026|Version 9|DOI:10.17632/btchxktzyw.9

2026 IEEE RAS Summer School on Small Quadcopter Drones Successfully Held in PolyU

Led by Prof. Hailong Huang and the members of research group of Autonomous and Interactive Mobile Systems (AIMS), the 2026 IEEE RAS Summer School on Small Quadcopter Drones: Design, Operation, and Applications was successfully held in Hong Kong from 24 to 28 August 2026. The five-day intensive programme was delivered primarily in person, with online access provided for selected sessions. A total of 52 participants joined the programme, including 48 in-person participants and 4 online participants. Combining theoretical instruction with hands-on practice, flight training, and a final competition, the Summer School provided participants with a structured learning experience covering the design, system integration, control, planning, and autonomous operation of small quadcopter drones. The Summer School was hosted by the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering and delivered as part of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society (IEEE RAS) Technical Education Program (TEP). The programme focused on the design, operation, control, and real-world applications of small quadcopter systems, while also introducing participants to emerging opportunities associated with the low-altitude economy. The five-day programme was organised around the key stages of quadcopter system development. On the first day, participants were introduced to the fundamentals of quadcopter drones and took part in hands-on sessions on drone assembly and ground-station setup. The second day focused on ROS, onboard computing, and first-flight operation, followed by indoor position-mode flight practice to strengthen participants’ understanding of system integration and basic flight procedures. The third day centred on drone control and stabilisation, combining lectures on control algorithms with practical stabilisation and control exercises. On the fourth day, the programme progressed to planning and navigation, where participants studied path-planning algorithms and carried out autonomous navigation exercises, gaining experience in the key technologies required for autonomous drone operation. On the final day, participants worked in teams to conduct system debugging and final tuning, integrating the knowledge and skills developed throughout the week. Their learning outcomes were then put into practice through a flight competition, followed by an awards and certificate ceremony, group photo, and farewell session. A strong emphasis was placed on hands-on learning and teamwork throughout the Summer School. Practical sessions in drone assembly, indoor flight, stabilisation, control, and autonomous navigation enabled participants to apply theoretical concepts directly on quadcopter platforms. The hybrid format also allowed online participants to join selected lecture sessions, broadening access to the programme. As the low-altitude economy and autonomous aerial systems continue to develop rapidly, capabilities in drone system design, intelligent control, and autonomous navigation are becoming increasingly important. By integrating theoretical foundations, system implementation, and practical applications, the 2026 IEEE RAS Summer School provided participants with a comprehensive learning pathway in small quadcopter technologies and contributed to education, practical innovation, and talent development in aerial robotics and related low-altitude application.  

AAE Hosts ICASSE 2026, Advancing International Collaboration in Aerospace Systems

The 10th International Conference on Aerospace System Science and Engineering (ICASSE 2026), organised by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and hosted by the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering (AAE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU),  was successfully held at PolyU from 16 to 17 July 2026. The conference convened over 160 researchers, academics and aerospace industry professionals from 10 countries and regions. The conference received 129 paper submissions and featured an academic programme comprising two keynote speeches, 15 invited speeches, 99 scheduled paper presentations and 19 thematic technical sessions. Discussions covered a broad range of topics, including AI-enabled aerospace systems, autonomous flight, satellite navigation, aircraft digital twins, advanced propulsion, composite materials and structural health monitoring. Twenty papers entered the final Best Paper evaluation, with three receiving Best Paper Awards and another three being recognised as Best Paper Award Finalists. Prof. Li-Ta Hsu, Associate Professor and Limin Young Scholar in Aerospace Navigation in AAE of PolyU, and Prof. Wu Xu, Vice Dean of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at SJTU, served as General Chairs. Prof. Yiping Jiang of AAE served as General Co-Chair, while Prof. Yu Guan of AAE served as Programme Committee Vice Chair. The local delivery at PolyU was jointly coordinated by Dr Penggao Yan (Organising Committee Chair), Ms Yuzhu Hu (Organising Committee Co-Chair) and Ms Xiaoyu Luo (Organising Committee Co-Chair), all of AAE, with support from a team of PolyU student helpers. At the opening ceremony, Prof. Wang Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research) of PolyU, and Prof. Shiqiang Hu, Secretary of the CPC School Committee of the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at SJTU, delivered welcome remarks. The two keynote speeches were given by Prof. Florian Holzapfel of the Technical University of Munich and Prof. Qi Zhao of PolyU. The conference also showcased AAE’s contributions to the wider technical programme. Prof. Yiping Jiang and Prof. Guohao Zhang of AAE delivered invited speeches. Beyond the main programme, ICASSE 2026 facilitated a series of meaningful academic and institutional exchanges. Notably, a Young Scholars Exchange was held on 17 July 2026, providing a dedicated platform for doctoral candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career scholars to present their latest research, exchange innovative ideas, and build valuable professional networks. Following this, on 18 July 2026, the editorial board of the Aerospace Systems journal convened to discuss its strategic future directions, exploring upcoming special issues and the expansion of space-related research topics. By bringing together universities, research institutions, industry and academic publishing partners, ICASSE 2026 strengthened international exchange across aeronautics, astronautics and aerospace systems engineering. The conference also demonstrated AAE’s capacity to support international academic collaboration through its research expertise, facilities and collective organisational effort.

AAE Student Project Won the Best Project Award of the Inter-departmental Final Year Project 2025/26 and the Bronze Award at the ASMPT Technology Award 2026

An Inter-departmental Final Year Project accomplished by undergraduate students from the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering (AAE), the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) won the Bronze Award at the ASMPT Technology Award 2026, held on 10 July 2026.Prior to this, the outstanding project was also recognised as the Best Project Award of the Inter-departmental Final Year Project 2025/26.  The awarded project, entitled “Intelligent UAV Systems for GNSS-Based Remote Sensing on Vegetation”, showcased the exceptional talents and dedication of PolyU students. Traditional ground object detection (e.g., vegetation monitoring) relies on manual surveys, costly aerial imaging, or low-resolution satellite images. This work integrates Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry (GNSS) onto an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform with higher flexibility to achieve an intelligent and remote sensing system for ground object monitoring.  This complex project was supervised by Prof. Guohao Zhang and co-supervised by Prof. Li-Ta Hsu. The team members include: ZHOU Jiayi (AAE) Md Sahat MAHMUD (AAE) Sashenka GAMAGE (EEE) TAN Qing Lin (ME) The ASMPT Technology Award is an initiative led by ASMPT Limited and a symbol of the commitment to technological innovation in Hong Kong. This year is the 11th ASMPT Technology Award, the purpose of which is to promote excellence in technology. It is an interdisciplinary award inviting participation of top Faculties in Hong Kong, aiming to recognise and reward students with extraordinary Final Year Projects which showcase technological advancement and innovative thinking. This year, 12 exceptional projects were nominated by the 6 participating universities to compete for awards. The nominees presented their projects in 20-minute sessions, followed by a 10-minute Q&A with a panel of judges comprising ASMPT leaders, university faculty, and industry experts. The judging criteria focused on technical performance, project quality, creativity, originality, applicability, and practicability. Congratulations to our talented students for their outstanding achievement! We are proud of their dedication and commitment to advancing the field of aviation engineering.

AAE Student Wins Best Paper Award in The 20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (ICCA) 2026

We are pleased to announce that Ms Xiong Wei, a PhD student enrolled in our full time PolyU-Tongji University Dual PhD Programme, won the Best Paper Award at the 20th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (ICCA) 2026, held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 16 to 20 June 2026. Under the supervision of Prof. Wen Chih-Yung and Dr Wang Tianqi, Ms Xiong’s award-winning paper is titled “Inverse Learning-based Strategy for Linear Quadratic Differential Hypergame with Misperception”. This paper studies dynamic decision-making and control under misperception, where one player holds a biased understanding of another player’s objective. To address this issue, Ms Xiong proposes an inverse learning-based strategy that reconstructs the Nash-relevant closed-loop dynamics from finite state trajectories. In addition to this outstanding achievement, Dr Li Yu, a Postdoctoral Fellow under Prof. Wen Chih-Yung’s supervision, was selected as a finalist for the Best Paper Award at the same conference. Dr Li’s finalist paper is titled “Event-triggered incremental fault-tolerant control: recovery performance and convergence time guarantee”.

Built to Win: PolyU DBF Team Places 15th Place Globally and Once Again Claims Asia's Top Spot at AIAA DBF 2026

We are thrilled to share that our remarkable DBF team achieved 15th place out of 98 teams worldwide at the 2025-2026 AIAA Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition, hosted by AIAA Corporate Member Textron Aviation in Wichita, Kansas, from 16 April to 19 April 2026. This year’s mission challenged teams to design, build, and fly a remote-controlled aircraft capable of completing charter flights with plastic ducks and pucks as passengers and cargo, respectively. Another mission required teams to tow a long banner and deploy it mid-air. To succeed, aircrafts had to accommodate different mission payloads, withstand landing impacts and in-flight vibrations, and deliver reliable performance across all mission attempts. Competing against strong teams from around the world, we are proud to share that our team ranked 1st in Asia once again – a significant milestone in our journey this year.   About AEOLUS: AEOLUS is PolyU’s official representative team in the prestigious AIAA DBF Competition. Comprising passionate students from AAE, the team embodies the creativity, collaboration, and technical excellence of PolyU’s emerging aviation talent. AEOLUS is committed not only to the design, construction, and operation of innovative remote-controlled aircraft but also to fostering a strong culture of teamwork, resilience, and personal growth among its members. Through hands-on learning and real-world challenges, the team develops critical thinking, leadership, and problem-solving skills that prepare students for success in the ever-evolving aviation and aerospace industries. Through every project, AEOLUS strives to inspire the future of aviation engineering in Hong Kong by empowering young talents to push boundaries and embrace innovation.   About AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition: Now celebrating its 30th year, the AIAA Design/Build/Fly Competition was established by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in 1996 to provide university students with practical experience in aircraft design. In this competition, participants are required to design, build, and demonstrate the flight performance of an unmanned, electric-powered, radio-controlled aircraft. The event places strong emphasis on achieving a balanced design, good flight handling characteristics, cost-effectiveness, and high performance. Each year, new design challenges and performance goals are introduced to foster innovation and technological advancement. Overall, the competition offers students a valuable platform to apply their knowledge in a practical setting and contribute meaningfully to the field of aviation.

Inaugural UM–PolyU CREI Workshop Strengthens Collaboration in Robotics and Embodied Intelligence

The UM–PolyU Joint Research Centre for Robotics and Embodied Intelligence (CREI) successfully hosted its inaugural research workshop, marking an important milestone in strengthening research collaboration between the University of Macau and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The workshop brought together leading scholars, researchers, and students from both universities to exchange recent advances in robotics, autonomous systems, and embodied intelligence, and to explore future opportunities for joint research and talent development.   The workshop opened with keynote speeches by the Centre’s Co-Directors, Professor Cheng-Zhong Xu from the University of Macau and Professor Wen-Hua Chen from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Professor Xu delivered a keynote on “Cognitive Intelligence for Robust Autonomous Driving in Mixed Traffic,” offering insights into how cognitive intelligence can support autonomous systems in complex and human-involved environments. Professor Chen presented “Active Learning and Embodied Intelligence,” highlighting the importance of active interaction, learning, and adaptation for the next generation of embodied intelligent systems.   Following the keynote sessions, distinguished researchers from both universities shared their latest research progress across the Centre’s core directions. The speakers included Professor Chenguang Yang, Professor Hailong Huang, and Professor Lik-Hang Lee from PolyU, and Professor Carlos Jorge Ferreira Silvestre, Professor Junwen Zhong, and Professor Zhehua Zhou from the University of Macau. Their talks covered a wide range of topics, including human-like robot control and human–robot collaboration, intelligent autonomous robotic systems for aerial and ocean applications, perception and decision-making for embedded intelligence, bio-inspired insect-scale robots, XR interfaces for human–robot interaction, and trustworthy embodied intelligence with foundation models.   The workshop provided a valuable platform for deepening mutual understanding, identifying complementary research strengths, and promoting future collaboration between UM and PolyU. It also reflected CREI’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research that connects fundamental robotics technologies with real-world autonomous and embodied intelligence applications.   The UM–PolyU CREI sincerely thanks all speakers, participants, and organizing team members for their valuable contributions and support. The Centre looks forward to continuing these discussions and welcoming the research community to future CREI events.   For further information on upcoming events, please visit the UM–PolyU CREI website.